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Familiar face missing as playoff coaches gather in Atlanta

Nick Saban's Alabama Crimson Tide failed to make the four-team playoff for the first time since it was instituted during the 2014 season.

Credit: AP

Clemson head coach Dabo Swinney, left, speaks as LSU head coach Ed Orgeron and Oklahoma head coach Lincoln Riley, right, look on during a news conference ahead for the College Football playoffs Thursday, Dec. 12, 2019, in Atlanta. Ryan Day of Ohio State was unable to attend. (AP Photo/John Bazemore)

ATLANTA — A familiar face was missing as the playoff coaches gathered at the College Football Hall of Fame in Atlanta.

Nick Saban's Alabama Crimson Tide failed to make the four-team playoff for the first time since it was instituted during the 2014 season.

Saban's absence was noted by coaches Dabo Swinney of Clemson and Lincoln Riley of Oklahoma. Both said it was strange to attend a playoff news conference that didn't include Saban.

LSU's Ed Orgeron was also back in Atlanta, a few days after winning the SEC title. But Ohio State's Ryan Day was a no-show because of travel delays.

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