Mario Cristobal continues to live up to his lofty Miami Hurricanes dream. He shows up each single day, and he grinds and hustles for it. In 2024, the Miami head coach garnered huge criticism when a gut-wrenching loss to Syracuse dashed their ACC title hopes. In some of the heavyweight games (like the one against Georgia Tech), Cristobal mismanaged the clock. It left them without a timeout when it’s needed. The softest coach of the ACC, the pun to his name, justifies itself when his fourth quarter decision (a goal from the Syracuse 10-yard line) backfires in the ACC title match. Should the Canes hold onto him for another year? Well, Josh Pate has some strong arguments that can convince you into believing the fourth-year head coach hailing from Florida.

Cristobal is gearing up for his new players to get enough reps before launching them to the real test in August. The Canes have wrapped up a couple of weeks of spring practice. But the head coach, like a true leader, keeps a wide eye on not letting his guys get caught up in the hype. The most intriguing narrative in the fledgling offseason is the $4 million acquisition of quarterback Carson Beck. To support that move, the veteran HC also tarted up the entire defensive staff and player personnel in the secondary.

No doubt Cristobal has done enough to be dubbed an elite recruiter. He uses every trick in the book to swoop talent even in the most unfavorable circumstances. In 2025, he bolstered a strong recruiting class ranked 13th nationally and No. 1 in the ACC for the third year in a row. A trait that’s pretty unseen by the media and the lunatic fan base, but not by Josh Pate. During the March 28th episode of Josh Pate’s College Football Show, the national analyst slammed the fans who only deem a Natty as the only parameter to judge a coach’s achievement.“Well, he hasn’t won anything, you know that logic comes from the people who only think you can accomplish something or tout your accomplishments if you’ve won a literal national title.” Pate said.

It came from the fact that a chunk of fans vehemently bashed Cristobal in the previous Josh Pate episode, where the analyst put up a few major pros of him as a head coach. Despite not ignoring the slump in some big games, a bunch of wrong decisions, Pate stuck to his point and thinks it’s beyond debate. ”Did you notice the things I said about him, I said he’s a really good recruiter, and I said he’s elevated every program he’s ever been at. None of this disproves that. So, you can rest assured that there is more reason than a whooping $62 million to be patient with coach Cristobal for more years to come. The ‘hot seat’ list doesn’t anchor him, at least at the moment.

Well, certainly it doesn’t. Cristobal, as a former Ducks head mounted a 35-13 record, including a Pac-12 championship and a Rose Bowl victory. He’s been great as an offensive line coach at Alabama and earned some titles for the team. He led the Panthers to their first two bowl victories, even if they fired him, eventually. He has done his bit in Miami in the last three years as well. But as the fourth year approaches, all eyes will be on his biggest recruiting flex, the Georgia signal caller Carson Beck. Will he turn out to be a strategic jackpot for coach Cristobal?

Can Carson Beck be the ultimate crown jewel in Mario Cristobal’s challenging year? 

Ever since recruiting Beck following a devastating year at Georgia, Cristobal has been highly optimistic about his ability to bring the best on the table. He deems the former Dawgs QB as a perfect missing link of the UM offense and compares him to the top-tier brilliance of Cam Ward. But whether or not Beck will successfully position himself as a game-changing force will be subject to a lot of factors.

On3‘s J.D. PicKell pinpointed some of the concerns that are there for Carson Beck.  “One thing we kept hearing about Cam Ward this time last year was that dude is an Alpha. This is his locker, this is his team, all those things. Now, for Carson Beck, it’s a little bit harder for him to be able to do that. When you’re not actually out there fully practicing with your guys. So, it’s going to take some time as these things do.”

Beck’s record interceptions and turnovers in Georgia history last year have still been a recurring pain in the fans’ memories. But Cristobal seems poised on the ground that the Bulldogs have some overall woes in the offense. And it was never just Beck failing to retain the legacy.

But the one thing that is actively making things complicated since Beck is still recovering from his UCL injury. However, Cristobal is still hopeful. He said Beck attends the practices, fine-tunes with the team, gets the reps, and he will eventually throw as well within a couple of weeks. But in case the Beck formula fails, Cristóbal’s 10-year deal worth $80 million might turn hollow.