Why Mario Cristobal is nixing the turnover chain in his first season at Miami: ‘It’s not part of our culture’

Mario Cristobal is yet to coach a game at Miami (Fla.), but his presence is already being felt. The former Oregon coach is reportedly 86’ing the famous Turnover Chain that Miami has sported after turnovers since 2017, Stadium’s Brett McMurphy reported Wednesday.

According to McMurphy, Cristobal said the chain is “not part of our culture.”

The chain has inspired copycats throughout sports, including a year at Oregon (before Cristobal’s arrival). The chain was a low point in Willie Taggart’s tenure (which, frankly, plateaued at low, though he hardly had many opportunities to succeed).

Oregon’s turnover chain pic.twitter.com/DZAHa6YOrN

— Rodger Sherman (@rodger) November 19, 2017

Miami’s chain was 36 inches and 10 karats and was pioneered by then-defensive coordinator Manny Diaz, who is now at Penn State.

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Rumors of the chain going away began to surface in January as Miami coaches started to tell recruits the chain was going to be left in the past.

“We got rid of the turnover chains and stuff like that,” offensive line coach Alex Mirabal told Francis Mauigoa during Miami’s Elite Prospect Day then, per Sports Illustrated. “We’re here to play football.”

Since 2017, Miami is 28-24 and 0-4 in bowl games. Diaz was the Hurricanes’ head coach from 2019-21.

College baseball is already trying to eliminate celebratory home run props outside the dugout, so Cristobal is hardly the first to not be keen on these team quirks.

Beyond Oregon’s imitation, some of the other knick-knacks have included the turnover chainsaw at Oregon State; the turnover backpack at Florida State; the turnover robe at Memphis; and the turnover beads at Tulane.

Everyone has a gimmick, but with Cristobal putting the kibosh on the one that started at all, perhaps other teams will follow suit.