Nick Saban claims major college football program is 'back' to national relevance

Nick Saban has proclaimed that a Power Four college football program is nationally relevant again after a long silence.

Jan 1, 2026; Pasadena, CA, USA; Nick Saban on the ESPN College Gameday set during the 2026 Rose Bowl and quarterfinal game of the College Football Playoff at Rose Bowl Stadium. Mandatory Credit: Kirby Lee-Imagn Images | Kirby Lee-Imagn Images

The stage is set for the 2025 College Football Playoff National Championship. No. 1 Indiana (15-0, 9-0) will face No. 10 Miami (13-2, 6-2) in Hard Rock Stadium in Miami, Florida, on Jan. 19 (7:30 p.m. EST, ESPN).

The national championship matchup will feature a pair of programs that have not reached this level of success in quite some time. Indiana has never seen this amount of success, as it did not win more than 10 games in a regular season until Curt Cignetti's arrival. As for Miami, 2025 has been about a return to national relevance that has been missing for nearly two decades.

Retired seven-time national champion head coach Nick Saban is buying into Miami's return to national relevance. He discussed the importance Hurricanes' run in the 2025 College Football Playoff at halftime of the Peach Bowl on the ESPN set Friday.

From left: Desmond Howard, Rece Davis, Pat McAfee, Nick Saban and Kirk Herbstreit on the ESPN College Gameday set during the 2026 Rose Bowl | Kirby Lee-Imagn Images

"I'm happy for them too. I think this is great for the city of Miami. The U is back, and that's really, really good. Glad they're going to be playing in Hard Rock (Stadium), that's all great," Saban said. "But, I tell you what, they helped Ole Miss a lot in the game last night. But what impressed me the most was the resiliency they showed to keep playing the next play and overcome the adversity that they created themselves."

Saban has a professional connection with Hurricanes head coach Mario Cristobal. After Florida International fired Cristobal in the 2013 offseason, Saban hired him to his Alabama staff. Cristobal served as an associate head coach, recruiting coordinator and offensive line coach for four seasons before departing for Oregon in 2017.

Cristobal spent a season as the Ducks' co-offensive coordinator and offensive line coach before taking over for the outgoing Willie Taggart as head coach. He was in the role for four seasons before accepting the head coaching job at Miami.

Under Cristobal's leadership, the Hurricanes are playing in their first national championship since 2002. Following the national championship loss to Ohio State and their eventual movement to the ACC, the Hurricanes gradually regressed to the point where they fired Larry Coker in the 2007 offseason.

Between Coker and Cristobal, the Hurricanes employed Randy Shannon, Al Golden, Mark Richt and Manny Diaz as head coaches. All four finished with winning records as head coaches, but only Richt won 10 games in a season (2017). Richt retired from the post after three seasons, while the other three were relieved of their duties by the university.

Ole Miss Rebels linebacker TJ Dottery (6) is hugged by Miami Hurricanes head coach Mario Cristobal | Rob Schumacher/The Republic / USA TODAY NETWORK via Imagn Images