Mario Cristobal
Mario Cristobal went 103–79 as a head coach, 2007–2026, at Florida International, Oregon and Miami. Wikipedia’s season articles record one season differently (2026, 5–0); by them his record is 102–79. Share
- Record
- 103–79 career
- Seasons
- 16
- Schools
- 3
- Final AP top 10
- 2 seasons
- Born
- Sep 24, 1970
- Best season
- 2025 13–3, No. 2
Season by season
| Season | School | Record | Conference finish | Bowl | AP final | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2007 | Florida International | 1–11 | 7th | |||
| 2008 | Florida International | 5–7 | T–5th | |||
| 2009 | Florida International | 3–9 | 6th | |||
| 2010 | Florida International | 7–6 | T–1st | Little Caesars Bowl W | ||
| 2011 | Florida International | 8–5 | 4th | Beef ‘O’ Brady’s Bowl St. Petersburg L | ||
| 2012 | Florida International | 3–9 | T–8th | |||
| 2013–16: not a college head coach | ||||||
| 2017 | Oregon bowl game | 0–1 | 4th | Las Vegas Bowl L | ||
| 2018 | Oregon | 9–4 | 4th | Redbox Bowl W | ||
| 2019 | Oregon | 12–2 | 1st | Rose Bowl W | 5 | |
| 2020 | Oregon | 4–3 | 2nd | Fiesta Bowl L | ||
| 2021 | Oregon | 10–3 | 1st | Alamo (not coached) | ||
| 2022 | Miami | 5–7 | 5th | |||
| 2023 | Miami | 7–6 | T–9th | Pinstripe Bowl L | ||
| 2024 | Miami | 10–3 | 3rd | Pop-Tarts Bowl L | 18 | |
| 2025 | Miami | 13–3 | T–2nd | CFP First Round W; Cotton Bowl, CFP Quarterfinal W; Fiesta Bowl, CFP Semifinal W; CFP National Championship L | 2 | |
| 2026 | Miami | 6–0 (Wikipedia: 5–0) | ||||
Each season links to the team’s season page; bowls and playoff games link to the game. Conference finishes from the Wikipedia article’s record table.
Players he coached
Verone McKinley IIIConsensus All‑American, 2021
Xavier RestrepoConsensus All‑American, 2024- Justin HerbertNo. 6 pick, 2020
- Akheem MesidorNo. 22 pick, 2026
Every player from his seasons with a Heisman top-five finish, a national award, consensus All-America honors or a first-round pick. Photos: Wikimedia Commons, free licenses; credits on each player’s page.
How his teams did
| Kind of game | Games | Record | Won |
|---|---|---|---|
| Against ranked teams | 35 | 15–20 | 43% |
| Against top-10 teams | 15 | 7–8 | 47% |
| Against rivals | 32 | 21–11 | 66% |
| Conference games | 114 | 65–49 | 57% |
| Bowls and playoffs | 12 | 6–6 | 50% |
| Decided by 8 points or fewer | 72 | 36–36 | 50% |
| At home | 86 | 59–27 | 69% |
| On the road | 82 | 38–44 | 46% |
| At neutral sites | 14 | 6–8 | 43% |
| As our Elo’s favorite | 99 | 74–25 | 75% |
| As our Elo’s underdog | 83 | 29–54 | 35% |
His own 182 games on file, 2007–2026, as played (vacated wins counted, ties as half a win). Ranks are the AP poll going into the game; rivals are the ones either program’s Wikipedia article names; favorite and underdog by our own Elo rating, which reads only scores.
Against other head coaches
| Coach | Record | Their schools | Games | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Rick Stockstill 2007–2022 | 2–5 | Middle Tennessee | 7 | |
| Larry Blakeney 2007–2012 | 2–4 | Troy | 6 | |
| Justin Wilcox 2018–2024 | 4–1 | California | 5 | |
| Mike Norvell 2022–2026 | 3–2 | Florida State | 5 | |
| Howard Schnellenberger 2007–2011 | 1–4 | Florida Atlantic | 5 | |
| Todd Dodge 2007–2010 | 4–0 | North Texas | 4 | |
| Jonathan Smith 2018–2021 | 3–1 | Oregon State | 4 | |
| Rickey Bustle 2007–2010 | 2–2 | Louisiana | 4 | |
| Steve Roberts 2007–2010 | 2–2 | Arkansas State | 4 | |
| David Shaw 2018–2021 | 2–2 | Stanford | 4 |
Mario Cristobal’s record against the head coaches he met three or more times, from the games on file, as played.
Most-faced opponents
| Opponent | Games | Record |
|---|---|---|
| Middle Tennesseeseries | 7 | 2–5 |
| Stanfordseries | 6 | 4–2 |
| Louisianaseries | 6 | 2–4 |
| Arkansas Stateseries | 6 | 2–4 |
| Florida Atlanticseries | 6 | 2–4 |
| UL Monroeseries | 6 | 2–4 |
| Troyseries | 6 | 2–4 |
| North Texasseries | 5 | 5–0 |
National title staffs
Every title staff- Won a national title on Alabama’s 2015 staff (offensive line) · the staff · source
The champions’ staffs from 1990 on, as the schools listed them that season: Staff lists: Drew Hoover’s how-many-rings (MIT), from the schools’ media guides and staff pages. Roles as the source words them.
How he was hired
- Hired by Oregon for the 2018 season from Oregon, where he was offensive coordinator. He had a prior connection to the school.
- Hired by Miami for the 2022 season from Oregon, where he was head coach. He had a prior connection to the school.
Power-conference head-coaching hires since 2010, with each coach’s previous job and ties to the school as collected by hand from Wikipedia: Hiring facts: M. Schuckers, cfb_coach_analytics.
Career
| Years | Team | Job | |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1998–2000 | Miami (FL) | Graduate assistant | |
| 2001–02 | Rutgers | Offensive tackles and tight ends coach | |
| 2003 | Rutgers | Offensive line coach | |
| 2004–05 | Miami (FL) | Tight ends coach | |
| 2006 | Miami (FL) | Offensive line coach | |
| 2007–12 | FIU | Head coach | |
| 2013–16 | Alabama | Assistant head coach, offensive line coach and recruiting coordinator | |
| 2017 | Oregon | Co-offensive coordinator and offensive line coach | |
| 2017 | Oregon | Head coach | |
| 2018–21 | Oregon | Head coach | |
| 2022–present | Miami (FL) | Head coach |
Every job as the infobox of his Wikipedia article lists it (CC BY-SA), assistant jobs included. Head-coaching seasons the infobox leaves out come from our records.
Coaching tree
Worked under
- Butch DavisMiami
- Greg SchianoRutgers
- Larry CokerMiami
- Nick SabanAlabama
- Willie TaggartOregon
Assistants who became head coaches
- Bernard ClarkRobert Morris
- Geoff CollinsTemple, Georgia Tech
- Scott SatterfieldApp State, Louisville, Cincinnati
- Jim LeavittSouth Florida
- Marcus ArroyoUNLV, Arizona State
- Raymond Woodie Jr.Bethune-Cookman
- Bobby WilliamsMichigan State
- Donte WilliamsUSC
- Andy AvalosBoise State
- Bryan McClendonGeorgia, Oregon
- Joe MoorheadMississippi State, Akron, Fordham
- Ken WilsonNevada
- and 6 more
Worked under (5)
| Head coach | Team | Years | His job | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Butch Davis | Miami | 1998–2000 | Graduate assistant | |
| Greg Schiano | Rutgers | 2001–03 | 2001–02: offensive tackles and tight ends coach; 2003: offensive line coach | |
| Larry Coker | Miami | 2004–06 | 2004–05: tight ends coach; 2006: offensive line coach | |
| Nick Saban | Alabama | 2013–16 | Assistant head coach, offensive line coach and recruiting coordinator | |
| Willie Taggart | Oregon | 2017 | Co-offensive coordinator and offensive line coach |
Coached under him, later head coaches (18)
| Coach | With him | Head coach at | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Bernard Clark | Florida International, 2007–08: defensive line coach | Robert Morris | |
| Geoff Collins | Florida International, 2010: defensive coordinator | Temple, Georgia Tech | |
| Scott Satterfield | Florida International, 2010–11: offensive coordinator and quarterbacks coach | App State, Louisville, Cincinnati | |
| Jim Leavitt | Oregon, 2017–18: defensive coordinator and linebackers coach | South Florida | |
| Marcus Arroyo | Oregon, 2017: co-offensive coordinator and quarterbacks and tight ends coach; 2018: offensive coordinator and quarterbacks and tight ends coach; 2019: assistant head coach, offensive coordinator and quarterbacks coach | UNLV, Arizona State | |
| Raymond Woodie Jr. | Oregon, 2017: special teams and outside linebackers coach | Bethune-Cookman | |
| Bobby Williams | Oregon, 2018: special teams coach; 2019–21: special teams and tight ends coach | Michigan State | |
| Donte Williams | Oregon, 2018–19: cornerbacks coach | USC | |
| Andy Avalos | Oregon, 2019–20: defensive coordinator and inside linebackers coach | Boise State | |
| Bryan McClendon | Oregon, 2020–21: pass game coordinator and wide receivers coach | Georgia, Oregon | |
| Joe Moorhead | Oregon, 2020–21: offensive coordinator and quarterbacks coach | Mississippi State, Akron, Fordham | |
| Ken Wilson | Oregon, 2020: linebackers coach; 2021: co-defensive coordinator and inside linebackers coach | Nevada | |
| Nate Dreiling | Oregon, 2020: defensive analyst | Utah State | |
| Tim DeRuyter | Oregon, 2021: defensive coordinator and outside linebackers coach | Texas A&M, Fresno State | |
| Charlie Strong | Miami, 2022: co-defensive coordinator and linebackers coach | Florida, Louisville, Texas, South Florida | |
| Kevin Steele | Miami, 2022: defensive coordinator | Baylor, Auburn | |
| Todd Stroud | Miami, 2022–26: senior football advisor | West Alabama | |
| Lance Guidry | Miami, 2023–24: defensive coordinator | Miami (OH), Western Kentucky, McNeese |
Other assistants under him (19)
| Coach | With him | |
|---|---|---|
| Apollo Wright | Florida International, 2007–09: special teams and cornerbacks coach; 2009–11: special teams and running backs coach; 2012: running backs coach | |
| Frank Ponce | Florida International, 2007–12: wide receivers coach; Miami, 2022: passing game coordinator and quarterbacks coach | |
| James Coley | Florida International, 2007: offensive coordinator and quarterbacks coach | |
| Phil Galiano | Florida International, 2007–09: defensive coordinator | |
| Bill Legg | Florida International, 2008–09: offensive coordinator | |
| Todd Orlando | Florida International, 2011–12: defensive coordinator and linebackers coach | |
| Tim Cramsey | Florida International, 2012: offensive coordinator and quarterbacks coach | |
| Joe Salave’a | Oregon, 2017–21: assistant head coach, defensive line coach and co-defensive coordinator; Miami, 2022–24: assistant head coach, running game coordinator and defensive line coach | |
| Keith Heyward | Oregon, 2017: safeties coach; 2018: co-defensive coordinator and safeties coach; 2019–20: assistant head coach, co-defensive coordinator and safeties coach | |
| Mike Johnson | Oregon, 2017–18: wide receivers coach | |
| Danny Langsdorf | Oregon, 2018: offensive assistant | |
| Taylor Housewright | Oregon, 2020: offensive assistant | |
| Michael Hutchings | Oregon, 2021: defensive analyst | |
| Jahmile Addae | Miami, 2022–23: defensive backs coach | |
| Josh Gattis | Miami, 2022: offensive coordinator and wide receivers coach | |
| Derek Nicholson | Miami, 2023: linebackers coach; 2024: co-defensive coordinator and linebackers coach | |
| Shannon Dawson | Miami, 2023–26: offensive coordinator and quarterbacks coach | |
| Tim Harris Jr. | Miami, 2023: running backs coach | |
| Corey Hetherman | Miami, 2025–26: defensive coordinator and linebackers coach |
From coaches’ Wikipedia infoboxes (CC BY-SA) and each season’s article for its coordinators: an assistant’s seasons at a school count under its head coach in our records; jobs in the NFL and elsewhere, under the head coach whose own article lists the job that year. Names without a page here link to their Wikipedia articles.
Pay
| Year | School | Job | Contract pay | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2017 | Oregon | co-offensive coordinatorbonuses up to $130,000 | $700,000 USA Today |
USA Today’s coaches salary database (2014–17, from public-records requests to the schools; Rachel Ehlers’ copy): the season’s contract pay, school pay plus outside money, before bonuses.
Pay of public employees in their public job only: head coaches, and assistants in the seasons our records name them a coordinator, at public universities.
How he coached
Cristobal’s teams went for it on 24% of fourth downs and on 44% of those where the model said go for it, passed on 50% of plays and took 26.5 seconds a play, 2018–2026.
| Season | School | Went for it on fourth | When the model said go | Pass rate | Seconds a play | EPA a play | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2018 13 g | Oregon | 27 of 106 25% | 37% | 46% | 23.2 | +0.08 | |
| 2019 14 g | Oregon | 25 of 100 25% | 45% | 49% | 24.4 | +0.11 | |
| 2020 7 g | Oregon | 6 of 39 15% | 33% | 48% | 25.2 | +0.14 | |
| 2021 14 g | Oregon | 19 of 79 24% | 44% | 46% | 26.2 | +0.17 | |
| 2022 12 g | Miami | 22 of 89 25% | 41% | 55% | 26.4 | +0.03 | |
| 2023 13 g | Miami | 21 of 87 24% | 45% | 52% | 27.8 | +0.11 | |
| 2024 13 g | Miami | 20 of 64 31% | 60% | 56% | 27.1 | +0.30 | |
| 2025 16 g | Miami | 22 of 101 22% | 45% | 49% | 29.3 | +0.15 | |
| 2026 6 g | Miami | 7 of 29 24% | 40% | 48% | 28.9 | +0.29 | |
| All 108 g | 169 of 694 24% | 44% | 50% | 26.5 | +0.15 |
His seasons as a head coach from 2004 on, from ESPN’s play by play: fourth downs where he went for it out of every fourth-down decision; how often he went when SportsDataverse’s fourth-down model said going for it was the better call; the share of his offense’s plays that were passes; seconds of game clock per offensive play (lower is faster); and expected points added per offensive play (EPA, a measure of how much each play moved the offense toward points). The season in progress counts its games so far. SportsDataverse’s coach tendencies, from ESPN’s play by play; the EPA and the fourth-down model are SportsDataverse’s.