Nick Saban has jokes, and so does Mario Cristobal.
Bravely making his way through the Cal crowd at 6:30 a.m. local time, the Miami Hurricanes head coach made an appearance on College GameDay with little to no fanfare. But the fanfare came from Cristobal’s comments toward Saban — all in good fun, of course.
Before Cristobal was the head coach at the University of Oregon and now at Miami, he was on staff with Saban at Alabama. His time with the Crimson Tide (2013-16) predated his stint as the FIU head coach, but he quickly immersed himself in Alabama coaching lore as the assistant head coach, offensive line coach, and run game coordinator. And apparently, he did very well for himself (and the Crimson Tide) on the recruiting trail in Miami, unsurprisingly enough.
“When we used to go recruiting in Miami, when he was on the (Alabama) staff, every school we went in, he talked Spanish. I didn’t know what was happening. But we got some players,” Saban said.
Well, Saban isn’t exactly beloved in Miami Beach. This is the same Saban who left the Dolphins after two seasons, jettisoning from the AFC East to the SEC. He traded facing Bill Belichick and Tom Brady for facing off against Urban Meyer (Florida) and Les Miles (LSU).
But to actually have a recruiting presence in the area he uprooted, he needed Cristobal to protect him. As an extension of his program and a bodyguard of sorts, Cristobal joked with Saban that he shielded him from angry Dolphins fans.
“I was protecting him from the Dolphin fans,” said Cristobal.
“When we used to go recruiting in Miami, when he was on the (Alabama) staff, every school we went in, he talked Spanish. I didn’t know what was happening. But we got some players.” – Nick Saban
“I was protecting him from the Dolphin fans.” – Mario Cristobal pic.twitter.com/cGCPQqrohv
— Awful Announcing (@awfulannouncing) October 5, 2024
Can you imagine Saban making an in-home visit and a parent asking, “What the hell did you leave the Dolphins high and dry for?” It would be a scene out of Seinfeld, like when Frank Costanza (Jerry Stiller) demanded to know why George Steinbrenner traded Jay Buhner to the Seattle Mariners.
Whether it’s swapping recruiting stories or throwing jabs on national TV, their connection clearly runs deep. Maybe Saban will brush up on his Spanish one day, or perhaps he’ll still need Cristobal to shield him from those lingering Dolphins fans.
About Sam Neumann
Since the beginning of 2023, Sam has been a staff writer for Awful Announcing and The Comeback. A 2021 graduate of Temple University, Sam is a Charlotte native, who currently calls Greenville, South Carolina his home. He also has a love/hate relationship with the New York Mets and Jets.