Before he was winning national championships with LSU and Alabama (and beating the pants off the Spartans in the College Football Playoff), Nick Saban was one of the more successful Michigan State Football head coaches of the modern era after taking over for George Perles between 1995-99. Unfortunately, Saban was diagnosed with COVID-19 on Wednesday and tested positive along with Alabama athletic director Greg Byrne.
Despite doing a lot of work to turn the MSU program around following multiple losing seasons under Perles before his departure, Saban is not exactly beloved in East Lansing. This is largely due to his abrupt departure before the Citrus Bowl in 1999, a game that MSU ultimately won under interim head coach Bobby Williams.
Alabama coach Nick Saban and AD Greg Byrne have COVID-19. pic.twitter.com/zST6HXgZ5S
— Pete Thamel (@PeteThamel) October 14, 2020
Despite some mixed feelings towards Saban in the Michigan State community, we definitely wish him a safe and speedy recovery.
