Almost a year to the day after hiring Willie Taggart to be the head coach of the Ducks, the UO was back in the market.
The search did not take long.
On December 8, just three days after Taggart was introduced as Florida State University's new head coach, the Ducks announced they were promoting co-offensive coordinator and offensive line coach Mario Cristobal to replace him.
Cristobal was a popular choice among the players, who had taken to social media to lobby for him and had #CristobALLIN trending on Twitter in the days leading up to the announcement.
The University of Alabama's assistant head coach when the Crimson Tide won the national championship in 2015 and finished runners-up in 2016, Cristobal has head coaching experience after leading Florida International University for six years from 2007–12. Cristobal was only the second coach in FIU's history and the second-youngest FBS coach when he was hired, and after inheriting a winless team turned it into a Sun Belt Conference Champion and Little Caesars Pizza Bowl winner in his fourth year at the helm. His two winning seasons, two bowl appearances, one bowl win, and one conference title are still the only winning seasons, bowl appearances, bowl win, and conference title in the program's history.
Cristobal is also acknowledged as one of the nation's best recruiters, and was named National Recruiter of the Year in 2015 and was ranked No. 2 at the time the UO hired him, based on the last class he recruited to Alabama. NFL players Cristobal developed collegiately include three-time Pro Bowl tight end Greg Olsen, three-time Pro Bowl wide receiver T.Y. Hilton, second round draft pick and Tennessee Titans safety Jonathan Cyprien, first round draft pick and Indianapolis Colts center Ryan Kelly, and second round draft pick and Jacksonville Jaguars offensive tackle Cam Robinson. The UO's current incoming recruiting class is ranked among the top 10 nationally, with one publication declaring it the best in the country, though four players decommitted in the days between Taggart leaving and Cristobal's promotion.
Under his tutelage this year, Oregon left tackle Tyrell Crosby was simply dominant. At one point in the season Pro Football Focus rated him the No. 1 tackle in the country, and after not allowing a single sack all year, the Morris Trophy winner and Senior Bowl invitee should be one of the first tackles selected in next year's NFL Draft. Crosby made no secret of his support for Cristobal during the UO's head coaching search—he changed his Twitter profile picture to one of his position coach, and was one of more than 70 current players to sign a petition asking athletic director Rob Mullens to name Cristobal the head coach.
Cristobal himself was an offensive lineman in college, an All-Big East selection who helped the Miami Hurricanes win the 1989 and 1991 national championships.
The UO was unexpectedly caught up in the annual coaching carousel when Taggart, a native of Bradenton, Florida, who had been the head coach at the University of South Florida for four years before the Ducks came calling, accepted an offer from FSU just four days after Jimbo Fisher departed Tallahassee to take the vacant Texas A&M job.
For more information, go to goducks.com.
- Damian Foley
Assistant director of marketing and communications