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Miami Hurricanes coach Mario Cristobal Named No. 2 ACC Coach - Ahead of NFL Legend Bill Belichick

On3 imageby:Matt Shodell•about 14 hours•

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Mario Cristobal Syracuse
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College Football Report recently ranked the ACC head coaches. And guess who is ahead of legendary NFL coach Bill Belichick? And ahead of ACC 2024 Coach of the Year Rhett Lashlee? That’s right, Miami Hurricanes coach Mario Cristobal cemented himself at No. 2 on the list behind Clemson’s Dabo Swinney.

Lashlee was No. 3, Louisville’s Jeff Brohm No. 4 and Belichick checked in at No. 5. FSU’s Mike Norvell was sixth, by the way, and Miami fan favorite Manny Diaz was No. 9.

So let’s unravel this for a moment.

By the numbers

Yes, Swinney deserves his place atop the list, of course. Entering his 16th year with the Tigers, his teams have won 10 or more games in every season except one since 2011 (9-4 in 2023) and that includes a pair of national titles in 2016 and 2018. It’s tough to beat that.

Cristobal’s ranking? Well, some might argue it’s a bit high given his overall three-year record at Miami of 22-16, which isn’t great for a program like UM, but he earned it with an upward trend. He began with a 5-7 record in Year 1 after taking over Diaz’s depleted roster in 2022, then was 7-6 in 2023 and jumped to 10-3 last year notwithstanding a rough finish to the year after starting 9-0. 2024 was just Miami’s second 10-win season in the last two decades. He’s rebuilt the program with strong recruiting and help from the transfer portal, and this year his Canes team is projected by many to be in the top two in the ACC along with Clemson.

The Canes also are getting respect from odds-makers in addition to the College Football Report. DraftKings has Miami right with 9.5 regular season wins, while FanDuel and BetMGM has it at 8.5. When it comes to national championship-winning odds? Ohio State leads the DraftKings list at +450 followed by Texas (+550), Georgia (+600) and Oregon (+750). You’ll find Miami tied for 11th best odds there with Ole Miss at +2500. A year ago entering the season the Canes were No. 16 on that list. BetMGM has the Canes tied with Texas A&M for the 12th best odds to win the national title at +3000 (Ohio State is No. 1 at +450). Clemson is the top ACC team on the list at +2000 (ranking No. 8).

When it comes to the ACC championship game winner? Clemson tops that list at +270 odds per FanDuel, but Miami’s right there at No. 2 with +310 odds. SMU is third at +440, and entering 2024 the Canes were third on the list, behind FSU and Clemson.

The big picture

As for the other top competition on the list?

Lashlee’s first year at SMU was, of course, a standout 11-3 season with a playoff berth and regular season ACC title. But he just has that one year under his belt, and he succeeded in part due to former Canes like RB Brashard Smith, WR Key’shawn Smith and DL Elijah Roberts, Jahfari Harvey and Jared Harrison-Hunte.

Brohm? Maybe he has an argument to be ranked higher after going 10-4 and 9-4 in his first two years at Louisville, but Cristobal did win the head-to-head matchups of the teams last year, 52-45.

And Belichick, of course, has not accomplished anything in the ACC yet other than bluster and promises. We’ll see if his NFL-styled system translates to college ball soon enough.

So hey, maybe Cristobal deserves that No. 2 spot, right?

And he can prove it definitively this year as the Canes chase their first playoff berth.

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