The University of Miami is prepared to nearly double Mario Cristobal’s salary, according to The Athletic, to get the former Hurricanes offensive lineman to leave Oregon and coach at his alma mater.
To do so, Miami will also pay a $9 million buyout to get Cristobal out of his deal with the Ducks and pay out a substantial portion of the $8 million or so left on Manny Diaz’s deal.
In addition, the university appears to have made some promises to Cristobal regarding new facilities and other football-related spending, endeavoring to catch up with the Joneses in the arms race.
Where’s all this capital coming from? I’ll let my colleague Charles McDonald explain:
woo boy im feeling ill at this
— charles (redzone 12-0) mcdonald (@FourVerts) December 6, 2021
That’s right. According to The Athletic, the school feels emboldened to invest in football because …. its medical system made more than $400 million in profits last year.
This would be a heinous re-direction of funds even if we weren’t in the midst of a global pandemic. A few years ago, Florida had about 2.7 million people — 13 percent of the state — living without health insurance. The coronavirus pandemic appears to have spurred new enrollments through government programs, but we’re still looking at millions of people who don’t have coverage with many of them saying it simply costs too much.
Of course, more than 61,000 Florida residents have died of coronavirus and the state ranks 10th on the list of deaths per 100,000 residents. Clearly the citizens of the state need more help. The people working in hospitals, from doctors on down to the people who push wheelchairs around, are no doubt overworked and stressed, too.
So, I don’t know, maybe put those profits back toward subsidizing treatment for the uninsured? Get them better treatment earlier — routine checkups! — and spend less later. Silly stuff. Also, use those funds, maybe, to make life better for the nurses and janitors keeping everything running at the hospitals?
Or let’s take yet another stab at bringing back the Glory of The U!
College sports has been a corrupt morass overseen by morally broken people for a very long time. It feels like just as we’re on the cusp of change — thanks to improved rights for student-athletes and a growing push to let them unionize and negotiate for better treatment — the system is convulsing and finding new ways to cover itself in shame.
I won’t keep railing on this. The internet did it for me:
There is something weirdly dystopian about Miami making 400 million off of medical bills during a pandemic in a state that largely did not implement policies to limit the spread…and then using that cash to hire a coach that misused Justin Herbert and got smacked twice by Utah. https://t.co/rWHmAoAHSV
— Brett Kollmann (@BrettKollmann) December 6, 2021
I miss the old days when Miami just paid for everything the honorable way with cocaine https://t.co/nybloxxQcU
— PodKATT (@valleyshook) December 6, 2021
Boy, connect too many dots on this one and it gets real hard to swallow https://t.co/o2UOGBy3OA
— David Ubben (@davidubben) December 6, 2021
Oh, by the way, Miami was negotiating this deal with Cristobal … while Diaz was still employed! And it planned to keep Diaz if Cristobal declined.
Went to bed last night thinking the Miami coaching situation was one of the grosser I’d seen. Then it got like 38x grosser. https://t.co/t7mqjkbYrv
— Bill Connelly (@ESPN_BillC) December 6, 2021
there is an audacity in flagrant disrespect. i’m kinda blown away how many of you think what miami’s done with diaz is cool just because the dude doesn’t have options. ignoring how STUPID it is for miami to do it like this. maybe you’re stupid too? dunno. https://t.co/TtWV4c0HZm
— bomani (@bomani_jones) December 6, 2021
A quick recap of the situation at Miami pic.twitter.com/mIU8ukIyx2
— Max Olson (@max_olson) December 6, 2021
Diaz was FINALLY officially informed of his firing this morning, half a day after it was first reported nationally.
BREAKING: Miami coach Manny Diaz has been informed he has been let go, per source. He was 21-15 in three seasons at UM. The move paves the way for the Canes to hire Oregon’s Mario Cristobal as Miami’s next head coach.
— Bruce Feldman (@BruceFeldmanCFB) December 6, 2021
Lots of people in America can’t afford health care, died from avoiding care, or are currently in medical bankruptcy so we could comically over pay college football coaches. https://t.co/d0LtrebW0Y
— Jon Walker (@JonWalkerDC) December 6, 2021
Funneling a slice of mammoth profits made by a non-profit health program during a pandemic to pay for overpriced college football coaches— instead of more hospital beds, nurses and tech staff— is despicable.
UM’s future wins will be very *costly.* https://t.co/XvMIWiPYdm
— Don Van Natta Jr. (@DVNJr) December 6, 2021
