Nick Saban defeated Lane Kiffin’s Ole Miss team last Saturday in Oxford, Mississippi to not only improve Alabama’s record to 3-0 on the 2020 season, but also improve his own personal record to 21-0 against former assistant coaches.
Saban has never lost to a former assistant coach of his. Though, that might be short-lived as the Crimson Tide will take onKirby Smart and the Georgia Bulldogs for Week 4 of SEC action in Tuscaloosa, Alabama.
The only catch is: Saban won’t be on the sideline becuase of his recent COVID-19 diagnosis.
So, will it still count toward his record?
AL.com’s Michael Casagrande discovered that it is up to the program to determine whether or not the loss, or win, is credited to the absent head coach, or the acting head coach.
Casagrande quotes the NCAA’s ‘Statistics policies and guidelines,’ which offer a clear and precise call-to-action for programs in scenario’s exactly like Alabama’s.
“If the head coach is not present at a contest due to illness or other unexpected circumstances, or otherwise is unable to complete the sport season, it is the responsibility of the institution to determine, preferably prior to the contest, whether the win, loss or tie for that contest shall be credited to the head coach or to an interim or assistant coach,”
Alabama’s offensive coordinator Steve Sarkisian will be overseeing operations, as Saban put it, but is expected to assume the role of Saban for this Saturday’s Week 4 matchup against No. 3 Georgia. However, Casagrande reports the outcome of the game will fall on Saban’s record.
After the publishing of his original story, Casagrande reports that an Alabama official has confirmed the outcome of the game will count toward Saban’s record.