Rutges football head coach Greg Schiano and Miami head coach Mario Cristobal each have deep, intimate ties with the opponent programs they will be facing in three weeks in the Pinstripe Bowl. It is a relationship that might for one day in late December at Yankee Stadium be adversarial, but it is a relationship that has been built on mutual respect and mentorship.
Schiano burst onto the national scene as a head coaching candidate in the late 1990s when he was the defensive coordinator at Miami. He took the clout from being on staff for one of college football’s all-time great dynasties into becoming head coach at Rutgers.
Now in his second stint at Rutgers, time has not erased the memory of the place etched into the annals of college football simply as ‘The U.’
When he came to Rutgers for his first stint as head coach, the program was in shambles and there was talk of the Scarlet Knights dropping down to the 1-AA level so as to be competitive. But Schiano took the lessons from several of the coaches he worked with and turned Rutgers into a program that consistently made bowl games.
Not unlike what he has done this season at Rutgers (6-6, 3-5 Big Ten).
“Well, it was a great time in my career as a young coach. I got the opportunity to be a defensive coordinator, I think I was maybe 31 years old,” Schiano told reporters on Sunday night.
“So Butch Davis gave me a great opportunity, and I learned so much from him. He gave me the opportunity not only to coordinate the defense, but he really helped me learn what being a head coach was about and the different things you had to do. Some by observation, and some he forced me into it and included me in it.
“I’ll always remember that as a special place, and it wasn’t long. It was two years. But it was really helpful for me in my development, and I have a lot of close friends still there.”
Rutgers has not played Miami since 2003 when the Hurricanes left the Big East to join the ACC.
[lawrence-related id=32608,32586]
One of those faces that Schiano met down at Miami was the aforementioned Cristobal, now the head coach of the Hurricanes. And while Cristobal has taken several stops along the way before returning back to Miami, one of the first stops in his coaching ladder was at…Rutgers.
And with Schiano no less.
“I met Mario at Miami. He with as a graduate assistant on that staff, and he had played there. Was part of those national championship teams,” Schiano said.
“When we came to Rutgers, he came with us and came with us as our tight end coach initially and then took over the offensive line, and has just done unbelievable things. But I knew that. I knew that when I saw him as a GA that he was going to be head coach and a really good head coach.
“Very proud of him and we have stayed in touch throughout all the years, so you know, when we play, it will be competition, right? But other than that, utmost respect and love for the guy.”
Cristobal returned to Miami in 2004 following his three seasons at Rutgers. He would go on to become a head coach at FIU and spent time on staff at Alabama and Oregon before becoming Oregon’s head coach in 2018.
[lawrence-related id=32604,32566]
He is now in his second season as head coach at his alma mater.
Last year, Miami finished 5-7 but Cristobal has managed to flip that record this year and had the Hurricanes ranked in preseason.