A legendary figure at Miami after delivering the program its 1987 national championship, Jimmy Johnson arrived at Hard Rock Stadium hoping to see his former team finally reclaim the crown. Instead, he watched his former program fall short again as the Indiana Hoosiers defeated the Miami Hurricanes 27–21 for the national title. But the frustrations of the night didn’t end at the loss. A fabricated AI clip showing Johnson kissing Sara Cardona, a young NBC reporter, began circulating online, triggering an angry response from the former Miami head coach.

“This is fake…this is so wrong!” Johnson wrote, taking to his X account.

The deepfake originated from a photo shared by Cardona following a pregame interview with Johnson at Hard Rock Stadium, captioned, “Pregame interview with @JimmyJohnson.” As the manipulated clip spread, it quickly drew crude reactions and confusion online, with some users initially mistaking it for a real moment. With Johnson’s post reaching his roughly 345,000 followers and the altered image generating more than one million impressions, the scale of the misinformation became clear before X ultimately removed the video for violating platform rules.

The incident unfolded on a night that carried personal significance for Johnson, whose presence at the championship game was rooted in his deep ties to the program. He served as Miami’s head coach from 1984 to 1988, leading the Hurricanes to the 1987 national championship with a win over Oklahoma, before going on to coach the Dallas Cowboys from 1989 to 1993 and later the Miami Dolphins from 1996 to 1999.

Unfortunately for Johnson, his former team failed to end their 25-year National Championship drought as the Hoosiers capped off their legendary 16-0 season with Heisman Trophy winner Fernando Mendoza leading the charge. The consensus number one pick of the 2026 NFL draft didn’t have his best statistical game Monday night, although he came up big when it mattered.

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He completed 16 of 27 passes for 186 yards and ran the ball six times, one of which was for a late-game 12-yard touchdown on fourth-and-4 with 9:18 left to give the Hoosiers a 24-14 lead. After this momentum-shifting play, Miami attempted to make it back by cutting Indiana’s lead to 24-21, with 6:37 remaining.

But once again, in crunch time, Mendoza showed up as he completed two big third-down conversions before buying some time on the ensuing drive. The Hoosiers kicked a field goal, and then cornerback Jamari Sharpe intercepted Miami’s Carson Beck to seal the college championship and help Indiana join the 1894 Yale team as the only ones in major college football history to record a 16-0 season.

Reacting to this thrilling final and an incredible season, Jimmy Johnson made a positive tweet for his Miami Hurricanes.

“Canes came up short but had a good year…,” Johnson wrote on X.

As Fernando Mendoza continued his dominant form throughout the 2025 season into the College Football Playoff final, Jimmy Johnson expressed being upset at his Hurricanes for failing to secure the star quarterback.

Jimmy Johnson addresses the Hurricanes’ failure to sign Mendoza

After a stellar season with 3,535 yards, 41 touchdowns, and 6 interceptions in 16 games this season, which was capped off with a historic win in his hometown of Miami, Fernando Mendoza has firmly set himself up as the future of football. Especially with his Florida roots, the Heisman winner should have rightly played for the Hurricanes, who were the youngster’s favorite team growing up.

But unfortunately for Miami, Mendoza initially committed to Yale University before deciding to attend the University of California, Berkeley, and later transferring to Indiana University. Addressing this missed opportunity to recruit a bona fide star, Jimmy Johnson had some strong words for his Hurricanes.

“I’m just upset he’s not playing for Miami,” Jimmy Johnson said during an interview with the Big Ten Network. “Well, they had their chances early when he came out of high school. And then they tried to get him from Cal. You know, but then we had Cam Ward. And so that was a problem; he is an outstanding quarterback, and he protects the football. I was impressed with his athletic ability as far as being able to run the football. He’s a big, strong guy who can run. He’s going to be a talented quarterback in the professional league. He’s going to do an outstanding job.”

While fans from Florida couldn’t cheer on their hometown star, Fernando Mendoza, throughout his college career, they would be supporting the youngster as he gets drafted into the NFL.