CORAL GABLES, Fla. (AP) — The way Miami offensive line coach Alex Mirabal sees things, coaching the players tasked with protecting Heisman Trophy-contending quarterback Cam Ward is like teaching math or history.
Either way, it aligns perfectly with his background.
Mirabal — maybe the closest friend and confidant of Miami coach Mario Cristobal, someone he’s known for 40 years — learned the nuances of offensive line play from a pair of coaches who happened to be math teachers at Miami’s Christopher Columbus High School. And in the first chapter of his professional life, Mirabal spent 16 years teaching American history and government.
Now he teaches blocking and schemes. His students are clearly listening.
“At the end of the day, I’m a teacher,” Mirabal said. “And I think a lot of times people lose sight of that, that a coach is a teacher. But I am, and my subject matter now happens to be offensive line play.”
The 11th-ranked Hurricanes (9-1, 5-1 Atlantic Coast Conference) lead the nation in points per game, yards per game and yards per play. Ward is rewriting the Miami record book and is the national leader in passing yards and passing touchdowns. And if not for the Miami offensive line playing as well as it has this season, those numbers obviously wouldn’t be the same.
“He coaches every player the same way,” Ward said. “Whether you’re a starting O-lineman, all the way to a walk-on, he coaches all those guys the same way. He emphasizes the little things to myself — getting in and out of the huddle with urgency, having great breaks in the huddle. I think what Coach Mirabal doesn’t get enough credit for is the motivation he has for our O-line, the love he has for them. That’s the reason we’re doing so well on offense, those guys.”
The average Miami starting offensive lineman is 6-foot-5, 314 pounds. They simply tower over Mirabal, who stands about a foot shorter and seems to be about half the size of the players he’s coaching.
It has not held him back. If there’s skepticism when offensive linemen see Mirabal for the first time, it goes away as soon as he starts teaching.
“I know that he’s an intense guy,” Hurricanes center Matt Carpenter said. “I know that he’s shorter than most. Don’t let that fool you.”
Mirabal actually was an offensive lineman in high school; that’s how he and Cristobal — a star offensive lineman at Miami in his playing days — met. Dennis Lavelle was the head coach of those Columbus teams, Fred Foyo was the offensive line coach. Both were math teachers. Mirabal still speaks of their influence and how they approached the field the same way they did the classroom. That’s why Mirabal still calls his daily practice plan a lesson plan, just like a teacher would.
“From a professional standpoint, he’s the best human being I know and the best teacher I know,” Cristobal said. “And I think if you ask our players, they’ll tell you the same thing. His presence, his knowledge, his humility, his ability to change people’s lives in a positive way and impact others is just different. There’s no ego involved. Headstrong, like an offensive line coach should be. And it’s a battle to try to beat him to the office. He’s different. One of a kind.”
Their parents didn’t know each other at first, but it didn’t take long for Mirabal and Cristobal to realize they were raised the same way. Strong, proud, Cuban-American families. Hard work was the only option. There were shared mantras in the households: Take care of the family, take care of those around you.
When Cristobal was hired at Florida International, he called Mirabal and asked if he’d consider college coaching. When FIU fired them, Mirabal thought he’d simply return to high school teaching — until his wife suggested sticking with coaching. He ended up at Marshall for five years while Cristobal was working under Nick Saban at Alabama. Oregon eventually came calling for Cristobal, and Cristobal again came calling for Mirabal. They went to Eugene, and now, they’re back in Miami.
They preach a simple rule at Miami: Go 1-0 this week. If the Hurricanes go 1-0 this week against Wake Forest and 1-0 next week against Syracuse, they’ll be headed to the ACC title game on Dec. 7 with a very real shot of making the College Football Playoff.
“Coming home was the icing on the cake,” Mirabal said, taking a rare break from the work he occupies himself with in his office that sits over Miami’s indoor practice field. “Coaching is a lot like real estate — location, location, location. It’s exciting to be back. It’s exciting to be here right now. But I don’t coach for that. I coach to help young men achieve and attain their goals. That’s my biggest thrill.”
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