Report: Miami set to add former Texas head coach to staff

Miami Hurricanes head coach Mario Cristobal has been building an impressive staff in Coral Gables and it appears he’s not done yet. Charlie Strong, the former Texas, Louisville, and South Florida head coach, is reportedly finalizing a deal to coach the linebackers for the Hurricanes, according to Chris Low of ESPN. The hire would be one of the biggest of the coaching carousel.

Strong spent the last year as the assistant to the head coach and the inside linebackers coach for the Jacksonville Jaguars.

More than two weeks ago, Cristobal said he would have his staff finalized in a week. For the time being, he’s not done, as he continues to build a dynamic staff for the Miami Hurricanes. Cristobal just recently reeled hired former Michigan offensive coordinator Josh Gattis, who won the 2021 Broyles Award.

Cristobal immediately worked his magic on the recruiting trail for the Miami Hurricanes

The former Oregon Ducks head coach was hired at Miami on Dec. 6. It didn’t take long for him to make some magic happen for the Hurricanes on the recruiting front.

Cristobal worked his charm in flipping former Alabama commitment, four-star tight end Jaleel Skinner to the ‘Canes on Dec. 17. Much of the credit also goes to Miami’s tight ends coach and recruiting coordinator, Stephen Field. Skinner is listed at 6-foot-4.5 inches, 216 pounds and is ultra-athletic in the open field.

He’s rated as the No. 4 tight end prospect in the country in the 2022 class, according to the On3 Consensus, a complete and equally weighted industry-generated average that utilizes all four major recruiting media companies.

A gifted all-around athlete, he was also selected all-state by the South Carolina Basketball Coaches Association for his play on the hardwood in the 2021 season. Skinner selected Miami over double-digit scholarship offers, including Alabama, Texas, Florida State, Florida, and others.

It’ll be interesting to see what Cristobal can get done on the recruiting trail in the future, once he has his coaching staff finalized. With an incomplete staff, he already pulled in the nation’s No. 11 ranked recruiting class in the 2022 cycle, according to the On3 Team Recruiting Rankings.

He’s already off to a great start, since he pulled in Skinner and the nation’s No. 4 running back in the 2022 class, TreVonte’ Citizen. Citizen is out of Lake Charles College Prep (Lake Charles, Louisiana).