This time, there's no false positive result. No helicopter that's going to deliver Nick Saban to the stadium to coach an Alabama game.
With the school announcing his positive test for COVID-19 Wednesday morning, Saban is definitively out for the top-ranked Crimson Tide's 'Iron Bowl' game this week against Auburn.
Saban's description of his current symptoms reveals few of the standard impacts of the COVID-19 pandemic, a virus that's been sweeping the globe the entirety of 2020.
“I was informed this morning that I had a tested positive. It was a PCR test, which was different than the false positive I had before,” Saban said on the SEC coaches' teleconference. “I don't have any cardinal signs, no fever, no loss of taste or smell, no fatigue, no muscle aches.
“I informed the team this morning at 10 on a Zoom. I'm the only person in the whole organization who tested positive this round. I'm still going to do everything possible to prepare our team for Saturday's game with auburn.”
Once again, Saban is placing Steve Sarkisian, the Alabama offensive coordinator and former USC and Washington head coach, in charge of in-person preparations and gameday responsibilities.
“Sark will oversee things in the building in my absence,” Saban said. “Last time I did this for three days. I absolutely did everything from home that I do from office. Just did it from Zoom.”
Saban admits he doesn't have any idea where he's picked up the coronavirus, noting his school's protocols in the process.
“I have no idea. I'm around nobody. I go home and I go to the office,” Saban said. “Now there are some people in and out of our house on occasion. I have no idea how this happened. We really practice social tracing, social distancing. All the things that we need to do to be safe.
“We're always six feet apart in meetings. We have staff meetings in large rooms. We all wear masks. Players all wear masks. They will obviously do contact tracing but that's up the contact tracer as to whether he sees any issues. Based on how we manage things internally and in the building, I can't see any issues with coaches and players but that's up to them.”
Overall, Saban “feels fine.”
“Just a little bit, I guess, of a runny nose, you know? But nothing really,” Saban said. “I feel fine. I don't really have anything significant. Don't have a fever or any of the tests that they attempted to do. Don't really have anything of significance.”