Question For The Coach Bryant Era Fans (About Moving Jobs)

Tidetwin

All-American
May 15, 2006
2,020
290
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Northeast Georgia
I came across this today called "The Bear: The Life and Times of Paul 'Bear' Bryant."

http://books.google.com/books?id=LT...=onepage&q=bear bryant miami dolphins&f=false

It tells (starting on page 161, check if you have a free preview) that Bryant was talking in a bar in New Orleans days before the 1980 Sugar Bowl and going over what happened. Bryant says the Atlanta Falcons wanted him in 1966, and he told them he wasn't staying in any town with Furman Bisher. He then went on to observe that he packed a lunch every time he went to Atlanta just to keep from spending money in their local economy. He also says he was offered a chance to "buy into" the Jets, but the Jets told him to invest his money in the Miami Dolphins.

Bryant then says that in 1969 he had a serious offer from Joe Robbie - so serious the contract was already drawn up and CPB conferred with Joe Namath for information on each of the Dolphins players. Bryant then says the school President (Mathews) was all behind him going, but wanted him to find a better replacement for himself - which meant he had to stay at Alabama. It's sort of a joke but also serious, and Bryant then goes on to say that the Dolphins did all right with Shula at the helm.


(Some of you might be interested in his follow-up comments that he foresees the 1980 team as being talented but undisicplined).
I think you might be talking about CPB's autobiography written with John Underwood, the great writer from Sports Illustrated called Bear: The Hard Life and Good Times of Alabama's Coach. It's a terrific and definitive book, candid and provocative and Underwood does a masterful job of writing in CPB's voice. The Miami Dolphins were the only team, according to the Coach, that almost convinced him to leave the Capstone. Namath encouraged him. The Dolphins were up and coming with talented young players like Bob Griese, Larry Czonka and Nick Buoniconti and Joe Robbie wanted to pay him a lot of money.

Grab a copy of this book if you want to learn about the Bryant years from the Coaches mouth.
 

1958againbear

1st Team
Jan 27, 2011
693
0
0
I think you might be talking about CPB's autobiography written with John Underwood, the great writer from Sports Illustrated called Bear: The Hard Life and Good Times of Alabama's Coach. It's a terrific and definitive book, candid and provocative and Underwood does a masterful job of writing in CPB's voice. The Miami Dolphins were the only team, according to the Coach, that almost convinced him to leave the Capstone. Namath encouraged him. The Dolphins were up and coming with talented young players like Bob Griese, Larry Czonka and Nick Buoniconti and Joe Robbie wanted to pay him a lot of money.

Grab a copy of this book if you want to learn about the Bryant years from the Coaches mouth.
This book is must reading for EVERY Tide fan of every generation. Underwood was a great writer and it's a terrific well written autobiography. I know this dates me but my wife went to one of Bear's book signings when it first came out and got me an autographed copy (for Christmas as I remember). A great gift that I'll always cherish.

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Ole Man Dan

Hall of Fame
Apr 21, 2008
8,982
3,421
187
Gadsden, Al.
I listened to the rumors of Coach Bryant going to retire...
Coach Bryant going to the Dallas Cowboys...
Coach Bryant going to the Miami Dolphins...

Just like today rumors link Coach Saban to every conceivable opening.
Many of these rumors are started and hyped by recruiting rivals.
Rumors are started by fans of the Pro teams that want something to happen.

I view these rumors as a sign of our success.
(Notice there are no rumors of Chizik going to Cleveland...) ;)
 

Tidetwin

All-American
May 15, 2006
2,020
290
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Northeast Georgia
This book is must reading for EVERY Tide fan of every generation. Underwood was a great writer and it's a terrific well written autobiography. I know this dates me but my wife went to one of Bear's book signings when it first came out and got me an autographed copy (for Christmas as I remember). A great gift that I'll always cherish.

Sent from my SPH-L710 using Tapatalk 2
Date away, old timer! I bought mine at McFarland Mall but the line was too long at CPB's signing table.:smile:
 
It really is nice seeing the old timers(maybe), talk about Coach Bryant. Every thread gives me a more in depth view in what was going on back then. This thread shows me that he made an excuse to stay at Bama. Doesn't seem like he wanted to be anywhere else but home. Just my honest opinion. I'm glad he did stay!
 

1958againbear

1st Team
Jan 27, 2011
693
0
0
It really is nice seeing the old timers(maybe), talk about Coach Bryant. Every thread gives me a more in depth view in what was going on back then. This thread shows me that he made an excuse to stay at Bama. Doesn't seem like he wanted to be anywhere else but home. Just my honest opinion. I'm glad he did stay!
I think it's great. Many many know of Coach Bryant but because of age never got to experience how unbelievable a time it was then being a Bama fan. Until now when we find ourselves at the pinnacle of greatness again under CNS. But it's great to try to share that previous experience as well as all of us sharing this new era. He might've come close a time or two leaving 'mama' but Bear loved the university and I don't think he ever could've left. And so it seemed for a long time like his era would never end. I'm sure CNS's era won't last as long but hopefully it will continue on for awhile yet making us feel like the luckiest fans ever for Bama to stay as long and as many times in college football's penthouse. Or maybe heaven is more appropriate despite ND fans declaring that they are God's team.

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bama61

1st Team
Aug 24, 2004
655
29
52
North Alabama
Well, he had reasons for job hopping other than for money or to move up the ladder. He had some dispute with the president of the University of Maryland concerning control of the team and quit. He was at Kentucky for eight years and left because he didn't like playing second fiddle to Rupp. I think he interviewed for the Bama job when they hired Whitworth. Anyway, he left Kentucky due to basketball and went to Texas A&M and then left there when "Mamma called".
Pretty much right on from what I remember.

Maryland - Curly Byrd, the president of the University of Maryland was a former Maryland head football coach himself. Overrode a couple of Bryant's personnel decisions and Bryant immediately resigned.

Kentucky - after a phenomenally successful eight year run by Kentucky standards, came to realize no matter what he did, basketball would remain the king at Kentucky. Left for Texas A&M. I was told by a member of the Board of Trustees at the time that Bryant was offered the Alabama coaching job after the 1954 football season when Red Drew was fired. Bryant declined because he would be required to retain the old staff (customary at the time).

At Texas A&M he beat Georgia in his first game and didn't win again that season, improved each year thereafter.

Alabama, accepted the head coaching job this time but only after it was agreed that he would be Athletic Director as well as head coach. Interestingly enough, Fred Sington, Sr. flew out to tender the offer and not any member of the university's administration. Also I add, when Bryant arrived in Tuscaloosa, he already had a image as being a "black hat" and cultivated it. The sweet old grandfatherly image was a product of the seventies, before that he was a lot rougher on the media than Saban ever thought of being.

Sorry for the length, just got carried away with tales of a time long gone...
 

selmaborntidefan

TideFans Legend
Mar 31, 2000
36,432
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I remember only the final four years of Bryant's Reign of Terror (if you were anybody else in the SEC, ha ha). The big story by then was that he "had" to retire by state law at the age of 70. Pat Dye INDISPUTABLY used this as a recruiting tool ("you don't know who might take over for Beah"). Most of my memories of the late Bryant stage were winning 300 (Kentucky in 1980), tying and passing Warner and Stagg in back-to-back games, and a decision that still puzzles me to this day: his calling time-out against USM in 1981, which allowed the Eagles time to set up and get off the game-winning FG attempt when they might not have otherwise. That decision caused more rumors about his mental capacity than anything I ever remember.


I think - and yes, it's just an opinion - I think Bryant might well have retired in 1980 if he had not been so close to the wins record. I recall reading somewhere that between the Penn State and Auburn games in 1981 (we had a week off), Bryant went to see his doctor and was told that he was not in the best health and needed to accept that he was 68 years old and consider retiring. The times Coach Bryant gave us - yes, even those of us who got in on the very end - were indeed fantastic. I personally think right now is better for two reasons: 1) I didn't get to enjoy the full run of CPB here; and 2) we got CNS coming out of the darkest period in our history, so I think you appreciate it more, knowing it isn't forever.


That said - I hope the ending of Saban's career here is much better. The 1982 season was something of a demolition derby for Tide fans. From 1971-1979, Alabama only lost SIX regular season games in NINE years. In 1982, we lost FOUR in only six weeks.
 

TIDE-HSV

Senior Administrator
Staff member
Oct 13, 1999
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It really is nice seeing the old timers(maybe), talk about Coach Bryant. Every thread gives me a more in depth view in what was going on back then. This thread shows me that he made an excuse to stay at Bama. Doesn't seem like he wanted to be anywhere else but home. Just my honest opinion. I'm glad he did stay!
Coach Bryant felt a lifelong gratitude for Coach Crisp recruiting (rescuing) him out of Moro Bottom - and Coach Bryant had Crisp's back the rest of his life. Interestingly, a few years earlier, Coach Crisp tried to recruit my dad. He saw him playing semipro baseball. He was sizable, 6'2" 200lb and a very good athlete. Believe it or not, that was really big back then. There were a couple of problems. Dad was already 23 years old and he had a two year old son. (He was a very young widower.) Also, he'd never completed high school. Those would be no problems. Child care wouldn't be a problem and UA would put him in TCHS for a year (don't think there was but one back then). (Remember how much looser rules were back then.) Makes me wonder how our family history would have turned out. Probably dad would have married some coed, rather than my mom, and I wouldn't even be writing this... :D
 

Florida Tom

All-American
Aug 15, 2011
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Tampa, FL
I love these stories, Clyde Bolton did a Great book on Coach Bryant as well. I only meet him a couple of time but if there was one word to describe Coach I would use Loyal.

He loved the University & the State even when both were very wrong.

I do see a lot of Coach Bryant in Coach Saban but both are their own man.

The University of Albama has been truly blessed.
 

4Q Basket Case

FB|BB Moderator
Staff member
Nov 8, 2004
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Coach Bryant felt a lifelong gratitude for Coach Crisp recruiting (rescuing) him out of Moro Bottom - and Coach Bryant had Crisp's back the rest of his life. Interestingly, a few years earlier, Coach Crisp tried to recruit my dad. He saw him playing semipro baseball. He was sizable, 6'2" 200lb and a very good athlete. Believe it or not, that was really big back then. There were a couple of problems. Dad was already 23 years old and he had a two year old son. (He was a very young widower.) Also, he'd never completed high school. Those would be no problems. Child care wouldn't be a problem and UA would put him in TCHS for a year (don't think there was but one back then). (Remember how much looser rules were back then.) Makes me wonder how our family history would have turned out. Probably dad would have married some coed, rather than my mom, and I wouldn't even be writing this... :D
I had a relative who was a teacher at Tuscaloosa High School. The building on Queen City was later Tuscaloosa Junior High, where I attended, and now houses administrative offices. Anyway, she said that Bryant went there to get some academic work squared away before entering the University.

Even then, he had the girls swooning. Of course, he wasn't all that much interested in them...that's because the teachers were swooning too. :blush:
 

TommyMac

Hall of Fame
Apr 24, 2001
14,040
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I had a relative who was a teacher at Tuscaloosa High School. The building on Queen City was later Tuscaloosa Junior High, where I attended, and now houses administrative offices. Anyway, she said that Bryant went there to get some academic work squared away before entering the University.

Even then, he had the girls swooning. Of course, he wasn't all that much interested in them...that's because the teachers were swooning too. :blush:

A fact that never gets mentioned about Coach Bryant, the ladies loved Coach Bryant's rugged good looks. I worked in the billing office at International Paper Co. in Mobile in Mobile for 4 1/2 years in the mid 60's. All the women I worked with, of all ages, thought that Coach Bryant was quite the hunk.
 

1958againbear

1st Team
Jan 27, 2011
693
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0
That said - I hope the ending of Saban's career here is much better. The 1982 season was something of a demolition derby for Tide fans. From 1971-1979, Alabama only lost SIX regular season games in NINE years. In 1982, we lost FOUR in only six weeks.
1982 unfortunately became pure hell after the unprecedented success of the previous ten years. It's painful to think about the details of the wheels coming off, and I won't go into specifics. In the end all that was left was sending the old man out a winner, which fortunately the team was able to do on a frigid night, not unlike tonight, in the Liberty Bowl. He looked pretty frail that night and it wasn't too surprising that the end was near. Very sad to picture that in my mind even all these years later.

Sorry to post such a downer but the remembering of the '82 season and the end of it all came flooding back.

Sent from my SPH-L710 using Tapatalk 2
 
Last edited:

BigBama76

Suspended
Oct 26, 2011
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Atlanta, GA
I came across this today called "The Bear: The Life and Times of Paul 'Bear' Bryant."

http://books.google.com/books?id=LT...=onepage&q=bear bryant miami dolphins&f=false

It tells (starting on page 161, check if you have a free preview) that Bryant was talking in a bar in New Orleans days before the 1980 Sugar Bowl and going over what happened. Bryant says the Atlanta Falcons wanted him in 1966, and he told them he wasn't staying in any town with Furman Bisher. He then went on to observe that he packed a lunch every time he went to Atlanta just to keep from spending money in their local economy. He also says he was offered a chance to "buy into" the Jets, but the Jets told him to invest his money in the Miami Dolphins.

Bryant then says that in 1969 he had a serious offer from Joe Robbie - so serious the contract was already drawn up and CPB conferred with Joe Namath for information on each of the Dolphins players. Bryant then says the school President (Mathews) was all behind him going, but wanted him to find a better replacement for himself - which meant he had to stay at Alabama. It's sort of a joke but also serious, and Bryant then goes on to say that the Dolphins did all right with Shula at the helm.


(Some of you might be interested in his follow-up comments that he foresees the 1980 team as being talented but undisicplined).
If I'm not mistaken in one of his books he mentions that he actually made up his mind to back out of his commitment as he was about to get off the plane in Miami.
 

CullmanTide

Hall of Fame
Jan 7, 2008
6,614
885
137
Cullman, Al
I remember only the final four years of Bryant's Reign of Terror (if you were anybody else in the SEC, ha ha). The big story by then was that he "had" to retire by state law at the age of 70. Pat Dye INDISPUTABLY used this as a recruiting tool ("you don't know who might take over for Beah"). Most of my memories of the late Bryant stage were winning 300 (Kentucky in 1980), tying and passing Warner and Stagg in back-to-back games, and a decision that still puzzles me to this day: his calling time-out against USM in 1981, which allowed the Eagles time to set up and get off the game-winning FG attempt when they might not have otherwise. That decision caused more rumors about his mental capacity than anything I ever remember.


I think - and yes, it's just an opinion - I think Bryant might well have retired in 1980 if he had not been so close to the wins record. I recall reading somewhere that between the Penn State and Auburn games in 1981 (we had a week off), Bryant went to see his doctor and was told that he was not in the best health and needed to accept that he was 68 years old and consider retiring. The times Coach Bryant gave us - yes, even those of us who got in on the very end - were indeed fantastic. I personally think right now is better for two reasons: 1) I didn't get to enjoy the full run of CPB here; and 2) we got CNS coming out of the darkest period in our history, so I think you appreciate it more, knowing it isn't forever.


That said - I hope the ending of Saban's career here is much better. The 1982 season was something of a demolition derby for Tide fans. From 1971-1979, Alabama only lost SIX regular season games in NINE years. In 1982, we lost FOUR in only six weeks.
Coach Bryant came close to retiring in '77. IIRC Steve Sloan would have replaced him.
 

bama2112

All-American
Nov 19, 2006
2,016
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Cobb County, Ga.
I agree with this. There were a couple of times, but it wasn't an every-year, ESPN grasping for a story line, type of thing that it is with Saban. Bryant could have received offers every year - and probably did - but we just didn't know about it...
I agree, the big stories about him retiring or looking for another job seldom hit the news print. We did not have internet. So as a kid I read the Birmingham Post in the am for news and the Huntsville Times in the pm for news or watch Herb Winches on WHNT . You didnt miss the 6 pm or 10 pm news in those days. I dont think any Bama fans really ever considered he would leave T town. They were all rumors but Coach Bryant also controlled a lot of what was printed. Well let say he had influence with the writers that coaches do not have today.

Roll Tide
 

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