Would Cristobal look at Rutgers again?

[rutgersal]

Al, you only want him because he played for Miami, probably while you were there.

As to your points...

He's recruiting for Alabama for Christ's sake, not some middle of the road program. He's got an advantage most recruiters don't.

27-47 as a head coach. Fired because of the downward direction of the program.

Schiano had a similar record his first five years with the program. Prior to his arriving, FIU was 0-11. Mario won the sun belt championship at FIU, which was huge for that school. they didn't even have a weight room or stadium when he started. when he left, FIU had something respectable.

Mario also recruited well for Rutgers, landing many of the linemen that helped make Rutgers respectable. this despite rutgers having a reputation of being a joke in football. Recruiting is his strength and passion.

That first rutgers staff really had a hard go of it, and had to do lots of heavy lifting, which Mario played a big part in.

 

[ShoreFan1166]

Why is everyone forgetting the one guy that might be a perfect fit.....P.J. Fleck!

 

[RU2055]

Cristobal lucked out when TY Hilton fell on his lap. He should have taken the RU job because he's not sniffing another head coaching job again.

 

[RU2055]

YOu assume its unfunded. I assume that after the Flood disaster, the big donors that we have will pony up enough to attract a decent coach and the school. If not then yes, obviously you get what you pay for.

That's the double edged sword for Julie. I have heard that there are donors that are pretty much tired of one donor controlling everything. The theory is, if Flood is ever let go, funding from the other donors might actually go up and offset the loss from the one donor. But what if it doesn't? Can Julie risk that? That's the question.

 

[ru8081]

Rivals and 247 Sports 2015 Recruiter of the Year

https://footballrecruiting.rivals.com/content.asp?CID=1735720

http://247sports.com/Article/Alabamas-Mario-Cristobal-is-247Sports-Recruiter-of-the-Year-35406682

Assistant Head Coach and Offensive Line Coach at Alabama
http://www.rolltide.com/sports/m-footbl/mtt/mario_cristobal_839415.html

Head Coach at FIU where he won the Sun Belt Championship
http://tkt.xosn.com/ViewArticle.dbml?DB_OEM_ID=11700&ATCLID=727585

Sorry Head Coaching experience at FIU is not acceptable experience for a P5 program head coach. Pass.

 

[knightfan7]

Schiano had a similar record his first five years with the program. Prior to his arriving, FIU was 0-11. Mario won the sun belt championship at FIU, which was huge for that school. they didn't even have a weight room or stadium when he started. when he left, FIU had something respectable.

Mario also recruited well for Rutgers, landing many of the linemen that helped make Rutgers respectable. this despite rutgers having a reputation of being a joke in football. Recruiting is his strength and passion.

That first rutgers staff really had a hard go of it, and had to do lots of heavy lifting, which Mario played a big part in.

Once again Al, 27-47 when he was "the man" in a weak confrence

He had his chance to coach a B1G team and turned it down thinking he was too good to take the job. Now he would need RU to resurrect his HC career? No thanks.

 

[rutcor]

Once again Al, 27-47 when he was "the man" in a weak confrence

He had his chance to coach a B1G team and turned it down thinking he was too good to take the job. Now he would need RU to resurrect his HC career? No thanks.

What B1G team offered him?

 

[rutgersal]

Sorry Head Coaching experience at FIU is not acceptable experience for a P5 program head coach. Pass.

what experience is acceptable and what are you willing to donate to make that happen?

 

[knightfan7]

What B1G team offered him?

If he had taken the RU job, he'd have been coaching in year 3.

 

[rutgersal]

Once again Al, 27-47 when he was "the man" in a weak confrence

He had his chance to coach a B1G team and turned it down thinking he was too good to take the job. Now he would need RU to resurrect his HC career? No thanks.

FIU had no infrastructure when he got there. No stadium, no weight room, no S&C program, no nothing. He literally started from scratch. off course there were bumps along the way. But he did win an outright conference championship, which is something we still haven't done.

Not only does he have a track record of landing great talent, he has a track record of coaching it up.

Cristobal engineered another productive offensive line in 2014 with a group adept at opening holes on the ground while providing first-year senior quarterback Blake Sims ample time to throw the football. Led by first team All-American Arie Kouandjio, the Tide ranked 14th nationally and second in the SEC in fewest sacks allowed, surrendering an average of 1.14 per game, while rushing for 206.6 yards per game on the ground. Senior Austin Shepherd allowed just one sack at right tackle and junior Ryan Kelly developed into one of the country’s best centers. Cristobal also tutored Cam Robinson, who became only the second player in school history to start at left tackle as a true freshman (Andre Smith, 2006) and earned Freshman All-America honors.

the job is much different than it was when he interviewed. when he interviewed, we were in the AAC, now we're in the B1G.

rutgers needs someone like Mario to recruit. Mario wants to be a head coach again. Looks like a good fit to me. (unless off course, we could get schiano to walk through the door)

 

[NickKnight 1]

I think Terrell Willis was a good get and compliment to Bruce Presley for us in the Graber era...Graber would have been a winner here with any kind of support. Ray Lucas/Bryan Fortay....we had a core of decent kids back then and then we hire out of our loop Terry Shea...geez..

Graber left this team in shambles, a total empty cupboard, he had dicipline
problems and academic problems. Yes, he had Presley and Willis and Thunderburk
Fortay and Lucas. But not much on defense.

 

[rutcor]

If he had taken the RU job, he'd have been coaching in year 3.

Not sure I follow. We offered him when we offered Flood, which was before anyone knew about the B1G, or the AAC, for the matter.

 

[NickKnight 1]

FIU had no infrastructure when he got there. No stadium, no weight room, no S&C program, no nothing. He literally started from scratch. off course there were bumps along the way. But he did win an outright conference championship, which is something we still haven't done.

Not only does he have a track record of landing great talent, he has a track record of coaching it up.

Cristobal engineered another productive offensive line in 2014 with a group adept at opening holes on the ground while providing first-year senior quarterback Blake Sims ample time to throw the football. Led by first team All-American Arie Kouandjio, the Tide ranked 14th nationally and second in the SEC in fewest sacks allowed, surrendering an average of 1.14 per game, while rushing for 206.6 yards per game on the ground. Senior Austin Shepherd allowed just one sack at right tackle and junior Ryan Kelly developed into one of the country’s best centers. Cristobal also tutored Cam Robinson, who became only the second player in school history to start at left tackle as a true freshman (Andre Smith, 2006) and earned Freshman All-America honors.

the job is much different than it was when he interviewed. when he interviewed, we were in the AAC, now we're in the B1G.

rutgers needs someone like Mario to recruit. Mario wants to be a head coach again. Looks like a good fit to me. (unless off course, we could get schiano to walk through the door)

I don't remember being in the AAC???

 

[rutgersal]

I don't remember being in the AAC???

The 2013 season, we were in the american athletic conference. you're right, before the 2012 season, we were still in the big east.

 

[knightfan7]

FIU had no infrastructure when he got there. No stadium, no weight room, no S&C program, no nothing. He literally started from scratch. off course there were bumps along the way. But he did win an outright conference championship, which is something we still haven't done.

Not only does he have a track record of landing great talent, he has a track record of coaching it up.

Cristobal engineered another productive offensive line in 2014 with a group adept at opening holes on the ground while providing first-year senior quarterback Blake Sims ample time to throw the football. Led by first team All-American Arie Kouandjio, the Tide ranked 14th nationally and second in the SEC in fewest sacks allowed, surrendering an average of 1.14 per game, while rushing for 206.6 yards per game on the ground. Senior Austin Shepherd allowed just one sack at right tackle and junior Ryan Kelly developed into one of the country’s best centers. Cristobal also tutored Cam Robinson, who became only the second player in school history to start at left tackle as a true freshman (Andre Smith, 2006) and earned Freshman All-America honors.

the job is much different than it was when he interviewed. when he interviewed, we were in the AAC, now we're in the B1G.

rutgers needs someone like Mario to recruit. Mario wants to be a head coach again. Looks like a good fit to me. (unless off course, we could get schiano to walk through the door)

What makes you a good assistant doesn't necessarily make you a good HC.

You keep bringing up the conference championship yet ignore the other 5 years including the horrible last year. By that logic maybe RU should hire the guy who's won all those 1AA championships?

Be honest Al. Do you know the guy?

 

[srru86]

What the hell has Cristobal done other than dress well?

Seemingly he married well.
Leading Ladies League

 

[CuredbywinningRU]

With the condition our program is in (especially underfunding) hiring anyone without strong NJ and strong NJ recruiting connections is absolute insanity. The only top tier talent we can get (if any) while we mire in mediocrity and scandal is top NJ talent. Remember the Shea debacle. Other than some kids from FL, PA, NY, Del and MD, we have never recruited top tier kids from anywhere outside of NJ and we only got those due to GS at times being a monster recruiter.

Of course we've gotten non-NJ kids in the past - Shea got a bunch from CA and we had kids from Ohio under Anderson - but not one of them had an offer from a top 75 team. That's not how to build a winning program.

We need to hire someone with very strong NJ connections and not another Shea situation. Any value to our brand built up by 2006 and GS is rapidly fading so we need to rebuild with kids who have a natural affinity for RU - ie, local kids. No other top players will give us a look where we are now. None. Once we get back to 2006 (that would be nice) national recruiting will follow.

 

[RU-Choppin-Ohio]

Scott Frost would be interesting to see at Rutgers. He's a small town Nebraska kid, he could do well at RU. A lot of Nebraska fans wanted him, but many want to see him run his own program first. He was a finalist for the Boise job before Harsin got it.

I was surprised he didn't leave after last year, but with Adams this year it helps. He wants to be a head coach I'll tell you that much.

At 6, 3, 220 he would have a certain "presence" that players would respect.....and fear. I would not cross this guy or disappoint him....lol

 

[rutgersal]

What makes you a good assistant doesn't necessarily make you a good HC.

You keep bringing up the conference championship yet ignore the other 5 years including the horrible last year. By that logic maybe RU should hire the guy who's won all those 1AA championships?

Be honest Al. Do you know the guy?

He's already shown he can coach, taking FIU from the depths to the conference championship. yes, he had a down year his last year, but so what.
Schiano had a horrible year in 2010, year 9 after taking over. It happens.

I've previously stated that i knew the guy, which is why i understand his contributions to the current rutgers football program very well.

What you don't seem to understand is that Cristobal has the recruiting connections to continue to build on what has been established here.

- He has recruited Florida well
- He has recruited NJ well

Much of our roster is from Florida, and we can't afford to start over there. we will not be able to maintain a winning program without recruiting Florida, imo. Just look at a few of the FL players on our roster.

-Janarion Grant
-Isiah Wharton
-Jarious Adams
-Kyle Federico
-Josh Hicks

Florida recruiting has to be a pre-requisite, because without Florida, we're back to the Doug Graber/Terry Shea days.
Finally, the guy has won national championships as a player and a coach. He has been where we want to go.

 

[KevH]

That's the double edged sword for Julie. I have heard that there are donors that are pretty much tired of one donor controlling everything. The theory is, if Flood is ever let go, funding from the other donors might actually go up and offset the loss from the one donor. But what if it doesn't? Can Julie risk that? That's the question.

The smart move is to have all those ducks in a row before proceeding.

 

[rumn48]

I'm also a huge Scott Frost guy. He's similar to Tom Herman. To those who want to hire a current p5 head coach, stop dreaming. Rutgers can't afford any of the successful guys, and anyone else is a re-tread. If Alabama's next head coach is a coordinator, there's nothing wrong with it. The best up and coming coaches are coordinators.

 

[scarletrider]

Agree with Al here.
The same day or a day or two after schiano's departure news there was a report that said Cristobal was almost locked up. Made the impact less painful for me. Then we learned a few days later I think that the deal fell through and Flood was being named the permanent. I was so furious. Flood couldn't even do his job and just lucked out.

Cristobal would actually make a better candidate now than then. Now he has been through failure and is under a great tutor in saban.
Also, the reason why Cristobal was able to recruit well was because he had a compelling story to sell. He's personal experience in winning programs at a high level, which Flood never had.

I hope we can work out a deal with Schiano but if not, Cristobal could be the next best option. Just because he knows what it takes to deal with vultures here in NJ watching Schiano.

 

[alex13rufan]

Mario from a personal professional cultural standpoint his relationships within New Jersey and Florida and along the East Coast and the south make him a great fit here

Scott frost would not do well here.

 

[NickyNewark51]

I know he's big,tall and good looking with charisma but does he have the HCing intangibles....top recruiter and award winning assistant ain't a track record for having a HC temperment and intelligence in delegating authority. Will he hire the right staff. Outside of being a recruiting whiz and having Miami area connects he's still an unknown quality...but he's 1 that i might give a shot too. I'll leave that to those paid to make the right hires. ..


=1735720

Schiano had a similar record his first five years with the program. Prior to his arriving, FIU was 0-11. Mario won the sun belt championship at FIU, which was huge for that school. they didn't even have a weight room or stadium when he started. when he left, FIU had something respectable.

Mario also recruited well for Rutgers, landing many of the linemen that helped make Rutgers respectable. this despite rutgers having a reputation of being a joke in football. Recruiting is his strength and passion.

That first rutgers staff really had a hard go of it, and had to do lots of heavy lifting, which Mario played a big part in.

Rutgersal....i like and listen to you cause i know you're as avid a fan as me and respect you're knowledge....I'll bet Zuttah was a MC RECRUIT and possibly AD....if so count me in as a MC promoter..otherwise count me as a fan of you're fanhood..lol..

 

[NickyNewark51]

Graber left this team in shambles, a total empty cupboard, he had dicipline
problems and academic problems. Yes, he had Presley and Willis and Thunderburk
Fortay and Lucas. But not much on defense.

Too this day Doug G is a follower and cheerleader for RU...I love the guy.

 

[BigEastPhil]

I'd rather have Mike Francesa coach the team over Cristobal.....

 

[NickyNewark51]

I don't remember being in the AAC???

You must be VERY YOUNG or a new fan. We opened the 1st season as the premier AAC team the yr following the demise of the BE,,,,no charge Nick.

 

[RUTrack94]

Too this day Doug G is a follower and cheerleader for RU...I love the guy.

Bring Graber back!

 

[NickyNewark51]

Bring Graber back!

1 thing I did like about DG....he did have a certain charisma or swagger that kids today call stain but alas i don't thinks he's coached in a while but does color commentary for ESPN or one of the other networks...he's past it in terms of energy and RU needs someone under 50...

 

[NickKnight 1]

You must be VERY YOUNG or a new fan. We opened the 1st season as the premier AAC team the yr following the demise of the BE,,,,no charge Nick.

Sorry, I meant to say no AAC the year Al was talking about, he has already
acknowledged his mistake.
Going forward I got a kick out of your VERY YOUNG comment. Well over 50 years
ago we had two factions in school. The collegents and the NickiNewarks.
The college look was pony tails, pleaded skirts, bobby socks, for the girls
and the boys wore white socks, sneakers. Lettered sweat shirts, and pegged
pants.. the Nicky Newark boys wore wing tips, dress flare pants, high roll collars,
The girls had long hair, made very stylish, black stockings, 4 inches heels, and
very dressed up. The two factions sat across the class room from each other.
Never went to the same parties, never talked, they were the atheletes,
the Nicky Newarks were the hoods.. So I was called NickyNewark, not yet
NickKnight. This was well before the hippie movement. So young?
I don,t think so.

 

[mikefla]

NO..we dont want Crystobol

And there isnt a quality coach on the planet that would risk his career on the (what has been termed) "dumpster fire" at RU....with how we dont support our coaches and hang them out to dry.

Any P5 coach would take one look at this board and our called "fans"(not to mention the "wheres the best pizza" and "where can I get a good bed"...posts) and would just chuckle and walk away....
they arent coming here for ANY price

 

[RUMBA-JK]

NO..we dont want Crystobol

And there isnt a quality coach on the planet that would risk his career on the (what has been termed) "dumpster fire" at RU....with how we dont support our coaches and hang them out to dry.

Any P5 coach would take one look at this board and our called "fans"(not to mention the "wheres the best pizza" and "where can I get a good bed"...posts) and would just chuckle and walk away....
they arent coming here for ANY price

YES - inclined to agree - in the eyes of virtually all potential coaches - the atmosphere around RU has become so intensely toxic - the perception is that the second a new coach would be announced, there will be those who will be relentlessly dedicated to turning over every rock to find something - anything - to discredit them both professionally and personally.
Furthermore, many will look at the situation and get the impression that there are various factions inside & outside of the institution that are not only philosophically in rabid opposition to the athletic programs - but some will overtly take actions to flat-out sabotage the programs in the futile hope that the destruction would force a transition to participation on a lower level - or total elimination.

 

[Knight_Light]

Last time RU had a HC job opening, RU didn't have decades and decades of Big Ten revenues starring them in the face.

RU will have access to a Niagara Falls of cash....so odds are, RU could get a lot more accomplished resume names than Cristobal if/when a HC job opens up.

 

[ru8081]

We should be spending between 3 - 3.5 MM for a coach. That would put us in the middle of the B1G for coach compensation. Anything lower than 2.5MM is criminally incompetent.

 

[drewbagel423]

Last time RU had a HC job opening, RU didn't have decades and decades of Big Ten revenues starring them in the face.

RU will have access to a Niagara Falls of cash....so odds are, RU could get a lot more accomplished resume names than Cristobal if/when a HC job opens up.

Just because the cash is coming, doesn't mean the RU administration will spend it.

 

[Knight_Light]

We should be spending between 3 - 3.5 MM for a coach. That would put us in the middle of the B1G for coach compensation. Anything lower than 2.5MM is criminally incompetent.

More important number could be what is the total $$$ available for the coaching pool (i.e. HC Salary, Top coordinators, top recruiting coordinator/coach, top assistants, etc...)

There are plenty of examples of "rich" bad hires where schools just wasted $$$ on HC/Staffs that didn't perform.

More important will be the "right hire" (regardless of salary) AND...will there be enough $$$ left in the coaching pool so the new HC can bring in effective/top coordinators/recruiters/assist coaches, etc...

More than a few teams in the past blew most of their $$ on the HC, and the HC then couldn't bring in top coordinators as there was no more $$$ available.

RU certainly has options due to the upcoming Big Ten Revenue windfall...just make the right hire who can bring in a top staff.

 

[ru8081]

More important number could be what is the total $$$ available for the coaching pool (i.e. HC Salary, Top coordinators, top recruiting coordinator/coach, top assistants, etc...)

There are plenty of examples of "rich" bad hires where schools just wasted $$$ on HC/Staffs that didn't perform.

More important will be the "right hire" (regardless of salary) AND...will there be enough $$$ left in the coaching pool so the new HC can bring in effective/top coordinators/recruiters/assist coaches, etc...

More than a few teams in the past blew most of their $$ on the HC, and the HC then couldn't bring in top coordinators as there was no more $$$ available.

RU certainly has options due to the upcoming Big Ten Revenue windfall...just make the right hire who can bring in a top staff.

Agreed! That is critical!

 

[Knight_Light]

He's already shown he can coach, taking FIU from the depths to the conference championship. yes, he had a down year his last year, but so what.

FIU (7-6 record) won a share of the Sunbelt Title in 2010, a conf that had multiple newbies who just moved up from Div I-AA.

Cristobal had a 27-47 overall record...and had just 2 winning seasons out of 6....and those 2 winning seasons 7-6, 8-5, were sandwiched by two 3-9 seasons.

Maybe Cristobal would do a great job at RU as HC...maybe he won't...but the good news is with RU's placement now in the Big Ten, its a WAY higher profile job than it had been in the past (i.e. Big East/AAC), so RU would probably have plenty of good choices to choose from...including those that don't have a 36% winning percentage like Cristobal.

 

[rutgersal]

FIU (7-6 record) won a share of the Sunbelt Title in 2010, a conf that had multiple newbies who just moved up from Div I-AA.

Cristobal had a 27-47 overall record...and had just 2 winning seasons out of 6....and those 2 winning seasons 7-6, 8-5, were sandwiched by two 3-9 seasons.

Maybe Cristobal would do a great job at RU as HC...maybe he won't...but the good news is with RU's placement now in the Big Ten, its a WAY higher profile job than it had been in the past (i.e. Big East/AAC), so RU would probably have plenty of good choices to choose from...including those that don't have a 36% winning percentage like Cristobal.

Knight_Light, what you knightfan7, and other non-alums have to understand is that Rutgers isn't a football program thats attached to a university. Rutgers is a university that has a football program. The primary emphasis for any incoming coach has to be Academics first. Our academic progress is a point of pride for many alumni. Mario understands this better than anyone else, because he helped Schiano with the monitoring of players to make sure that they were progressing satisfactorily. Our APR ranking is a team effort involving EVERYONE in the program.

what Schiano accomplished and Flood continued at Rutgers, has been miraculous. I can only think of a handful of players, we've lost in the last 14 years due to academics. Before that, losing players to academics issues was the norm, not the exception.

That Mario accomplished 2 winning seasons at FIU, including a conference championship, is impressive. Yes his last season was a losing one. so what. it was a rebuilding season and its tough to win at that school. Also, fiu played a number of powerhouses so that they could pay their bills. that Ron Turner, a previous Big Ten coach who succeeded Mario, can't win at FIU, shows how difficult it is to win there, and how important Mario was to that program.

sure, there might be other candidates, but there's no better fit for Rutgers situation, excluding Schiano, as Mario understands the Rutgers way of doing things. Any candidate is going to have to emphasize academics, recruit New Jersey, and recruit Florida.

 

[NickyNewark51]

We should be spending between 3 - 3.5 MM for a coach. That would put us in the middle of the B1G for coach compensation. Anything lower than 2.5MM is criminally incompetent.

Agreed.....2.75 to 3.2 with perks and dollars for a top staff.