EUGENE -- When Mario Cristobal set out to hire the Oregon Ducks' 10th assistant coach, he wasn't going to settle for just anyone.

After being promoted from offensive line coach to head coach in December, Cristobal still wanted to be in charge of the line. But with the added responsibility of having to watch over the entire team, Cristobal chose to use the newly minted 10th assistant position for some assistance on the line.

The position required a very specific set of conditions, however.

"I'm very particular about the offensive line and I don't trust offensive line work with just anyone," Cristobal said. "To me, you have to know someone more than 30 years in order to trust them with the offensive line."

Enter Alex Mirabal.

Mirabal, who was hired in February to coach the Ducks' guards and centers, has known Cristobal 34 years, to be exact. The two went to high school together in Miami, with Mirabal saying they first met in May of their freshman year at Christopher Columbus High School.

The two were quick to connect. Mirabal loved football. Cristobal loved football. Mirabal's family is from Cuba. Cristobal's family is from Cuba. And both had ambitious career dreams, with Cristobal once wanting to become a member of the secret service and Mirabal initially seeking out a career as an engineer.

Football ultimately won out for both, though, which has led to this reunion in Eugene in Cristobal's first year as Oregon's head coach. It's the biggest career step for Mirabal, who earned his associate's from Miami Dade College in 1991 before graduating with a bachelor's degree in social studies education at FIU two years later.

While Cristobal would go on to play for Miami and continued his career as a professional for several years in the '90s, Mirabal remained in the Miami area. He got a job teaching at Christopher Columbus and helped coach a variety of programs, from track and field to football.

He would teach social studies and coach football for 16 years before Cristobal gave him a ring in 2007 with a question about a job.

Cristobal was being offered the head coaching job at FIU. He wanted to see what his long-time friend thought about the position. Mirabal told him he should take it.

"Then about a day later, he calls back and asks, 'Will you join me?'" Mirabal said. "I said, 'Well we don't have to move, so let's go.'"

Mirabal has obviously had to move since. He coached the offensive line at FIU for five years and spent the last five years in the same position at Marshall. The Thundering Herd ranked fourth nationally last season in sacks allowed, giving up just 11 in 13 games.

Cristobal said the key to Mirabal's success is his teaching background. Mirabal doesn't have the playing experience or look of a traditional offensive line coach. In practice, Oregon's 300-pound giants tower over him. It's quite the contrast from a year ago, when the Ducks' line was run by the barrel-chested Cristobal.

"I've never felt it's been an issue (for him)," Cristobal said. "You're a teacher or you're not a teacher. When someone walks in the room, the moment they start speaking, their presence, their ability to connect, the fact that they can make you better is the most prominent overriding factor."

And Cristobal knows 100 percent what he can expect from his new assistant. He knows that Mirabal brings a sharp football mind without much ego and can serve as his right-hand man.

"My sole purpose is to see him be successful," Mirabal said. "I'll do anything in my power to help my college football coach be known as a champion."

Cristobal also knows Mirabal will push him, along with the players.

On Thursday morning, Cristobal thought he was off to a heck of a start. The alarm went off early and he pulled into the garage at Hatfield-Dowlin Complex at, specifically, 4:37 a.m.

One car was there already. It was Mirabal's. The alarm is now set for 3 a.m. on Friday, Cristobal said.

"He loves to grind. I love to grind. We love our families. We love doing things the right way," Cristobal said. "We could almost finish each other's sentences."

When Cristobal said that last line, it would have been easy to envision Mirabal jumping in to complete said sentence. He didn't, though. He had already beaten Cristobal to the practice field.

-- Tyson Alger

talger@oregonian.com

@tysonalger