Steve Sarkisian was the on-field head coach for Alabama’s 42-13 win over Auburn, but Nick Saban still did the postgame press conference.

From his home “quarantine” setup, Saban handled the postgame press conference via Zoom. He watched an All-22 feed of the game and had plenty of observations to share, as well as praise for his how staff, especially Sarkisian, handled his absence. Saban also shared that Alabama has already had multiple practices for LSU. And yes, he did yell at his TV watching Saturday’s Iron Bowl.

Here are the highlights of what Saban told reporters:

  • “Great win for our team. Really proud of our players and coaches. I think everyone stepped up and did a really good job today. I think the energy was good.”
  • “It’s just a great team win. I can’t really explain it. This is an unusual circumstance for me to be in to watch from afar and watch them win. They’re excited after the game, they’re very happy.”
  • “I think our coaching staff did a marvelous job today.”
  • “Sark did a nice job of managing things. I sat here and felt a little helpless. But I could see things, yell at things, listen to Miss Terry cheer from downstairs. It’s a little different.”
  • “I thought [Sarkisian] was well prepared for what he needed to do and I thought he did a really good job.”
  • “Our entire defense has improved and gelled together as a unit. I think we’re using more players now. Which I think enhances everyone’s opportunity to have a role and go out there and contribute.”
  • More on defense: “We made a couple of mistakes in the secondary that could have been really costly.”
  • “Early in the season, we saw a lot of stuff. Missouri, Ole Miss, those games were really tough for the defensive players, especially the young ones. But I think they learned from it.”
  • “Auburn does a really good job offensively. They use a lot of formations, a lot of motions, you have to really be on your toes to adjust.”
  • “This is one of the best senior classes of people that I think we’ve ever had. Great leadership, really good character.”
  • “We actually practiced for LSU for three days. One day in the bye week, then Monday/Tuesday when we thought we’d play. We’ve had 3 days of work with them. “
  • “I think I did yell at the TV a couple times. … I guess it was more than a couple.”