Nick Saban, Mario Cristobal enjoy humorous give-and-take following Fiesta Bowl win
By David Wasson
Published:
The Nick Saban Coaching Tree represented all four branches of the College Football Playoff semifinals, including former Alabama assistant Mario Cristobal’s Miami Hurricanes besting former Alabama assistant Pete Golding’s Ole Miss Rebels on Thursday night in the Fiesta Bowl.
Less than 24 hours later, on ESPN’s College GameDay before Friday’s Peach Bowl matchup between Indiana and Oregon, Saban and Cristobal enjoyed a humorous back-and-forth about how the Hurricanes prevailed 31-27 to advance to the CFP title game on Jan. 19 in Miami.
“You should have been ahead two scores by the half, no question about it,” Saban began before going into a nuts-and-bolts breakdown of Miami’s end-half offensive efforts while an amused Cristobal looked on via remote.
“Coach, I hate to stop you but let me correct you. As by your standards, and I’ll show you your notebook if you want to,” Cristobal finally butted in with a detailed breakdown of what Saban planned for in the exact same scenario while coaching at Alabama.
“I need to see that,” Saban finally allowed as the rest of the GameDay analysts giggled with glee. “I may have changed my philosophy since then.”
Cristobal coached under Saban at Alabama, serving as an assistant head coach, offensive line coach and recruiting coordinator from 2013-16. Golding was Alabama’s defensive coordinator and inside linebackers coach from 2018-22. Indiana’s Curt Cignetti served as wide receivers coach and recruiting coordinator under Saban from 2007-11. And Oregon’s Dan Lanning was a graduate assistant under Saban in 2015.
An APSE national award-winning writer and editor, David Wasson has almost four decades of experience in the print journalism business in Florida and Alabama. His work has also appeared in The New York Times, The Washington Post, the Los Angeles Times and several national magazines and websites. He also hosts Gulfshore Sports with David Wasson, weekdays from 3-5 pm across Southwest Florida and on FoxSportsFM.com. His Twitter handle: @JustDWasson.
