FIU fires coach

[H-towngreen]

Cristobal fired. Not taking the Rutgers or Pitt jobs was a bad choice at the time, no it's just a god awful decision.

http://espn.go.com/college-football/story/_/id/8713451/mario-cristobal-florida-international-golden-panthers-fired-six-seasons

[Harry]

I smell a rat, either NCAA issues or something internal. He was not fired based on this years performance alone.

[James329]

He was fired because they went 3-9 and the AD sees an opportunity to hire his buddy Butch Davis, which would be a great hire for them.

[Harry]

He was fired because they went 3-9 and the AD sees an opportunity to hire his buddy Butch Davis, which would be a great hire for them.

No doubt that would be a great hire. I can't stand Davis because he cheated but there is no doubt that he would be an upgrade in the perception of the program just by virtue of his name.

[UNT Mean Green]

Butch Davis would be a great hire at FIU. Honestly I figured USF would go after him as well.

[untjim1995]

I'm with Harry on this one--I think the AD and Cristobal probably got crossways, most likely from last year's job rumors. I agree that Butch Davis is a great coach, but he comes with a TON of baggage. Probably won't hurt him at FIU, but Cristobal will be a coordinator or head caoch somewhere quickly. These ADs just really make me laugh. Cristobal, single-handedly, built them up from laughingstock to bowl winner, with tons of ties to the Miami area. He has one bad year and he is gone...

[The Fake Lonnie Finch]

Okay, I want everyone to remember this Cristobal thing every time a coach leaves one place and people bitch about him being a traitor, stone stepper, etc.

Cristobal was loyal to FIU, built them into a winners, and was crapped on after a rebuilding year with the graduation of QB Wes Carroll and WR T.Y. Hilton.

This is why coaches leave when they have the opportunity to leave. Sorry, you can't be loyal anymore.

Best of luck to coach Cristobal. He took a situation with little monetary support and little in the way of facilities and won. He's a good coach. He's a great OL coach and will catch on somewhere.

FIU is the only non-BCS qualifer he ever coached for. Someone needing OL help will pick him up.

Crazy.

[GrayEagle]

He was fired because they went 3-9 and the AD sees an opportunity to hire his buddy Butch Davis, which would be a great hire for them.

If reports are right, I don't think so. Butch Davis has supposedly been offered $15M over six years guaranteed to coach at the University of Colorado.

[UNT90]

You sure you are not confusing Butch Davis with Butch Jones?

Pretty shocking firing. Looks llike FIU is pretty serious about their football program...

[DeepGreen]

Wish we had Cristobal on the UNT football staff in some capacity.

[The Fake Lonnie Finch]

Wish we had Cristobal on the UNT football staff in some capacity.

He was an OL coach, and our OL coach seems to be doing well. What we need is a WR coach.

[MeanGreenTexan]

He was an OL coach, and our OL coach seems to be doing well. What we need is a WR coach.

You know, there's a pretty decent WR's coach at a high school nearby who actually knows some of our guys due to a previous stint at good ol' UNT.

[Mean Green 93-98]

He was an OL coach, and our OL coach seems to be doing well. What we need is a WR coach.

You know, there's a pretty decent WR's coach at a high school nearby who actually knows some of our guys due to a previous stint at good ol' UNT.

Interesting thought . . . but I highly doubt Coach Quartaro is going anywhere.

[McKinneyMiner]

I wouldn't exactly be disheartened to see UTEP hire Cristobal as their next head coach...

Seriously doubt it happens but this is the season for wishes...

[NT03]

http://www.al.com/sports/index.ssf/2012/12/mario_cristobal_takes_high_roa.html

[UNT90]

http://www.al.com/sp...s_high_roa.html

I thought we were the worst FBS prgram in the nation. It seems every coach oversells what he accomplished and undersells what he inherited.

Edited December 7, 2012 by UNT90

[UNTLifer]

Seems to be a class individual proving loyalty means nothing in college athletics.

[Green Dozer]

Wish we had Cristobal on the UNT football staff in some capacity.

Don't think Cristobal has any Iowa St. connections, so that disqualifies him.

[outoftown]

Seems to be a class individual proving loyalty means nothing in college athletics.

He won't be out long, he will get picked up. If I were ark state, or possibly even temple or southern miss, I would think about it. Heck even those guys at Cinncinatti might.

... and honestly if you were him would you not be pissed? this has to be among the most puzzling firings of the season. It really was just one bad season after several good ones, and it is hard to imagine that FIU is in a good position to get someone better.

[UNT 90 Grad]

http://www.al.com/sports/index.ssf/2012/12/mario_cristobal_takes_high_roa.html

There is why he got fired in black and white. He referred to FIU as one of the smaller D1 institutions. That Dickey-like attitude will get you fired every time. With a student body size of over 50K, FIU is actually among the 25 largest universities in the country. Know your school, will ya?

<touch of sarcasm with a dash of sincerity>

[Arkstfan]

I was never that impressed with Mario. He went 2-4 against ASU. The first win was the Hilton Heave when T Y fumbled and picked it up and threw it for the winning TD. The other was against a staggering 4-8 team that only lost by 7 in Miami to the Sun Belt champs. Mario was 23-26 in games TY appeared in and 4-20 when he didn't.