Report: Mario Cristobal set to become new Oregon Football head coach

Mario Cristobal will get another crack at head coaching in college football as he’s now set to take over the Oregon Ducks.

The Oregon Ducks football program was put in quite the unenviable position recently when Willie Taggart left to become the head coach of the Florida State Seminoles after just one season at the helm. But, it didn’t take them long to find their new head man, as Mario Cristobal will be staying in Eugene.

According to a report from NBC Sports Northwest, Cristobal is set to become the new head coach of the Oregon football program. Cristobal joined the Ducks just this past season as offensive coordinator after spending four years on staff with Nick Saban and the Alabama Crimson Tide coaching up the offensive line.

The Oregon players got their man

While there were many names floated for the Oregon job following the departure of Taggart to Tallahassee, the current Ducks players made it no secret who they wanted leading them beginning next season. Just recently, it was reported that over 70 Oregon players had signed a petition for the school to keep Cristobal on staff with the promotion they felt he rightly deserved.

Giving a good majority of the Oregon roster members a coach they’re more than willing to play for is a good start to the new regime.

Cristobal finally gets another shot

Despite his extensive assistant coaching experience, this will not be the first rodeo for Cristobal as a head coach. Back in 2007, he received his first shot at head coaching experience back in 2007 when he was handed the reins of a smaller program in Florida International. While he went 1-11 in his first season, it wasn’t long before things made a turn for the better.

In 2010, Cristobal led the Panthers to a 7-6 record and a berth in the Little Caesars Bowl. The following season, they improved some more, finishing the year at 8-5 and making an appearance in a second consecutive bowl game.

But, in 2012, the Panthers and Cristobal regressed significantly, compiling just a 3-9 record on the year. After the season concluded, Florida International made the decision to relieve Cristobal of his duties as head coach. Even with the 3-9 record, this was not a decision that was met with positive responses, as FIU fans and even most college football fans believed a good coach such as Cristobal was not receiving the support from the school that he needed and the firing was not warranted.

Since then, the calls for Cristobal to become a head coach once again have never died down as he has spent most of his time since the FIU firing learning under the tutelage of Saban in Tuscaloosa.

Well, now the time has come for Cristobal to prove himself as an effective college football coach once again, an opportunity that most have believed is long overdue.