It didn't matter if you were a casual fan or arguably the best quarterback Nick Saban ever coached. The Alabama head coach's retirement stunned everyone on Wednesday.
In the case of Tua Tagovailoa, football fans got to watch the Miami Dolphins quarterback's live reaction to the news that the legendary coach was retiring via the cameras of "Hard Knocks: In Season." The new show has been following the Dolphins this season, giving the football world a view into moments like this.
"Oh, DAMN. Saban is retiring?" Tagovailoa yelled as he looked down at his phone.
The rest of the room reacted in disbelief before Tagovailoa showed them the evidence. He then pondered whether he should call the coach whose phone was likely in the process of melting from the calls and texts coming in.
That reaction captures how little warning everyone had before Saban made his decision. Apparently, not even Saban knew he would retire until about five minutes before the team meeting in which he told his current players the news.
Obviously, Tagavailoa didn't have any inside info either. He played under Saban for three seasons in Tuscaloosa and was responsible for perhaps the most iconic play of the coach's career: his game-winning touchdown pass to DeVonta Smith in overtime of the 2018 College Football Playoff championship game.
Tagovailoa entered that game as a halftime replacement for a struggling Jalen Hurts and spent the next two years laying waste to SEC defenses. Saban was at his side as Tagovailoa declared for the 2020 NFL Draft, saying the quarterback "had as much as an impact on our program as any player we've ever had."
Tagovailoa has presumably since reached out to Saban, though he already has plenty to worry about this week with an ice-cold matchup against the defending champion Kansas City Chiefs on Saturday.