Saban knows it is vital, as does Meyer and Day as well. You can't belong if you don't have that.
The key takeaway from that quote for me is concerning RPO's and using the rules that allow blocking downfield and throwing the ball behind the line. ND has not utilized those and desperately needs to use them. Almost a dereliction of duty by our coaching staff to not have them in our offense. But guess what? RPO's don't work worth shit if no one respects the run and you can't run effectively. Guess what else? RPO's are designed in part to help the running game by keeping the defense honest. So, the run game is still incredibly important and nothing in what Saban said would indicate that it is not.