Since Miami football hired Mario Cristobal to be their new head coach, he has hit the ground running. Cristobal has already begun to change the Hurricanes' culture, announcing that the famed turnover chain will be retired this season. On Friday, the college football world learned of something else cultural that Cristobal would be installing: respect for Hurricanes of the past, like the late Sean Taylor. Here's what the Miami football head coach said, per Susan Miller Degnan of the Miami Herald.
“No. 1, you gotta earn it,’’ Cristobal said, when asked what expected from anybody to be given those numbers. “Some guys have asked for it, and I do not disrespect anyone in not awarding them a number, but if you’re going to wear that, you better be the baddest son of a gun on the planet, OK?
“I think we have guys that can work themselves there, and if someone gets to that point than maybe it’s a consideration.’’
He said one person asked for No. 26 “and I just felt it wasn’t quite the level it needed to be to wear that number the way it should be worn.’’
Mario Cristobal said that whoever wants to wear Sean Taylor's no. 26 must “earn it.” The Miami football coach added that “you better be the baddest son of a gun on the planet” to wear Taylor's Hurricanes number.
Tayor, who was shot and killed back in 2007, was a two-time Pro Bowler in the NFL and a standout safety for Miami football, intercepting 10 passes in his final year before becoming the fifth pick in the NFL Draft.
It's a legacy that Mario Cristobal, who played for the Hurricanes in the '80s and '90s, understands. And he plans to protect it strongly.
Follow Us
Subscribe