Oregon has hired Alabama offensive line coach Mario Cristobal to serve as the Ducks’ co-offensive coordinator and run game coordinator, the Ducks announced Tuesday.
Though it was just announced today, this is a move that has been in the works for a while.
Oregon announces its hire of Mario Cristobal as co-OC and run-game coordinator. Been on the recruiting trail for a few days with the Ducks.
— Andrew Greif (@AndrewGreif) January 17, 2017
Cristobal enjoyed considerable success at Alabama, helping the Tide win the 2015 national title and finish as a runner-up in 2016. The Tide’s offensive line won the inaugural Joe Moore Award -- given to the best offensive line unit -- in 2015, and left tackle Cam Robinson took home the Outland Trophy this fall.
Cristobal is also known for his 6-year run as head coach at Florida International and is regarded as one of the best recruiters in college football.
The question, beyond if he can quote-unqoute fix a running game that ranked 27th this season after recording top-10 finishes seven of the past eight seasons, is if Cristobal can help Willie Taggart and a staff with a long track record of successfully recruiting Florida and either:
A) translate that success to the West Coast, where Oregon traditionally recruits, or
B) pull Sunshine State kids all the way across the country to Eugene.
Cristobal is listed as a co-offensive coordinator, which assumes Oregon will hire another co-offensive coordinator (and quarterbacks coach) to join Taggart’s staff.
Tuesday’s announcement did not indicate that Cristobal will call plays for the Ducks.