Kirby Smart said that he believed Nick Saban would be on the sideline on Saturday night when Georgia took on Alabama and he was correct in his assumption. According to ESPN's Adam Schefter, Saban is cleared to coach versus Georgia after producing a third straight negative COVID-19 test.
Earlier this week, Saban was discovered to have produced a positive COVID-19 test. He would proceed to leave the team and his status to coach on Saturday was put into jeopardy.
However, Saban would never show symptoms of COVID-19 and continued to undergo tests at Alabama. While remaining at his house, Saban prevented his players from getting exposed to the virus.
And after having negative tests on Thursday and Friday, Nick Saban was able to have a third negative test on Saturday. As a result, he'll be on the sideline when Alabama squares off against No. 3 ranked Georgia on primetime television.
Unlike usual Saban coached teams, Alabama has struggled to have success on the defensive side of the ball so far this season. Through the team's first three games of the season, the Crimson Tide has allowed 91 points to their opponents.
Just a week ago, while Alabama improved to 3-0 on the season, their defense gave up 647 yards of total offense. Plus, even though Alabama's offense put up 63 points in the victory, Ole Miss scored 48 points versus Saban's defensive unit.
Seeing that Saban is a defensive-minded coach, he's likely not fond of how his defense has performed to begin the season. But with him being able to test negative for COVID-19 for the third straight day on Saturday, he'll get a chance to help his defense get back on track against Georgia.