‘The most fun I’ve had coaching’: Mario Cristobal reveling in Hurricanes’ early success

Mario Cristobal, for three years, has been working to get the Miami Hurricanes back to this point.

Consistent winning. Legitimate championship contenders. National relevance.

So during the past month and a half, as the Hurricanes have gotten off to a 6-0 start, Cristobal has given himself moments — very brief ones — to revel in what is coming to fruition.

There’s him doing the Gator Chomp after Miami’s season-opening win at Florida. There are the regular salutes to UM fans after games. There’s him living it up with Hurricanes legend Michael Irvin after Miami’s 25-point comeback victory at the Cal Golden Bears.

There was even a photo of players hoisting him on their shoulders in the locker room following that Cal win.

“That’s Photoshopped,” Cristobal said with a smile.

Cristobal, 54, is generally not one to show too much emotion. He tries to stay even-keeled, with his focus solely on getting his alma mater back to where it was during his playing days when it won a pair of national championships.

But there’s something about what he’s seeing from the Hurricanes this season. After two lackluster years to begin his tenure as UM’s head coach, with Miami going 12-13 in that span, Cristobal has the Hurricanes a perfect 6-0 midway through the regular season. They are ranked No. 6 in the country entering Saturday’s road game at Louisville and are one of just 11 undefeated Football Bowl Subdivision teams left this season.

Each win so far has been the chance for a euphoric release after a week of working leading up to game day before they reset and start the process over again on Monday. They haven’t been perfect, but they’ve found ways to win even when things get tough, something that hasn’t always a guarantee with the Hurricanes in recent years.

There’s a long road to go — six more regular-season games and, if all works out from there, the ACC Championship Game and the College Football Playoff.

But considering what it took for Cristobal to get the Hurricanes to this point, yeah, he’s going to enjoy it while he keeps the bigger picture in mind.

“This is the most fun I’ve had coaching,” Cristobal said Monday. “There are special years that stand out. This is one of those years, and we’re just getting started. There’s a lot more. But these guys have discovered that the most fun is winning. I’ve never had fun getting my butt kicked, but when a lot of guys work really, really hard, and when they see validation of their hard work resulting in not only wins but performances and improvement, and some of their teammates get better and better, I think that almost launches you to another level of effort and want to, because validation of hard work usually leads to more hard work and more commitment and more belief. We’re seeing that. And I think whether you win by one or whether you win by 40, you’ve gotta celebrate those things. It’s hard to win.”

Cristobal, who on Wednesday was named one of 27 coaches on the midseason watch list for the Paul “Bear” Bryant Coach of the Year Award, took a slow and steady approach to building this team to what it is today. He stacked top recruiting classes together to bring in young talent to set the foundation for the future. He filled in the gaps by attacking in the transfer portal to get established veterans to round out the roster.

And with each group of players, whether they’re at Miami for a year or for their entire college career, he has gotten them to buy in to the team’s structure, scheme and philosophy.

This type of project doesn’t come to fruition overnight. Cristobal knew that.

And he embraced it.

“The word development is like a nasty word in today’s society because it takes time,” Cristobal said. “Well, over the last couple years, we’ve been developing our culture. We’ve been developing our standards, our way of thinking and doing. Actions carry a lot more weight than words. And so I think all those things are much more meaningful. Football, University of Miami football in particular, is really, really important to our guys, and they’re starting to understand that you cannot compromise the things necessary to be successful on Saturday. If you start skimping on the details of preparation, you start missing out on the final points of practice and walk-throughs and eye discipline and assignments, then you’re going to put yourself in a position where you’re not going to be happy with the results on Saturday.”

His players, both those who have been here from the start and those who joined the team this year, have bought into Cristobal’s never-ending process.

“What’s always on his mind is get better and win,” said fifth-year senior Xavier Restrepo. “He does acknowledge that winning is very hard. It may be simple, but it’s very, very hard at the FBS level. At the same time, he is just super happy for us because he knows the work that we’ve put in on Greentree [the team’s practice field], and he knows that it’s not easy to win. He’s very, very aware of that, and lets us know, but he is always on us trying to get better, and that’s why we respect him so much as our leader.”

Added center Zach Carpenter, who transferred to Miami from Indiana this offseason: “During the week, it’s a lot of business, but we do have fun when we win. I mean, winning is hard. We like to think it’s easy, but it’s not. It takes all 22 guys or more, and we’ve got to execute, do our job. So when we win, it’s nice to let loose a little bit and enjoy the win, but it’s also important that we lock in during the week and prepare the best of our ability.”

And defensive tackle and Michigan State transfer Simeon Barrow: “He’s a juiced-up guy. He want us all to succeed, and we just love him. Y’all don’t see that [emotional] side, but that’s a dude, and everybody loves him. He’s passionate about this and he’s passionate about us.”

That passion has translated to respect, buy-in and, through the first half of the season, winning. It has the Hurricanes riding high as they try to finish what they started.

But Cristobal is cognizant that the strong start is just that. There’s a lot more season left to play.

“Human nature is what it is,” Cristobal said, “and you’ve got to absolutely just get after it every single opportunity that you have.”

And if they do that, there will be more celebration — more fun times — ahead for both the team as a whole and for Cristobal himself.