Mario Cristobal Mario Manuel Cristobal ( born September 24 , 1970 ) is the current Offensive Line coach at the University of Alabama . He was the head coach at Florida International University from their 2007 season until being fired on December 5 , 2012 . He was named Tight End coach and Assistant Head Coach for the University of Miami before leaving just weeks later to join the Alabama coaching staff . He is the first Cuban - American Division I head football coach . Playing career . High school career . Cristobal played high school football at Christopher Columbus High School in Miami , Florida . He graduated in 1988 . College career . Cristobal was a four - year letterman with the University of Miami Hurricanes football team between 1989 - 1992 . During this time Cristobal was a member of the Hurricanes ' 1989 and 1991 national championship teams and in 1992 earned First - Team All - Big East Conference as an offensive tackle . Cristobal was interviewed about his time at the University of Miami for the documentary " The U " , which premiered December 12 , 2009 on ESPN . Professional career . After graduating from Miami in 1993 , Cristobal was signed by the Denver Broncos in 1994 as an undrafted free agent playing only in the preseason . He then went on to join the Amsterdam Admirals of NFL Europe for the and seasons before retiring to pursue coaching . Coaching career . University of Miami and Rutgers University . Prior to being named FIU head coach , Cristobal spent two stints at Miami , between 1998 - 2000 as a graduate assistant and 2004 - 2006 as tight ends coach and offensive line coach . During 2001 - 2003 , Cristobal was a tight ends and offensive line coach at Rutgers University under Greg Schiano . Florida International University . On December 19 , 2006 , Cristobal was named the second head coach in FIU ' s history . Having worked as an assistant at Rutgers during their transformation to a competitive program in the Big East , Cristobal was charged with leading a Golden Panther team that finished the 2006 season 0 - 12 . For his first months of work at FIU , Cristobal implemented a spread offense , and stated that he expected FIU to achieve success " faster than what we did at Rutgers " , a process which " took five years . " His first season , however , was anything but successful . FIU struggled for most of the season , losing their first eleven games . However , on December 1 , the Golden Panthers finally broke a Football Bowl Subdivision leading 23 - game losing skid with a 38 - 19 victory over North Texas . His second season showed definite signs of improvement . After three back - to - back , out - of - conference losses to Kansas , Iowa and USF , the Golden Panthers under Cristobal pulled together an upset win against MAC opponent Toledo . The team used this momentum to build a three game winning streak , defeating Sun Belt Conference opponents North Texas and MTSU before it continued on to finish with a 5 - 7 record . The team was two wins away from a bowl game before falling out of contention in the 2008 Shula Bowl against in - state rivals FAU in a 57 - 50 OT loss , before finishing its season with an at - home victory over Western Kentucky . The third season season under Cristobal came with high expectations after winning five games the previous year . The team regressed under his leadership and took a step back going 3 - 9 overall , with wins coming against North Texas , WKU , and Louisiana - Lafayette . During the off season recruiting period , Cristobal was able to secure FIU ' s first ESPN 150 player , Willis Wright , from nearby Miami Springs High , the same school that produced T . Y . Hilton . Cristobal carries a reputation of being an excellent recruiter , setting up for his third season at FIU by putting together an impressive recruiting class of 23 student athletes , at least 20 of them from Florida . He wears a customary shirt and tie along with dress pants for each and every game to honor his idol , Joe Paterno . He was also named the fittest coach currently in the FBS according to an ESPN blog to which he confirmed on The Dan Le Batard Show on May 29 , 2009 . As of the 2009 season Mario Cristobal has retired the " shirt - and - tie " look and has opted to wear traditional collared shirts during games . On December 5 , 2012 Cristobal was relieved of his position as head coach of the FIU Football program . FIU Athletic Director Pete Garcia explained his reasoning for firing Cristobal as " He ' s done a very good job for this program , but we ’ ve gone backwards over the last year and a half . Over the last 22 games , we ' ve gone 8 - 14 . " The decision by Garcia was heavily criticized for its rashness . The University of Miami hired Cristobal in January 2013 as a tight end coach and an associate head coach . He was next hired by Alabama as its new offensive line coach just six weeks later , in February 2013 . Conference championship . After being predicted to finish sixth in the conference in the preseason by the Sun Belt Writers Association , Cristobal led his young Panthers team to their first Sun Belt Conference Championship after four years at the helm . FIU who had never had a winning season prior to the 2010 campaign saw themselves atop the conference tied with Troy University who shared a similar 6 - 2 conference record . FIU did win their head - to - head matchup with Troy , 52 - 35 . At the conclusion of the season FIU was selected to participate in their first bowl game , the Little Caesars Pizza Bowl . They won with a field goal in the closing seconds against Toledo , 34 - 32 after Toledo went for a two - point conversion to take the lead 32 - 31 . That win gave them a 7 - 6 record , their first ever winning record .