Miami is pursuing Clemson athletic director Dan Radakovich and Oregon football coach Mario Cristobal to fill the same roles in Coral Gables, reports the Miami Herald.
Radakovich has spent the last nine years at Clemson, overseeing one of the most prolific football programs in the country. Under his leadership, the Tigers have spent a boatload of money on facility upgrades.
The Hurricanes are reportedly optimistic about their chances of landing Cristobal, a Miami native who's in his fourth season at Oregon. Cristobal has led the Ducks to back-to-back New Year's Six bowls and is known as one of the best recruiters in the nation. He's assembled top-10 recruiting classes in two of the last three years.
Oregon is preparing an "aggressive" contract extension for Cristobal that could be worth around $7 million annually, a source told James Crepea of The Oregonian. The Ducks signed him to a six-year, $27.3-million contract in December 2020, and his buyout is reportedly worth $9 million.
For the moment, Miami still employs Manny Diaz as its head coach. He owns a 21-15 record over three seasons, including a 7-5 mark this year.
Once a national football powerhouse, Miami has just one 10-win season since the Nevin Shapiro scandal, which uncovered severe recruiting violations between 2002 and 2010.
Radakovich and Cristobal both attended school at Miami in their younger days and began their respective administrative and coaching careers with the Hurricanes.
