What nobody could have known is that the game within the game was already underway.
Last week, per a source, Knight signed off on a 10-year, $85 million extension that was offered by the University of Oregon to football coach Mario Cristobal. Year No. 1 would double Cristobal’s base salary and put it in excess of $7 million a year. It escalated from there and was easily the most lucrative deal ever offered to a football coach in Eugene.
Phil and Penny have subsidized a number of powerful football-related projects at UO over the years. They’ve built buildings, expanded Autzen Stadium, helped increase the recruiting footprint and even pitched in when Cristobal said he needed to retain assistants.
Now, with Miami poised to pounce, they planned to write the check that would retain Cristobal.
However, by kickoff there was trouble.
Cristobal didn’t sign Oregon’s contract extension before the title game. He instead made plans to talk with his agent the following day. Then, his team got blown off the field by the Utes: 38-10. The Ducks’ coach took the loss hard. He spoke in the post-game news conference for only six minutes. Then, on Saturday Cristobal boarded the private plane owned by long-time Oregon booster Ed Maletis and embarked on a whirlwind recruiting trip that would include multiple states, more than 25 recruits and span 14 days.
That trip is now cut short.
Cristobal may be a few hours away from ending two days of wild speculation. He may be poised to take the head coach job at Miami. Or he may be scrambling back to Eugene to try and salvage a clunky couple of days and a booster relationship that appears to be teetering. Right now I’m not sure what Cristobal has left to come back to at Oregon because I suspect he may have lost the only donor he ever needed.
That 10-year contract extension?
“It was pulled off the table when Mario didn’t sign it and got on the plane,” said a source close to the situation.