Miami releases statement following the passing of mother of Mario Cristobal

It’s certainly a sad day for Miami head football coach Mario Cristobal and his family, as the program announced Friday afternoon the passing of Cristobal’s mother, Clara.

“We are deeply saddened to hear of the passing of Mario Cristobal’s mother, Clara,” Miami director of athletics Dan Radakovich said in a statement. “On behalf of the entire Miami Hurricanes Family our love, thoughts and prayers are with Mario, Jessica and their family during this difficult time.”

Our thoughts and prayers are with @coach_cristobal and his family after the passing of his mother, Clara. pic.twitter.com/8D4S6eJqCw

— Canes Football (@CanesFootball) March 4, 2022

Cristobal, 51, is a Miami native who returned to his hometown to serve as the Hurricanes’ head coach after leading Oregon‘s program from 2018-2021. After spending four seasons in Eugene, Cristobal takes over a Miami program that is coming off a 7-5 season in 2021.

Miami to hire former Texas star as defensive ends coach

Mario Cristobal’s staff at Miami is coming together.

The Hurricanes are set to hire UTSA co-defensive coordinator Rod Wright as their defensive ends coach, a source confirmed to On3’s Matt Zenitz. Wright was an All-American defensive lineman at Texas had a brief NFL career with the Miami Dolphins.

Wright spent the last three years at UTSA, starting as defensive line coach in 2019 before adding run game coordinator to his title in 2020 and co-defensive coordinator in 2021. He also worked as the defensive line coach at East Carolina and Sam Houston State during his coaching career.

At Texas, Wright earned First Team All-Big 12 honors and was a Consensus All-American on the Longhorns’ defensive line in 2005. He had 46 tackles, 14 tackles for loss and 4.5 sacks that season.

Cristobal’s staff is coming together nicely as he gets ready for his first season as the head coach at his alma mater.

On3’s Nick Schultz contributed to this report.