Oregon’s Mario Cristobal was recently named to the watch list for the 2021 Dodd Trophy, college football’s most coveted coaching award. The officials from the Bobby Dodd Coach of the Year Foundation released their midseason watch list last Thursday — a record of the 16 highest rated coaches in NCAA Division 1 football.
According to the Dodd Trophy website, the award honors a coach whose football program represents “three pillars of success: Scholarship, Leadership and Integrity.”
The last time a Pac-12 head coach won the award was Kyle Whittingham from Utah back in 2019. That year, Whittingham won over notable finalists such as Clemson’s Dabo Swinney, LSU’s Ed Orgeron and Baylor’s Matt Rhule.
This year, Cristobal is the only Pac-12 coach to make the watch list. The 2021 list includes: Ohio State’s Ryan Day, Michigan’s Jim Harbaugh and, of course, Alabama’s veteran Nick Saban.
Although Pac-12 coaches like Whittingham and Stanford’s David Shaw have won the trophy in recent years, Cristobal winning would feel different because of the culture he has brought to Oregon. It could possibly bring Oregon and the Pac-12 conference to new heights.
Before the 2021 season, the Oregon program and its coach were surrounded by expectations — good and bad. The Ducks opened up as favorites to win the Pac-12. And, after defeating Ohio State on the road, many predicted them to make a run for the playoff. What has happened since then?
The Ducks defeated then-No. 3 Ohio State for the first time in program history. They now sit as the only one loss team in their conference at No. 7 in the AP Poll. Despite losing the playoff spot after their loss to Stanford, Oregon is in the national spotlight.
Enough of the stats.
Since 2018, Cristobal has asserted himself as a top coach in college football with an impressive resume. Some notable achievements include back-to-back Pac-12 championships and multiple first-round NFL draft picks. With a top-five recruiting class in the nation, Cristobal has created quite the environment in Eugene.
During his tenure, Cristobal has embodied the definition of leadership. His promotion from offensive line coach to head coach was fueled in part by a players-only petition. Players agreed to sign the petition because he was a coach they wanted to play for –– and a coach the team could trust.
“You can actually see the passion, the fire of what he wants out of a program,” Oregon associate head coach Joe Salave’a said, speaking about Cristobal and his work ethic.
Cristobal winning the Dodds Trophy would only heighten and bring more of a spotlight to what Cristobal is doing for Oregon’s program. And, with the spotlight on Oregon, it brings the Pac-12 to a higher level because of the recruits coming to play for Cristobal and the rest of the conference.
Half way through the college football season, there are dozens of coaches in college football. Cristobal being one of 16 to make this list, shows his process at Oregon is finally showing up in the national spotlight.
