Let's call it what it is: In every way, Nick Saban's positive COVID test is a massive blow for college football
At 2:22 p.m. ET on Wednesday afternoon, I fired off a tweet.
“Enjoy every second of Georgia-Bama this weekend.”
That was on the heels of finding out that LSU-Florida was postponed as a result of an outbreak with the Gators’ program. We also found out Wednesday that Ole Miss had an outbreak within its program, and just in case that wasn’t enough of a COVID bummer, we found out earlier in the week that Vandy-Mizzou was postponed, too.
So yeah, I thought, at least we have everything ready to roll for Georgia-Alabama on Saturday night. Count your blessings, y’all.
And then roughly 3 hours later, we found out that Nick Saban and Alabama athletic director Greg Byrne tested positive for COVID.
If that isn’t a peak-2020 punch to the gut, I don’t know what is.
In every way, Saban testing positive for COVID is awful. I won’t pretend to be a medical expert, or anything, but I think it’s awful whenever someone in their late-60s tests positive for a virus. The fact that it’s Saban? Yeah, that hit differently. The fact that it’s 3 days before arguably the biggest matchup of the regular season in college football? Yeah, that hit differently, too.
The good news, according to Saban’s daughter, Kristen, is that he hasn’t shown any symptoms. If you were looking for some positive out of Wednesday’s news, this was certainly it:
No symptoms. He’s literally coaching practice from a Zoom call💪🏼 (I had permission to say this)
— Kristen Saban Setas (@KristenSabanS) October 14, 2020
And also fortunately, Saban was in good spirits during an at-home press conference that was shown on SEC Network. Naturally, the non-health question that was on the minds upon hearing the news was what did it mean for Saban’s status for Saturday’s game against Georgia. Could Alabama find a way to get him to communicate to the team during the game? We found out that’s still being explored.
But still, in terms of football relevance, this is a major bummer. We’re not going to see whether Saban can improve to 22-0 against one of his former assistants. We’re not going to see him trot to the locker room and spit out a few disgruntled words during the halftime TV interview, regardless of what the score is. We’re not going to see what was expected to be a fantastic chess match with 2 of the sport’s top programs.
Well, I suppose we will. But it’ll definitely be different without Saban.
If Georgia wins Saturday, it’d be natural to wonder about how much of that was because arguably the best coach in this sport’s history wasn’t there. And to be fair, we should wonder that.
I mean, this is the guy who had the guts to pull his SEC Player of the Year quarterback in favor of a true freshman at halftime of a national championship. This is the same guy who took a left turn with his program’s offensive philosophy and then went to 4 national championship games in the next 5 years. This is the guy who changed the standard of excellence in the sport for programs like, ironically enough, Georgia.
When Saban announced Alabama’s arrival to the college football world, it was the 2008 Blackout Game against the Bulldogs. Twelve years ago, we didn’t know that Saban was about to build something no program could touch in the 21st century. We didn’t realize that 12 years later, we’d still be talking about how his absence would impact the biggest regular-season game of the college football season.
But here we are, in 2020, where this sort of thing seems par for the course.
The silver lining of Saban being the first SEC coach to test positive is that perhaps it’ll make a greater impact. The best and oldest active SEC head coach did public service announcements for following proper COVID protocols, he wore a mask on the sidelines and by all accounts, he did everything one could ask of someone in his position.
Yet he still got the virus. This is the guy who told his mom during this, “I’m not giving you a hug today because I love you.”
That’s the all-too-real reminder of what’s going on. Saban took this virus seriously. It still found a way to make a loud, significant impact on the SEC community.
It’s OK if your initial reaction to Saban testing positive was to think about how it would impact Saturday night’s showdown. You’re not alone. It’s also OK if your first reaction to Saban testing positive was that of concern for him and his family. Lord knows they won’t be lacking support to tackle this new obstacle in his way.
And it’s also OK if after a week that’s been loaded with frustrating COVID developments in the SEC, Saban’s news just hit you a little differently.
You’re definitely not alone, either.
This puts UGA in a tough position. Lose, and we get mocked for losing even while Saban in at home.
Win, and everyone says “yeah, well, but Saban wasn’t there”.
I hope he stays well, and I hope we win. Either way, we’ll get zero credit.
*is at home
You don’t think Saban will be coaching remotely? A win is a win is a win.
I agree. I’m saying OTHERS will give us no credit.
You’re right but who cares. There are no asterisk wins (except for LSU in 2007). A win is a win.
You two clowns are just comical. Saban won’t be coaching remotely as that is against the rules. Poor 417, still feeling inferior because Orgeron owns his team.
Your only concern is if UGA gets credit for a win. Shameful…People are sick, players may even be sick we don’t know yet and if not caught it could be spread to UGA…
Who really cares? If UGA wins congratulations does it matter what anyone else thinks?
BamaSlime is trying to put the liberal guilt trip on me. I know it’s probably too late but please don’t do that to your children. LMAO!!!
Sorry but I’m not a liberal.
I still don’t personally know of a single person who has tested Covid positive. Sure I see the newspapers with the celebrities who claim to have tested positive. Still don’t know a single person who has tested positive. Hmmm.
Thats because you don’t have any friends.
No. Maybe it’s just because for some reason it seems to attack liberals more.
Lol dude if, by this point, you still think it’s a hoax bro, then god bless you. I don’t ever really comment on here but you are just too stupid to not poke fun at I’m sorry
I know probably a dozen people who’ve caught it. One recently died (cancer patient with a suppressed immune system). I have a nephew fighting it right now, and he’s vulnerable as a kidney transplant patient. My wife knows another half dozen, and our daughter in college at least another dozen more.
Most have recovered fine, but it’s very real, and very dangerous to some with other medical issues.
That’s great that you don’t know anyone that’s personally had it. I do…
Look how many Republican lawmakers got it, to include the president. Compare that to the other side. Idiot.
I’m beginning to think the ugagrad posters aren’t really “grads”
DawgManStan,
Where did I say I think COVID-19 is a hoax? I just said I didn’t personally know anyone who had tested positive. I know people who know someone who tested positive. I don’t think it’s a hoax but it’s been completely blown out of proportion by certain “types” of people. Please don’t quote me the death numbers which are undoubtably inflated after the government started paying bounties for patients who died at the hospital and were classified as COVID death. These hospitals were absolutely desperate for income as everything else in the hospitals had been shut down to take care of the millions who would need ICU care. That never happened. This whole pandemic has completely been politicized by the Democrats as a weapon to keep Trump from getting re-elected. By the way, I think Trump is a complete a-hole.
You insinuated it, then got heaps of backlash, so now you’re backtracking. Just be careful what you say man. Hmmmmmm.
Ok DawgManStan. I can see where you might interpret my comments as you did. But I didn’t backtrack. I just clarified. I have given to multiple causes for the frontline workers in the pandemic, I wear my mask with no objections whatsoever. But I stand by comments completely.
My hope is he will not get sick and will be back on the side lines very soon. He is an icon in our country and I wish him the best.
Hope Saban and the AD don’t get sick. But what a click bait title. Can you say CNN?
Totally agree UGA grad this is not a massive blow to college football. Journalistic sensationalism at its finest.
Your comments are spot-on. Yes we need to take precautions especially for those at risk but for 8 months we have been conditioned that testing positive = death. Not true. Many who test positive never show symptoms or even know they have it and the vast majority who test positive recover. O’Gara should know better.
I would NOT want to be around that man now. The biggest game of the season so far and he can’t attend. I bet a Grizzly with hemorrhoids passing pinecones would be a pale comparison.
Hopefully he has minimal to no symptoms and recovers fully,.
I like that little grizzly comparison but Saban is like that on a good day.
I was with a friend of mine who was speaking at a men’s conference at UA. After we unloaded his truck which just happened to have LSU all across the back window the security guard directed me to a parking space. When I got there it said “Reserved Nick Saban”. Next to it was President University of Alabama. I moved over and parked in the President’s space.
True story
Sooooo, ANOTHER “case” where no one is sick. Haven’t you media folks seen enough “positive tests” to know what is the real situation here?! A “positive test” means almost nothing unless the person is really sick. Heck, given the unreliability of the tests, he may not even have actually tested positive (ask GA state and the NFL)!
Even the stick-a-swab-up-your-nose-and-scrape-your-brain isn’t 100% accurate. The speedy tests are less so. And Saban could be infected but symptom free or symptoms may still be in the cards for him.
There are more false negatives from the nose swab test than false positives.
References? I didn’t think so.
This guy has a serious man crush on Nicky Satan. Sorry but him contracting the virus is no worse than anyone else.
If he did everything right, how did he catch it. I thought masks were supposed to protect you.
Anyway, get well soon Coach.
Nothing is 100% with COVID. I hope you aren’t implying that masks are useless because clearly they are the best weapon we currently have.
But, yeah, I share your hope that Saban enjoys a speedy recovery.
As someone who works in the medical field. They are not effective. Unless it is a n95 sealed mask otherwise seriously its next to minimal effect.
You don’t work in the “medical field”. No one that does would say something as stupid as this.
Masks are just superstition
UGA fans should not be talking about masks. Y’all sound like idiots.
Don’t goat rope all of us in with these idiots
No, the masks are not to protect you. Nothing but an N-95 medical mask will effectively do that. They are to protect others FROM you if you should have the virus. And no, that’s not guaranteed, but it reduces the chances by catching saliva that might otherwise go airborne while speaking, coughing, etc.
That’s not totally true either. The mask help reduce the virus both coming and going, so it does provide protection for the wearer and those around them. It may not catch everything, but if you take in less of the virus, you will be less sick. I’ve talked to many actual medical professionals and all have said the same. The medical professionals on this site all seem to have an agenda.
True to a degree, but I’ve read that cloth masks are around 80% effective in preventing an infected person from spreading it aerobically, while being much less effective in preventing a person from catching it aerobically (I’ve read as little as a 5% effective rate, but I believe I’ve also seen a number as high as 20%).
Oh FFS, no it’s not.
He’ll be cleared in 10 days. Won’t go to the hospital. Likely won’t even suffer any symptoms.
In fact, it will likely be great for college football (and probably America) when he comes out on the other side no worse for wear.
Everyone in the country will see what amounts to an elderly man, with maybe one comorbidity, suffer no ill effects from covid-19 and the only people who will be disappointed will be the coronabros. Pat Forde. Dan Woken. Karen Rovell. Nicole Auerbach. Stew Mandel. Pete Thamel. The list goes on.
I hope your prediction for Saban is right, but there are several million husbands and wives, sons and daughters, grandchildren and friends of the 120 thousand people who have died from this disease who would take issue with your attitude.
Corona deniers won’t get it until someone close to them ends up in the hospital or worse.
Over 15,000 of those were people in old folks homes. Want to know how many people on an avg year die in old folks homes? Around 500,000.
Roughly speaking, about 2 million people die in the United States from all causes each year. Car accidents, cancer, heart disease, old age, everything. The 2 million number has been relatively consistent for the last 20 years.
In a normal year, 20-24% of U.S. deaths from all causes occur in U.S. retirement/nursing homes. Your 500,000 deaths figure is a bit high, but it’s roughly correct.
According to the CDC, between March 1 and August 1, 2020, 336,561 deaths occurred in the US, a 20% increase over the number of expected deaths (111,031, at a 95% confidence interval).
That’s 225,530 excess deaths from all causes during the five month period from March 1, 2020 to August 1, 2020. While it’s believed that most of these “excess deaths” are due to COVID-19, because of reporting and classification standards, “only” 150,541 (67%) are officially attributed to COVID-19.
No offense, but ‘died from this disease,’ is being a bit loose with the numbers. If one looks at COVID-19 as a primary diagnosis you must then look at co-morbidities. There are many examples of COVID being used as a primary diagnosis when, in fact, the co-morbidities played a much larger role in the patients’ demise. I have taken care of several COVID patients and all, not some, all had a significant underlying disease, such as COPD, renal failure, or some other diagnosis.
Yes and no. In patients with chronic diabetes, heart disease is often the cause of death. In patients with Alzheimer’s, pneumonia brought on by becoming bedridden following a fall is often the cause of death. And so it goes.
Virtually all COVID-19 deaths appear to have co-morbidity factors. Which is precisely why the elderly and people with chronic diseases are considered to be most at risk.
But COVID-19 is certainly the tipping point that pushes co-morbidities from chronic condition to cause of death.
Win one for the Gipper! I do hope he continues with no symptoms. I can attest to how the symptoms affect you since I had the Kung Fu Flu in early Feb before it became widely known. I knew I was sick, but not figured it was just the regular flu. I’m 68 and in decent shape and can say that it was the worst I had felt since a bout with mono. Coughing, shortness of breath, aching, fever, and no taste! Didn’t care to eat anything since it had no taste! Will be saying a little prayer for Coach Saban and the other person as well – hope it goes well and then you’ll be immune!
I’m not downplaying the fact that Saban has contracted a potentially very serious illness. May God heal him and quickly…
But as with anything Alabama him not being on the sideline is already being blown out of proportion.
It will be a major inconvenience for everybody involved, but the man is still fully involved. He will wake up tomorrow and instruct his coaches. He will tell a position coach to run that play again just like was doing today. The game plan will still be all Saban. Same with the halftime adjustments.
It won’t be the same with him not being on the sideline, but it will still be his players and his game plan.
It will still be Georgia vs Alabama. And if Georgia wins, it will still be Smart beating Saban.
If Georgia’s fortunate enough to win, I’m not going to let anybody diminish that accomplishment. It isn’t just about Nick Saban and Alabama. It’s also about all the hard work that Kirby Smart and his coaches and his players have put in.
I just hope neither team loses any players due to any positive test.
If you actually think not having the greatest coach of all time on the sideline for the best, toughest game of the season is not a big deal then you sir don’t know football. Everything runs through Saban. Everything. From the coin toss to how injuries are handled. He has his hand in everything. Not having him out there on the field is a huge deal.
I agree that it is still Alabama vs Georgia, but beating Alabama without Saban is just not the same as beating Alabama with Saban.
I assume that President Trump’s Wuhan virus cocktail medication has already arrived in Tuscaloosa. Coach Saban even if from a different commanding position and the Crimson Tide will be ready to play. It’s going to be a great game.
If the players are healthy I still expect Bama to win with Sark acting as HC for the game.
Now we can begin to connect the dots. Eating Little Debbie Oatmeal Creme Pies every day may be a contributing factor.
Today (Thursday) should be the day we begin to find out whether this has impact beyond Saban.
Even if the other coaches test negative, I wonder what curve balls contact tracing may provide. Anyone who has spent 15 minutes or more in close proximity to an infected person is assumed to be at risk and quarantined for a minimum of 14 days. Aside from his daily interaction with the coaches, that plane ride back from Texas could be a problem. It has to be assumed Nick was infected and contagious at that time since the average COVID incubation period is 5 days. He was tested on Tuesday with results back yesterday.
Which then begs the question, how many available staff coaches is the minimum to play a game? We have all kinds of numbers for players but I’ve seen nothing on coaching minimums. There are only 11. Is 8 too few? 7?
Today could be very interesting.
Saban runs the defense. His defense has been bad this year. Sarkisian runs the offense. His offense has been great this year. I dont think Saban being put for a short period changes anything
Prayers for everyone testing positive.
Is it a coincidence that the legendary GOAT tests positive to covid three days before the biggest game of the year? This is political and question if he really does have it. It’s a distraction to take focus off other news stories.
Please get rid of that power T if you’re going to post nonsensical conspiracy crap.
He’s mad, he misplaced his tin foil hat & is running late to the Q-rally.
Yeah, Saban’s just terrified of Stetson Bennett IV. The GOAT, with more rings than he can fit on one hand and owner of the country’s best offense, is so scared of a big game that he pretends to catch COVID. Cuz we know he’s just horrible in big games. And all the medical pros and the administration are playing right along. Right.
Well that’s like your opinion man.
It’s amazing that this far into everything people are still arguing the severity of the virus. You idiots are the reason we haven’t turned the corner. You’re the reason football almost and may still be canceled.
Hope the GOAT has a speedy and full recovery.
As I watched the game on TV I noticed that I could see through the mask Saban was wearing. Is his mask effective enough to protect him from the virus?
Why is this a big deal? This is no different from Saban catching the flu. If he even has symptoms he’ll be back to work in a few days and coaching remotely is no different than coaching from a box above. This will have zero impact on Saturday’s game.
I think they said its like day 7-10 that is usually most critical period. Feels like masks are here to stay for a while.
You can’t coach a game remotely…
Get well, Coach!
He’s Nick Saban. He’ll be back.
I bet college football wont even notice, GA and Bama will, but the rest is going to go on like nothing happened.
Fortunately like you mentioned above, he’s asymptomatic. That’s a major plus since he’s in a very susceptible age group for severe consequences to this virus. We can all just wish he continues to not have symptoms and comes back perfectly healthy and has no complications down the road from it.
Prayer are with him and his staff. Hope all that are sick to get well soon
People without Health Insurance are petrified of COVID.