Gene Stallings

Jimbo4Bama · December 9th, 2006, 02:14 PM

On finebaum yesterday, Stallings (who just happens to meet Mal's search criteria i.e. a proven winner) all but said he wanted to coach at Bama again....but he said that he wasnt in it for the money or the long haul. I know some of yall will say we need a long term coach (including me) but everyone was doing flips (including me again) when Spurrier was thinking about coming for a short term. I think that we should hire Stallings for 2-3 years and keep the program from crashing and burning, and just maybe even improve the program...something the last few coaches couldnt ever do. Who really has 100% confidence in a Jim Grobe or even Paul Johnson. I do think that PJ is ok but we should do better than him. I think the University should get Stallings for a few years until another big name coach is free for us to grab, because we cannot afford to hire another mediocre coach and end up firing him in a few years.

TideFan in AU · December 9th, 2006, 02:21 PM

	Quote:	Jimbo4Bama
	Who really has 100% confidence in a Jim Grobe or even Paul Johnson. I do think that PJ is ok but we should do better than him.

Paul Johnson is a winner. I think he can and will win anywhere he goes. He doesn't even seem like a gamble to me. He has consistantly done more with less. I think given the talent he can get at Alabama he would be the coach we all want. Will he get the chance? I don't know. In time we're going to see whether we should have hired or not if we don't. A big school will eventually pick him up, and he's going win and probably win big.

bkschiavon · December 9th, 2006, 02:34 PM

God please...how awesome would that be? Just give us two or three good years under Stallings and we WOULD be back! After that, the job would be a much easier job to fill.

BadgerTidefan · December 9th, 2006, 02:39 PM

Agreed, That would also almost certainly keep Joe Kines here.

wastedmason · December 9th, 2006, 02:41 PM

Sounds like a plan to me. Keep the job open for a new coach but let coach Stallings right the ship untill the new coach comes available.

bkschiavon · December 9th, 2006, 02:42 PM

I really think we as Alabama fans should over run the posting boards with "we want Gene Stallings" posts. Let's make some noise and see what happens!

Jimbo4Bama · December 9th, 2006, 02:44 PM

He could really just serve as a "long term Interim Head Coach"....because obviously we cant get a "long term head coach"

moorav · December 9th, 2006, 02:48 PM

If you think Shula & Co had a predictable boring offense, GS was toss sweep right just like the Darby up the middle.

Fans wanted him gone - The entrie year he was trashed for barely winning and his offense was behind the times...etc all the way up the NC

The defensive talent made that season work (not the DC) they populated the NFL with defensive talent.

Gene Stallings was not really appreciated until after the fact - I think GS being HC is a terrible idea. He should stay out and enjoy being appreciated.

bkschiavon · December 9th, 2006, 02:48 PM

	Quote:	Jimbo4Bama
	He could really just serve as a "long term Interim Head Coach"....because obviously we cant get a "long term head coach"

Ill take him as long as he's willing to give us.

bkschiavon · December 9th, 2006, 02:51 PM

	Quote:	moorav
	Fans wanted him gone - The entrie year he was trashed for barely winning and his offense was behind the times...etc all the way up the NC

and thats a bad thing?

JessN · December 9th, 2006, 02:52 PM

Hiring Stallings doesn't make sense unless he commits to you for five years, at least.

Also, it may not be possible -- until Feb. 1, 2007, any coach Alabama hires has to pass a NCAA background check. The NCAA can stop us from hiring some people or at least placing a show-cause order on the hire. Because Stallings was a part of two separate NCAA investigations here (the 1993 case, and the 2001 case via the Kenny Smith information that was let in around the statute of limitations), I don't know that he would pass muster in Indianapolis.

Back to the five-year thing, if Alabama hires a coach for two years, recruiting goes in the toilet in a bad way. The coach can't assure players and their families that he would be there throughout the career, and yes, that matters A LOT. Let's say we kept Stallings for two years and then hired Mike Leach, just as an example. There is nothing similar about those two coaches' offenses, and any fullback or tight end that Stallings recruited would immediately be out of a job.

And before anyone says it, yes, Stallings is a better coach than most, but all coaches have to have talent to win and Stallings is no different.

I can tell you with about 99 percent certainty that we won't go the "extended interim" route, and if we do, it would almost certainly be with Joe Kines, who is 10 years younger.

My prediction is that Alabama has a new coach in place no later than Jan. 7, and it won't be Kines, Stallings or any other interim coach.

lowend · December 9th, 2006, 02:53 PM

You can never go back to before.

It's time to get rid of Mal, get rid of the good ole boys, and get some fresh blood in there.

RedWave · December 9th, 2006, 02:57 PM

Count me among those who are dead set against this idea.