Miami and coach Mario Cristobal are retiring the turnover chain
Enjoy retirement, turnover chain. You were a beacon of college football light.
Miami coach Mario Cristobal confirmed Thursday at his ACC media days appearance that Miami would no longer be breaking out the iconic jewelry after forcing a turnover.
The turnover chain was introduced in 2017 and its various iterations have been a big part of the Miami program for the past five seasons. Former coach Manny Diaz was the team’s defensive coordinator when the chain made its debut. But the turnover chain era is now over, just like Diaz’s tenure as Miami head coach. And Cristobal really didn't seem too inclined to talk a lot about the chain being put out to pasture on Thursday.
"I think probably the media has put more thought into this than I have," Cristobal said Thursday when he was asked why Miami had retired the turnover chain. "We just really focus on getting better as a program and have focused on technique, fundamentals, regimentation, academics, strength and conditioning, sports science, community service, and that's what the focus has been on."
"It is not a shot or form of disrespect to anybody or anyone. Certainly history is history, and whether it's positive, whether it's inconsequential, whatever it may be, it's still history and part of your program. We're just moving in a direction that right now doesn't involve it. That's really the best way to address it.
"Let's put it this way. We've been working so hard and paying attention to so many other things that, in my opinion, are much more critical to winning football games and having success that it really hasn't been a subject or a topic. We won't be using it. You guys OK with that? We good now? Everybody got the chain stuff? OK. All right. Thank you."
A Miami native, Cristobal came to the Hurricanes from Oregon after the team zeroed in on him as the replacement for Diaz. Cristobal played football at Miami and is very familiar with the outward displays of emotion that happen at Miami. He was part of the legendary Miami teams of the late 1980s and early 1990s that took the college football world by storm with their brash attitudes.
But Cristobal clearly doesn't think Miami should be celebrating defensive success with the chain. At least not right now. Hopefully, it makes a comeback in the future. The turnover chain was fun. And Miami being successful and having an attitude makes college football fun, too.
