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ORLANDO, Fla. — In the only joint appearance of the VRBO Citrus Bowl, while sitting on a dais in a ballroom in the Rosen Plaza Hotel, Michigan head coach Jim Harbaugh and Alabama’s Nick Saban traded pleasantries, smiles, laughs and even a moment of bonding in the end. The two very similar personalities could do that on Tuesday, given that the smile will likely disappear from the face of the coach of the team that does not emerge victorious.
It was an odd sight, the two iconic coaches sharing the same stage — especially given that this is not a New Year’s Six game, nor one in the College Football Playoff.
At the college level, Harbaugh does not have the accolades of Saban — no coach does — but he did have more success in the NFL compared to Saban’s two years with the Miami Dolphins. As the two traded mutual pleasantries, each was asked in the joint press conference about what they see in the other team, and while the Crimson Tide are the perceived favorite — which makes complete sense given their talent and track record — it wasn’t just Harbaugh gushing about what he’s seen out of the Tuscaloosa outfit, Saban had a lot to say about what he’s seen out of Michigan.
Starting with Harbaugh, he noted from a more holistic standpoint what makes Alabama so formidable, sharing just how sound it is across the board.
“A lot of really good things,” Harbaugh said. “Offensively – I’ll let Coach Saban talk about his own team, he’s got a lot of great things to talk about. Schematically and players – offense that’s built for speed. Attacks every part of the field in the passing game, in the running game. Physical, physical football team.
“Defensively, really the same thing. It’s a very attacking, multiple in coverages. And the special teams is really dangerous, especially in the return game. The punt return, the kickoff return. In all facets: everything’s tight, everything’s batten down. There are no weaknesses.”
Saban went much further, going slightly beyond surface-level to break down what he’s seen on tape of the Wolverines.
“I think the first thing that comes off the screen to me is they’re a very well-coached team in every phase of the game,” Saban said. “I think players play really, really hard. They play with tremendous toughness. They’ve got great intangibles in terms of they’re disciplined. The accountability, they do their job. How they play together as a group.
“On defense, they’ve got a lot of movement. They’ve got a lot of quickness. They’re very aggressive. A lot of multiples in terms of what you see and how it challenges your offensive line and the coverage aspects with what their quarterback has to read and what their receivers have to adjust to. On offense, they have a lot of multiples that a lot of college teams have now in terms of how they attack the entire field. They can run the ball effectively. The offensive line is really, really good. Quarterback plays well, can make all the throws. They have really good skill guys that can make explosive plays. They’ve got great balance on offense and they’re very physical on special teams and do a really, really good job in that area of the game as well.
“I see a team that is very strong in every area, but I think the No. 1 thing is they play with great intangibles and are really well-coached.”
The Wolverines and Crimson Tide kick off on Jan. 1 at Camping World Stadium at 1PM EST.