Mario Cristobal Confirms Miami’s Getting Rid of Turnover Chain

The infamous sideline accessory debuted in 2017, as the Hurricanes defense totaled 31 takeaways that season.

In recent years, Miami football has been known for its infamous turnover chain that was introduced during the 2017 season.

The turnover chain—an oversized 36-inch, 2.5-kilogram, 10-karat gold chain worn by players on the sideline—was a way to entice the Hurricane defensive players to force a turnover so they could wear the chain. 

While Miami’s defense forced 31 turnovers in 13 games in 2017, the team hasn’t seen it translate into wins—the Hurricanes lost the Orange Bowl that season and haven’t finished ranked higher than No. 22 in each of the last three years.

In January, it was reported by offensive line coach Alex Mirabal that the program would be getting rid of the turnover chain for the 2022 season. Last week, new head coach Mario Cristobal confirmed the report to Sports Illustrated’s Ross Dellenger.

“It’s not part of our culture,” Cristobal told Brett McMurphy of Action Network.

Cristobal was hired back in December and made it clear at the time that he wanted to change the team’s culture. This apparently included getting rid of the infamous turnover chain that originated under Mark Richt’s tenure. 

The new coach already got rid of the chains in the football offices, too, according to Dellenger who visited Cristobal at Miami last week.