Culture.
A touchy subject college football fans refuse to talk about when the getting isn’t good; fractured locker rooms, guys not buying in and other issues that create a toxic scenario that ultimately results in a long season, if not bigger problems—you gloss over the “culture” conversation if it’s not a value-add.
Even if there is good-enough talent on the roster capable of winning some games, bet your ass there will be a handful of losses that occur due to some wrong-fit players who crumble in big time moments; broken cultures a rotting cancer that devours a program from within.
Of course once a program is on the mend—like the Miami Hurricanes in 2024—even the harshest critics will start allowing some conversations around the c-word as strong internal culture at a program can crate a sky’s-the-limit season, where good teams can overachieve their way to greatness.
This was the last topic anybody wanted to discuss this time in 2022 as Mario Cristobal prepared for his inaugural season at his alma mater, rolling out there with the squad he inherited from Manny Diaz; who lasted three years at Miami, where he assembled a pedestrian 21-15 record and stumbled his way to 7-5 in his final hurrah.
Fans being fans, the immediate logic was that the Diaz-to-Cristobal transition should instantly result in “at least two or three more wins” in 2022, simply because a better, higher-paid coach was coming in to take over.
Further proof why many love to mention that “fan” is short for “fanatic” as this was another one of those sports moments where emotion was besting logic in Coral Gables; supporters of a once-great, backed-up program starved for greatness and relevance again.
ROUGH DEBUT PROVED UNAVOIDABLE
In reality, the Canes wound up two games worse in Cristobal’s first season at the helm; a late-September home loss to Middle Tennessee State as big a bottom-out moment as Diaz losing to Butch Davis and Florida International in 2019; culture issues a big part of Diaz’s inaugural season as stories swirled about starting quarterback Jarren Williams missing curfew and slinging it around the site of the old Orange Bowl nursing a hangover—while his head coach still allowed him to start.
Broken cultures rarely get exposed during the run during which they’re taking place. Stories of Diaz’s culture came out after the fact; the former Miami coach coming off like a guy who wanted to be liked and accepted by players, opposed to feared and respected—which seems to be Cristobal’s speed, which both Davis and Jimmy Johnson also considered their personality trait and coaching style.
Barry Jackson did a deep-dive on this back in July 2022—half a year after the coaching switch—where a few former, unnamed players speaking to The Miami Herald about the then-culture at “The U” under Diaz; a discipline-less era in Coral Gables as UM’s then-head coach feared ruling with an iron fist would have his best players bolting to the transfer portal or the NFL.
“Two recent former players said that in past years, UM players might skip practice, complaining about a minor injury, with absolutely no fear of losing their job or other consequences,” Jackson wrote. Another player shared that, “too much was allowed to slide, from minor team rules violations to committing penalties to missing tackles.”
Jackson went on to cite Williams missing curfew and still getting the start against FIU without any consequences and how it bred a culture “where players could sit out practice if they didn’t feel 100-percent” and “where players could repeatedly commit penalties without being benched.”
Of course the narrative for the 2021 season was also called out by Kirk Herbstreit on ESPN’s College GameDay on September 25th, hours before Miami smacked around Central Connecticut, one week after the Hurricanes withered in the fourth quarter in a home loss to Michigan State and three weeks after a season opening rout at the hands of top-ranked Alabama—focused less on Diaz’s shortcoming and lasered-in on upper management and UM’s top brass content with a middle-of-the-road football program, which helped spark off-season change.
Fans were distraught as Miami stumbled to a 2-4 start, after late-game losses to Virginia and North Carolina—but damned if simp culture wasn’t in full force after Tyler Van Dyke talked a smidge of smack before the Canes eked out a 31-30 win over No. 18 North Carolina State, while defense saved the day at N0. 17 Pittsburgh, helping force Kenny Pickett into two rare interceptions—before surviving three interceptions and some defensive breakdowns in a come-from-behind win over Georgia Tech.
Further proof that winning cures all, short-term versus long-term logic—or lack thereof—saw a divide in the fan base with the Canes now 5-4 and heading into Tallahassee; some with a tank-for-a-new-coach attitude, while others believed Diaz has turned the show around and were rooting for the third-year coach to win out, as the premise of a four coach in eight seasons meant another rebuild and the unfortunate lowering-of-expectations as a new guy puts his fingerprints on the program.
Fate had its way with Miami and Diaz—the Hurricanes falling to a Seminoles team that was 3-6 on the season, 6-12 combined under Mike Norvell in two seasons and was reeling from an earlier season home loss to Jacksonville State.
Van Dyke coughed up two picks—the honeymoon over as he’d never consistently play well for Miami again—the Canes down 17-0 at one point and taking their first lead of the game, early fourth quarter and extending it to 28-20 minutes later.
From there, a comedy of errors—including giving up a 4th-and-14 with under a minute to play—the Seminoles up 31-28 after the two-point conversion.
DISASTROUS DIAZ SEASON NEEDED TO SPARK CHANGE
Painful as the loss was in the moment, it took a dick-kicking from an arch rival to let the air out of the balloon—the past three wins meaningless and back to recalling how the year started; seeing Miami outclassed by Alabama in a 44-13 rout; that broken culture again on display as the Canes prematurely flaunted the Diaz-invented Turnover Chain on a fumble that was overturned, as well as breaking out corny Touchdown Rings when UM finally found the end zone for the first time late third quarter and trailing 41-3.
Again, back to culture. In what world did starved-for-likes Diaz believe it was healthy to keep refreshing his props every year for players who were underachieving on the field?
The chain was the story of college football in 2017 as Miami wound up on the right side of every close game and managed to get to 10-0 under Mark Richt in year two, with Diaz as his defensive coordinator.
Upperclassmen understood the assignment, future stars followed their lead and the Hurricanes wound up forcing 31 turnovers on the season—tied for third-best in the nation—finishing 10-3 and ranked No. 13 in the final polls, albeit a one-hit-wonder of a season that saw Richt stepping down after a dismal 2018 run.
The magic of that 10-0 start and chain gang photo shoots was followed up by a 28-24 over the next four seasons—yet every new fall started with the unveiling of some new-look chain, while player were more focused on celebrating than winning; precisely why some were so hyper focused on culture when Cristobal took over and were thrilled when he did away with stupid props that fast lost their cool.
Cristobal brought in 11 new transfers after the 2022 season, while sending 18 kids from the Diaz era packing. A year later, 17 new portal additions while 26 kids hit the road—and in 2024, 15 new additions and 28 more departures.
Again, when asked why winds of change are blowing and fans are starting to believe—that’s 43 new on-brand Hurricanes who have joined the program through the portal, while a jaw-dropping 72 player from the Diaz era have transferred out—not to mention the fresh new crop of young talent as Cristobal salvaged Diaz’s 2022 class (16th) and delivered with his first two full classes; 7th-ranked in 2023 and 4th-ranked in 2024, all according to 247 Sports.
Arguments for or again the portal and NIL money are for another time in place, but in the context of this write-up the benefits of roster turnover related to culture overhauls are immeasurable.
TRANSFER PORTAL & NIL MONEY EXPEDITE GROWTH
In a different time and place, a coaching change might see a handful of guys rolling out, while the new staff would need several recruiting cycles to start building their team with one freshman crop at a time—with the hopes that by years three or four, they’d find success with upperclassmen buying in and would see younger kids falling in line and learning the ropes.
This is now addition-by-subtraction on steroids when it comes to fast-tracking kids out of town with a one-way ticket, while a healthy balance of right-fit freshman join the program—NIL money used to entice the best of the best, both out of high school as well as on the portal recruiting trail.
Miami has picked up some big names the past couple of years, but nothing has said the-time-is-now like this most-recent haul and the eight figures in NIL money spent to turn the 2024 roster into a gamer.
Cam Ward remains the crown jewel for a program once dubbed “Quarterback U”, yet has looked more like “quarterback who” this past almost-two decades.
Beyond the highlight reel itself and super-star play the transfer quarterback showed while playing at lowly Washington State the past couple of years, the culture-related value-add is almost immeasurable for Miami as coaches can’t stop talking about the leadership traits and unteachable alpha dog attitude Ward brings to a program starved for leadership.
“He’s an alpha leader,” Cristobal shared about Ward at ACC Media Day back in July. “The reason everybody wants him was his playmaking ability. Accurate, great arm strength, ability to improvise, extends plays. A game changer.”
The third-year Miami coach went on to praise Ward’s ability to bounce back and make things right, as well as an aggressive and competitive nature—while earning the trust of his teammates—which might sound hyperbolic, but in comparison to the unraveling of Van Dyke last fall, the Ward era looks to be a complete turnaround from what the quarterback position has been at Miami the past couple of years.
Last season’s home loss to Georgia Tech will forever be defined by Cristobal not kneeling the clock out and a fumble that led to the Yellow Jackets’ stealing the game in the final minute—but it was awful quarterback play the previous 59 minutes that truly did the Hurricanes in.
Van Dyke ended the game with three of the most-egregious picks in recent memory; staring down receivers, seemingly confused by everything related to a zone defense and throwing some really ugly passes—but nothing more definitive than ESPN cameras catching a sideline moment where the quarterback was head-down and wide receiver Xavier Restrepo put two fingers on Van Dyke’s chin, forcing him to look up as the world was watching this moment.
QUARTERBACK PLAY & TRANSFERS TO FUEL YEAR-THREE RUN
Piling on Van Dyke for the sake of context here; that 11-to-1 touchdown to interception ratio the first four games of the season—it all went down the drain against the Yellow Jackets and the since-transferred-to-Wisconsin quarterback never regained his mojo—a 5-to-11 ratio over the next five games he saw action where the Hurricanes went 1-4 and a 4-0 start finished 7-6 by year’s end.
Van Dyke’s departure was another addition-by-subtraction moment, though Miami still needed to go portal diving for an immediate-impact guy, let’s 2024 remain a rebuilding year.
Ward visited Miami in December and all signs pointed to him signing with the Hurricanes, until an early January announcement that he was taking his talents to the NFL. Weeks later, a change of heart as he pledged his allegiance to “The U”—the Hurricanes building off the momentum and continuing to add more transfer talent.
Of those 14 portal kids who signed on alongside Ward, Miami pulled defensive tackle Simeon Barrow out of Michigan State, wide receiver Sam Brown out of Houston, running back Damien Martinez from Oregon State, safety Mishael Powell from Washington, defensive end C.J. Clark from North Carolina State, cornerback Dyoni Hill from Marshall and a pair of defenders from Louisville—edge Tyler Barron and linebacker Jaylin Alderman.
The Canes even found a veteran center to replace the much-needed talents of Matt Lee by nabbing Zach Carpenter out of Indiana.
To say this will be a new-look unit this fall is an understatement; especially when thinking back to December when a short-handed Miami took on Rutgers in the Pinstripe Bowl—several key players having already tapped out, before the new crop of guys signed on.
Equally as important as these additions themselves, again, the sales pitch the staff was giving—on a mission to replace outgoing betas with incoming alphas—ready to immediately compete and giving the Hurricanes a real edge in year three that wouldn’t have been otherwise if just relying on true freshmen and recruiting.
Several programs get the stigma of going one way or the other; a Clemson not wanting to play the NIL game and only focused on recruiting, while a Florida State has relied so heavily on the portal that each new season under Norvell feels like a complete teardown and rebuild—while Cristobal and Miami seem to have struck the perfect balance of new traditional recruits, as well as right-fit portal guys.
Why? Because culture has finally been defined and coaches can now explain to these kids who Miami currently is, a well as what the Hurricanes aspire to be. This wasn’t possible when taking over a divided program—where half the roster wanted to continue with Diaz’ country club ways, while the other half wanted the prima donnas gone—buying into the Cristobal hard-ass approach to building a winner.
BUILDING AUTHENTIC CULTURE ELIMINATES CHAOS
There’s no longer any conflict or inner turmoil as year three gets underway; bad seeds gone, ready-to-go replacements saddled up and understanding the mission. Miami’s biggest mission this fall remains staying healthy and focused, while not letting any other setbacks continue to hover.
Culture.
It was a tough sell year one as it required stripping this program down to the studs for a full-blown rebuild—while the fan base was hoping for some patch and paint work—which might’ve looked fine on the surface, but isn’t built to last.
Case in point; the fast start Lincoln Riley had with his own offense, his Heisman-caliber quarterback and Bilitnikoff-winning transfer portal wide receiver that fueled a shoot-it-out 2022 season where Southern Cal put up their share of points in an 11-3 season, but twice lost to Utah—including a 47-24 rout in the Pac-12 title game—underscoring the old defense-wins-championships adage; the Trojans averaging 42.5 points-per-game before being held to almost half of that by the Utes.
Riley’s program backslid to 8-5 in 2023, despite fielding Caleb Williams again at quarterback—returning from what was a Heisman-winning season year one in Troy—the offense humbled in outings against Notre Dame, Oregon and UCLA, while losing close ones to Washington and again to Utah.
An over-focus on offensive firepower, with no real desire to build a defensive juggernaut—Riley and the Trojans start Big Ten play this fall—where Southern Cal will face Michigan, Wisconsin, Penn State and Nebraska in conference, as well as rivals UCLA, Washington and Notre Dame, not to mention a season-opener against LSU.
Conversely, it was a trenches focus for Cristobal at Miami and three years in the Hurricanes will field one of the better defensive lines in the nation, while a greatly-improved offensive line will help protect Ward, while opening up the ground game for a bevy of running backs.
Balance across the board and knowing the importance of trench warfare; Cristobal was certainly paying attention during his four-year run in Tuscaloosa under Nick Saban, spending 2013 through 2016 at another college football powerhouse, after playing for one in Miami from 1988 and 1992—earning one ring with the Crimson Tide as a coach, two with Miami as player and leaving few more on the field with both.
Those who believed saw Cristobal as the answer back in 2021 when Miami pushed its stack up chips to the middle of the table, going all-in on their guy—albeit a tough sell after a rough start in 2022 and stumble down the stretch last fall and a 12-13 start to this new era in Coral Gables.
All that to say, the masterful recruiter and portal playmaker has closed strong in both areas and enters year three with the type of roster, experience—and schedule—all setting off for a banner, pay-off year for the Hurricanes.
Christian Bello has been covering University of Miami athletics since the mid-nineties. Getting his start with CanesTime, he eventually launched allCanesBlog—which led to a featured columnist stint with BleacherReport. He’s since rolled out the unfiltered, ItsAUThing.com where he’ll use his spare time to put decades of U-related knowledge to use for those who care to read. When he’s not writing about ‘The U’, Bello is a storyteller for some exciting brands and individuals—as well as a guitarist and songwriter for his Miami-bred band Company Jones, who released their debut album “The Glow” in 2021. Hit him on Twitter for all things U-related @ItsAUThingBLOG.