Mario Cristobal is making sure no one can call Miami’s playoff run a fluke or the result of bias. Between postseason preparation, roster management, and the looming transfer portal window, Cristobal made it clear that nothing, not even the holidays, will slow the operation.

“I mean, just cancel Christmas,” said Cristobal during Monday’s press conference. “I mean, you got stuff to do. I don’t think any coach would feel sorry for themselves.”

Christmas is usually about family and tradition, but for Cristobal, the job comes first. Without any hint of regret, his willingness to skip the holiday shows his commitment to his longtime dream of coaching at his alma mater.

“I mean, it’s the job, is what it is, and until they figure everything out and how to make the counter make sense, you do what you got to do,” said the Hurricanes head coach. “I don’t think you could sit up here in front of a podium and demand all the things we demand of our players and our staff, and then all of a sudden, January, December is kind of hell for you.”

For Mario Cristobal, being a head coach comes with many responsibilities, and you have to prioritize them first, even if it costs your personal enjoyment or family time. At this time, Cristobal has to prepare his team fully for their first-ever CFP appearance. Then, with the upcoming NFL Draft and transfer portal, he will be even busier, as both events are set to shake up the 2026 roster. Given all that, enjoying the Christmas holidays comes last on his priority list.

“You don’t come up here and complain about you just deal with it, right?” added Cristobal. “You do what’s best for people and for the program; you do it straight up. And it’s just business. It’s not personal. Straight business.”

Interestingly, Cristobal has literally done that at Miami. He transformed the Hurricanes. Before his arrival, the program was in a state of consistent underachievement compared to its glory days of the early 2000s. Since joining the ACC in 2004, Miami hadn’t won a conference title and had only one 10-win season since 2003. But under Cristobal’s leadership, the school has achieved back-to-back 10-win seasons in 2024 and 2025 and even secured a CFP appearance as the No. 10 seed.

Besides, he consistently lands top-ranked classes while keeping South Florida talent close to home; with that, Miami got recruiting momentum. Then he brought a rigorous regimen and raised the bar for effort and discipline, flipping the locker room culture on its head. More importantly, his timing couldn’t have been better; his arrival coincided with the school’s NIL investments, giving players the tools to shine.

With that, when the opportunity to rise arrives, Cristobal doesn’t want to leave anything to chance. He goes all in, doing everything possible to secure both the present and the future of the Hurricanes. That only amplifies, especially with several highly rated quarterbacks now entering the transfer portal.

Mario Cristobal’s move could change Miami’s fate

Mario Cristobal’s decision to skip Christmas will certainly give him more time to focus on finding Carson Beck’s replacement. For a head coach who’s always thinking one step ahead, the upcoming transfer portal could hold the answer. With Sam Leavitt entering the portal, the quarterback carousel is already spinning. Miami is firmly in the mix, alongside Oregon, LSU, and Indiana.

But it’s not just Leavitt. This portal is loaded with QB talent, including DJ Lagway and Dylan Raiola. According to On3’s Pete Nakos, Miami, LSU, and Baylor are the three teams to watch in Lagway’s recruitment, while as for Raiola, fans quickly connected the dots between the Patrick Mahomes superfan and Texas Tech.

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But Nakos reported that the Raiders are not expected to be a factor in Raiola’s market this offseason. Instead, Cristobal’s Miami appears to be a legitimate option for Raiola’s future, alongside other potential stops like Oregon and Tennessee. Now, seeing this level of talent linked to Miami as Beck’s successor clearly reflects Cristobal’s progress at the program.

Looking ahead, it only strengthens the foundation for the school to keep climbing.