Mario Cristobal praises impact of Jason Taylor on staff

As Mario Cristobal got his staff together at Miami, he landed some Miami royalty in Jason Taylor. He hasn’t been on board long, but the Pro Football Hall of Famer is already making an impact.

Taylor joined the Hurricanes as a defensive analyst after starting his coaching career at the high school level. He played college ball at Akron, but made a name for himself with the Miami Dolphins from 1997 to 2007. He made six Pro Bowls, won two AFC Defensive Player of the Year Awards and was a two-time All-Pro with the Dolphins.

Taylor was inducted into the Hall of Fame in 2017, but Cristobal said you wouldn’t know it by the way he carries himself around campus. That’s a major reason why Cristobal, a Miami alumnus, said Taylor is making an instant impact on the program.

“The best way to describe Jason Taylor, and everyone in the building will echo this, is I’ve never seen a guy that wears a gold jacket [and] really has nothing to prove, has done it all up until this point in his life, but yet he shows up every single day as if he has everything to prove,” Cristobal said on “The Herd” with Colin Cowherd. “I was blown away — and everyone is — by the fact that he’s even a better person than he was a player, and that’s hard to imagine.

“Just the ability to connect, communicate, inspire, teach. Unbelievable knowledge. His impact has been felt immediately by everyone in the building. People gravitate to him. He’s a special, special human being.”

What Jason Taylor brings to Miami

A defensive savant Taylor’s immense respect in the football world — especially in Miami — will help Mario Cristobal give another powerful voice to teach his athletes.

Taylor, now 47 years old, is a Pittsburgh native and became a third-round draft pick for Miami in 1997. He was a six-time Pro Bowl selection and he was the NFL’s defensive player of the year in 2006. In 2007, the NFL recognized Taylor for his off-the-field work, naming him the Walter Payton Man of the Year.

Taylor retired sixth on the NFL’s all-time sack list with 139.5 sacks. He also had along with 47 career forced fumbles, 29 fumble recoveries and an NFL record six returned for touchdowns.

On3’s Nikki Chavanelle contributed to this report.