Nick Saban Hits the Airwaves on 'Hey Coach' Ahead of Georgia

TUSCALOOSA, Ala. — Alabama football coach Nick Saban hit the airwaves on Thursday night in Tuscaloosa for his weekly time on the radio show 'Hey Coach,' hosted by Eli Gold.

Saban attended the event in-person last week at Baumhower's Victory Grille in Tuscaloosa but was forced to attend via Zoom on Thursday due to his recent contraction of COVID-19.

No. 2 Alabama is currently preparing for it's high-profile matchup against No. 3 Georgia this weekend in Bryant-Denny Stadium. While Saban will most likely not be able to attend as he requires three negative coronavirus tests on subsequent days, it is expected that he will explain in further detail this evening what he is undergoing while he conducts his Crimson Tide from quarantine in his home.

Along with discussing Alabama's weekend matchup, Saban discussed his favorite books, including what he is reading currently. He said that he is currently reading The Chicken Runs at Midnight, a book about a Major League Baseball coach whose daughter's dying words inspired him.

'Hey Coach' is broadcasted live on YouTube every Thursday at 6:00 p.m. CT. You can find links to it on Alabama Athletics' social media pages.

Here are some of the highlight's from Thursday night's episode of 'Hey Coach' as the Crimson Tide prepares for a visit from the Bulldogs:

With the show starting at 6:30 p.m. CT, host Eli Gold has women's tennis head coach Jenny Mainz up first on the docket.

Mainz is now discussing former Alabama tennis player Alexa Guarachi, who just recently placed second with her partner in doubles at the French Open.

Mainz's feed keeps dropping out so they are having to end her segment early. There have been reports of internet outages in various parts of Tuscaloosa, so Mainz (along with myself) are struggling to keep the connection maintained.

Andy Staples of The Athletic is the next guest on tonight's show. Staples', like Mainz, is also not having any audio go through.

Staples is the media guest of the week. Saban is now on the air with Gold along with Staples.

Saban said that he has shown zero COVID-19 symptoms, including no fever.

Saban says that technology is amazing as it has allowed him to not miss a beat coaching from home rather than from his office at Mal Moore.

Saban said he could use some coaching pointers from Staples regarding working from home. Apparently Saban is well-aware of how much journalists work from home.

While talking about viewing the practice through a camera, he said that he didn't realize how much he was missing. "I guess that's why Bryant always watched practice from that tower," Saban chuckled.

Saban just took the time to thank everyone across the country for the phone calls, texts, emails and other forms of communication following his diagnosis.

Saban said that one of his team's biggest issues is getting off the field on third down on offense, something that he has hit on several times over the past few weeks.

Staples asked Saban what is missing when the coach isn't there on game days. Saban's response: "Sark is the guy that has been the head coach and is the one that has made those decisions. [...] He's a very bright guy. [...] If you're in quarantine you can't have any access to the sideline even if it's from a remote access area."

"If you're a head coach there needs to be a better way to do that. I don't know how they'd do that, but there's needs to be a better way to do that."

"I would just hate to see someone on our staff have to make a close call and get criticized for it if it doesn't work."

Sables made a 'Robot Saban' joke. Saban didn't bite. Gold smiled, though.

Saban: "There's ways to do this without putting anybody in harms way." He is clearly frustrated that he can't be in the stadium on Saturday.

Saban says he's always reading a book but doesn't have time or the desire to read sports writer's work on Alabama or himself. "I'm just not really into opinions or speculations. I like to read factual stuff." This sportswriter is certainly disappointed.

Some of Saban's recently-read books: Obstacle is the Way (and other Ryan Holiday books), The Chicken Runs at Midnight.

Saban said that he read John Wooden's book when he first started coaching and that really influenced him to not just develop athletes but develop people.

Staples keeps poking jokes at Saban and he is absolutely not having it.

Gold keeps saying that they are having connection issues and that they keep losing Saban, which is odd because the audience is able to hear everything.