Saban Calls 'Kick Six' and Tagovailoa Injury His Biggest Alabama Regrets
The short version
- Nick Saban told SiriusXM's Christopher 'Mad Dog' Russo that two in-game calls top his list of Alabama regrets.
- He approved Adam Griffith's 57-yard try in the 2013 Iron Bowl, and Chris Davis returned the short kick 109 yards to win it for Auburn.
- Saban said players talked him into the kick after Auburn placed Davis deep, and Alabama's coverage did not hold up.
- On Nov. 16, 2019, Tua Tagovailoa suffered a hip injury that ended his season against Mississippi State after Saban had already ruled him done for the day.
- Without Tagovailoa, Alabama lost the Iron Bowl and missed the College Football Playoff despite a top-five ranking.
The former Alabama coach told Christopher 'Mad Dog' Russo of SiriusXM that the 2013 'Kick Six' kick and Tua Tagovailoa's 2019 injury top his list of regrets.
Nick Saban's place in the sport is settled: six national championships over 17 seasons in charge at Alabama, and a reputation as one of the greatest head coaches college football has produced. That tenure accounts for most of his success and renown, and he now covers the game as an analyst for ESPN.
During a SiriusXM conversation with Christopher 'Mad Dog' Russo, Saban looked back on the calls he would most like another shot at from his Alabama years. He settled on two in-game decisions, and he counts both as mistakes.
The first came at the very end of the 2013 Iron Bowl. Trailing with a single second showing, Alabama sent out kicker Adam Griffith to try a 57-yard field goal. Saban noted that a second had been put back on the clock and that Griffith would have a little wind working in his favor. Alabama's own timeout had left Auburn with no returner deep, and the Tigers answered by stationing Chris Davis well back.
Once Davis appeared deep, Saban wanted no part of the attempt. "I didn't really want to kick the field goal, but the players kept telling me 'he can make it, he can make it, he can make it,'" he said. Because no returner had been on the field, Saban had viewed the kick as risk-free; he relented and told the coverage unit to handle its job. "We did practice that play," he added. "So that was one time I listened to players."
Griffith's try came up short, and Davis carried it back 109 yards for the winning touchdown, the play now remembered as the 'Kick Six.' Saban also faulted the coverage: "I told our players they got to cover, but they didn't cover right or very well." Auburn went on to play in the SEC Championship Game and the BCS title game, while Alabama's championship hopes ended that night.
The second moment is stamped November 16, 2019, during a 38-7 Alabama win over Mississippi State. The Crimson Tide led 35-7 with about two minutes left in the first half. Quarterback Tua Tagovailoa, still feeling the effects of an earlier loss to LSU, had been told by Saban that he was done for the day, and offensive coordinator Steve Sarkisian had been informed of the same decision.
Tagovailoa remained in the game, and on a scramble he was brought down in awkward fashion and suffered a hip injury that ended his season. "I had already told Tua you're done for the day," Saban said. "And he got hurt. I made a lot of bad decisions."
Tagovailoa's absence factored into what followed. Alabama dropped the subsequent Iron Bowl and, despite holding a top-five ranking, was left out of the College Football Playoff.
Taken together, the field goal that became the 'Kick Six' and the sequence that ended with Tagovailoa's injury stand as the two decisions Saban says he most regrets from his time leading the Crimson Tide.
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