Nick Saban Enters His Toughest Battle Yet, But This Time It's Off the Field
TUSCALOOSA, Ala. — Have you ever been in a stadium when a player unexpectedly goes down with an injury and an eerie hush falls over the crowd? When rivalries and passion for each side's respective teams are put aside and everyone quiets down out of mutual respect for the fallen individual?
On Wednesday evening a hush fell over the crowd, but not in its normal sense. There was no player that had torn an ACL or had fractured his hip. There was no dislocated ankle or concussion. There wasn't even a stadium. Last night, the entire college football world fell quiet when one of its most-respected icons made an announcement.
Alabama football coach Nick Saban was diagnosed with COVID-19. The highest-paid, most-prolific coach in the sport was put into quarantine along with his wife, the beloved women that both Saban and his fans refer to as 'Mrs. Terry.'
It was the equivalent of watching a player being carted off of the field, with fans silently watching for a sign; that simple thumb hoisted up in the air that signifies despite all of the adversity, everything is going to be ok.
A lot has happened along this road that led us all to this point. The cancelation of spring practices. Delay after delay of schedule announcements and fall camps. The establishing of bubbles for teams and coaches in order to prevent the spread of the virus as much as possible. Ultimately, it was all for naught.
And honestly, we should have seen this coming.
In addition to Saban being diagnosed with the coronavirus, news in the Southeastern Conference concerning outbreaks was already prevalent in yesterday's news. Florida is currently dealing with an outbreak, causing its game with LSU that was supposed to take place this weekend to be postponed. Ole Miss, who Alabama played last weekend and who many are referring to as potentially the place that both Saban and Crimson Tide director of athletics Greg Byrne contracted the virus, is also currently dealing with an outbreak among their own players.
While Saban might have been sidelined, he did give the fans of college football the sign that everyone wanted to see. On the back of our metaphorical medical cart, being taken out of our metaphorical stadium, the 68-year-old coach hoisted his thumb high in the air to let everyone know that he will be just fine.
"I feel fine, so I'm not really concerned that much about my health, but you never know," Saban said to the media via Zoom on Wednesday evening. "I basically feel like when we're in our own personal bubble here, I think everybody's in a much safer place. I think as soon as you travel, you get exposed to a lot more things and a lot more people, if that makes any sense, even though I've worn a mask all the time: in the hotel, on the bus, in the plane.
"So nobody really knows how this occurs, but I know that our medical staff has done a really good job and the No. 1 thing I would be concerned about is can the players still go out and focus on the game and play the game? It's a big game for them."
Leave it to Saban to still have his mind dwelling on the game of football and his players rather than reflecting on his diagnosis.
So far, Saban has been asymptomatic and Terry Saban has tested negative, according to Saban's daughter Kristen on Twitter. Both are quarantined in Saban's house in Tuscaloosa, waiting out the virus until Saban can return to action on the field again.
Saban revealed that he can continue to do all of his work for getting his team prepared for Georgia from his home. Heck, he was even coaching Wednesday's practice via Zoom. If there's a way for him to get something done that will help his team, as God as his witness he'll do it.
Even in Wednesday's press conference, Saban revealed that he and his staff are currently looking into if it is possible for him to have communication with his coaches and players during this weekend's game as the No. 3 Bulldogs roll into Bryant-Denny Stadium. If at all possible and legal, Saban will be in offensive coordinator Steve Sarkisian's headset on Saturday, who was announced to be taking over head coaching duties while Saban is sidelined.
"Sark's been a head coach before, and I'm not sure exactly how this is going to play out in terms of when the game comes, whether I can have communication with people or not," Saban said. "We'll have to research and sort of figure that one out. But we did have a plan for each coach on the staff as to what might happen.
"We've just got to go from there. Just like if we lose a player we have to do the same thing."
And now we are caught up to the present. Just like in a football game when a player goes down on the field and is taken out, the crowd has begun to murmur again. The players are back on their feet after kneeling in respect, and the referees are spotting the ball and getting the teams back onto the field.
Before Saban ended his weekly Wednesday press conference yesterday evening, he gave the media a message for those of the public who still do not take this virus seriously.
"Personally, think I did a pretty good job of trying to manage my personal space, and that would be what I've informed our players to try and do," Saban said. "Because you have to respect this disease and the spread of this disease. So I guess my message would be adhere to protocol of what people are informing us to do. Wash our hands, wear a mask, social distance. All those things I think are important. You know, I always tell our players just assume everyone you come in contact with might be infected, and you might be infected and not know it and actually bring harm to them, so I would be concerned for my own personal family. That's about the only people I've been around other than the coaches and the players. I mean, I'm pretty isolated in terms of what I do, so I'm just hopeful that none of them have an issue or problem because of this."
One thing is for certain: if there's anyone who will give this virus hell, it's Nicholas Lou Saban, Jr. The coronavirus won't know what hit it when it tries to go up against Saban's immune system.
Now the wait begins for Saban's return. It could be as soon as next weekend in Knoxville against Tennessee, or it might be later than that. No one really knows for sure as this virus is wildly unpredictable and recovery times vary from person to person.
Have you ever been in a stadium when a player returns to the field for the first time since falling from an injury? When an athlete had been sidelined for several weeks or sometimes an entire season due to a single play that went wrong and was entirely out of their control?
I can't wait to hear the crowd roar as Alabama's beloved coach returns to action after winning yet another battle against a high-profile matchup. This time, though, that battle will take place off the field.
The coronavirus had better hope it has a defense strong enough to contain Saban's RPO-style immune system.
