TAMPA, Fla. – One day remains before the highly awaited rematch between Alabama and Clemson, and the head coach Nick Saban of the top-ranked Tide and Dabo Swinney of the No. 2 Tigers met for a final press conference before the game Monday evening.
Here is what we heard:

After last year’s title matchup, Swinney said he joked with Saban that they would see each other in Tampa, and now both coaches are thankful for the opportunity to play again at the highest level.

“I told him back in March we’d see each other in Tampa again, and kind of neat to be here, but what a phenomenal job they’ve done,” Swinney said. “Really proud of our team to have the opportunity to get back here and it’s been a fun journey, really great leadership all year long, and here we are, this is where we wanted to be, and very thankful for the opportunity that we have.”

While the opponent may be the same, Swinney said that the state Clemson is in for this year’s National Championship is more desirable than last year’s from a health standpoint.

“I really did not like how we finished last year. I appreciate we found a way to win in November, but we were straining to get to the finish line, if you will. We played 10 straight. We were a very top-heavy team. We didn’t have a very good rotation defensively,” Swinney said. “But we’re a healthier team, but more importantly, we’ve got more functional football players. We’re competitively built differently from a depth standpoint than we were last year. I think that’s always the position you want to be in as a coach because it just brings a different edge to your meetings, your practice and everything.”

Saban said he is not surprised to be playing Clemson again for the title because of the way Swinney has helped the program evolve.

“I think Clemson and what Dabo has done with his program there is one of the top college football programs in the country. They do an outstanding job of recruiting. They do an outstanding job of coaching. They do an outstanding job of developing players. I can’t tell you how much respect we have for the job that they do,” Saban said. “If I was going to pick who the two best teams are, I would say the two best teams are here. And that’s the way it should be.”

Of course, Swinney also noted how he has an immense amount of respect for Saban and the success of the Alabama football program.

“I’ve never seen anything like it,” Swinney said. “To be able to regroup and create that edge and meet those challenges, continue to manage your staff and your roster and compete at the highest level, I mean, it’s just unbelievable what has happened.”

Swinney’s respect for the program stems from his time spent at Alabama as both a player and a Graduate Assistant, and he carries the memory of winning the National Championship in his last game with him to this day.

“I was a crawl-on. I was one notch below a walk-on. I crawled on the field out there,” Swinney said. “And so for my last game, to be the National Championship Game and to do it against Miami was just an incredible moment and something that kind of bonded that group together forever.”