Alabama coach Nick Saban and athletic director Greg Byrne have tested positive for COVID-19, three days before the second-ranked Crimson Tide is set to face No. 3 Georgia in a clash of Southeastern Conference and national powers.
Both said their tests Wednesday morning came back positive, and Saban said in a statement that he “immediately left work and isolated at home.”
Saban wasn’t sure how game day will go when it comes to communication with his staff, but is confident he can still lead practices and run meetings from home via Zoom calls. He communicated with a team manager when he saw a mistake in practice and wanted a play repeated.
“Now, I don’t have experience at that. But we’re going to do the best we can to keep everything as normal as possible.”
The Tide played at Mississippi last weekend, and Rebels coach Lane Kiffin said Wednesday his team had some positive tests. Saban said Alabama hasn’t “had any indication” of an outbreak within the team.
Saban said he and staffers — from coaches to secretaries — had done a good job of wearing masks around each other while in the football building. Asked about his No. 1 concern, Saban mentioned getting his players ready for the game, not his health.
“I haven’t blocked anybody or tackled anybody, caught any passes, thrown any passes in a game in a long, long time, so it’s still going to be up to how the players are able to execute and it’s up to us to try to get them in the best position to do that.”
The news out of Tuscaloosa was a nother body blow for the SEC, which had postponed two games this week already: No. 10 Florida against defending national champion LSU and Missouri-Vanderbilt.
Alabama’s head trainer Jeff Allen and medical director Jimmy Robinson said in a joint statement that Saban and Byrne were the only initial positive tests.
“All individuals who are considered high risk contacts have been notified and will follow quarantine guidelines,” the statement said. “We will follow the SEC’s Return to Activity and Medical Guidance Task Force Protocol for testing asymptomatic positives.”
Byrne said he would “remain at home and follow all guidelines.”
“We’ve been diligent about mask wearing and social distancing from the start and want to continue to encourage you all to take the necessary precautions to help stop the spread of this virus for yourself and those around you,” the 48-year-old AD said.
Tennessee coach Jeremy Pruitt, one of five former Saban assistants now leading SEC programs, said “it has been a tough day.”
“It’s the reality,” Pruitt said. “I don’t think there’s probably any family across our country that has not been affected during this pandemic.”
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