Nick Saban explains why Mario Cristobal is the ‘perfect’ Miami coach
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Nick Saban made his usual appearance on The Pat McAfee Show on Friday afternoon.
With ESPN’s College GameDay also coming from Miami on Saturday morning in the leadup to the Sunshine State showdown between Florida and the 4th-ranked Hurricanes, Saban spoke about how perfectly Mario Cristobal fits at Miami. After a couple rough seasons to start his tenure in South Florida, Cristobal went 10-3 last season and had Miami in College Football Playoff contention for most of the season, and now he’s 3-0 going into Saturday night’s game.
Saban isn’t surprised that Cristobal has turned it around at Miami after his previous head coaching stops at Oregon and FIU. Cristobal was on Saban’s staff at Alabama from 2013-16, so Saban knows exactly what Cristobal is capable of.
“He’s the perfect guy for this job,” Saban said. “Not only is he a good coach, he’s really enthusiastic and he’s got great energy. Everybody loves the guy because he’s got a great personality and he’s great around people. I think the big challenge for him is, can his players and his team keep the edge throughout the season having success.”
Here is the full clip of Saban speaking to McAfee about Cristobal:
Cristobal’s next challenge will be a big one, with a desperate Florida team coming to South Florida on Saturday night.
Cory Nightingale, a former sportswriter and sports editor at the Miami Herald and Palm Beach Post, is a South Florida-based freelance writer who covers Alabama for SaturdayDownSouth.com.
