Blue blood college football programs may fade for a few years but they almost always tend to return to the top. That was the case for the Michigan Wolverines this past season as they won the Big Ten, made the College Football Playoff, and reconfirmed Jim Harbaugh’s reputation for winning.
Harbaugh has done his best to undo all that goodwill in the past month, openly flirting with the NFL and reportedly hyping up interest in himself for the Minnesota Vikings job before retreating back to Michigan when it didn’t work out. And now some of the dominoes are starting to fall.
Sunday, Harbaugh’s offensive coordinator, Josh Gattis, left to take the same job with the Miami Hurricanes. It’s pretty unheard of for a coach who just won the Broyles Award for being the top assistant in the nation to leave for a lateral position the next season. And apparently, it might be not the last assistant to leave the program.
But on the flipside of Michigan’s troubles is the University of Miami, a former blue blood desperate to regain its foothold just as Michigan has. The school pulled out the big guns to hire Mario Cristobal away from Oregon and now he’s building a war chest of assistant coaches that could help bring the Canes back to glory sooner than expected. Along with Gattis, Cristobal also recently hired Kevin Steele to be his defensive coordinator, bringing with him 40 years of experience, much of which at the top schools in the nation.
The college football world is keenly aware of what’s happening at Miami and the way Cristobal seems to be winning in every way possible before his first season at the helm.
Lincoln Riley is stockpiling high-end talent at USC. Mario Cristobal has built a tremendous staff at Miami. I really hope the Trojans and ‘Canes become blue blood programs again. College football is so much better when they’re part of the narrative.
— Kyle Rowland (@KyleRowland) February 6, 2022
Mario Cristobal took two months to hire his coordinators, but he ended up with:
Josh Gattis – 2021 Broyles Award winner
Kevin Steele – Former Broyles Award finalist.
Yeah, that'll work.
— Chris Hummer (@chris_hummer) February 6, 2022
Huge hire for @CanesFootball. Mario Cristobal isn’t messing around. https://t.co/SlxwrgV7bk
— Big Game Boomer (@BigGameBoomer) February 6, 2022
Being on Mario Cristobal’s staff is a grind & some even shy away from it
BUT Josh Gattis has worked for Saban & Jim Harbaugh – both of whom believe there are 25hrs in a day – so this could be a perfect fit
— Josh Pate (@LateKickJosh) February 6, 2022
The 🙌 isn’t messing around! Great hire! @coach_cristobal @CanesFootball @Coach_Gattis https://t.co/0U0Cuth5Cz
— Greg Olsen (@gregolsen88) February 6, 2022
The U isn’t back just yet, but on paper, they sure seem to be on their way.