Mario Cristobal Has One Mission: Revive Miami’s Once-Proud Program

The Hurricanes look to return to college football relevance behind the Miami born-and-bred coach who helped lead The U to two national titles as a player.

Sometimes, late at night, when Mario Cristobal is leaving the Miami football complex, he drives toward Kindred Hospital, a long-term acute-care center. Before arriving, he often realizes his mistake and wheels around toward his family’s home near campus.

“It’s old habit,” he says. For more than three months, Clara Cristobal lay intubated in a hospital bed, in and out of consciousness, unable to speak. Her illness coincided with her youngest son realizing a dream—accepting the head coaching job at Miami last December, a Cuban American…