I follow the program religiously and have for many years, but the Shula "abuse" allegations are totally new to me. I would never have suspected it. I always thought he was in way over his head but never thought something like this was possible. I'll have to read up on some old threads.
Former FB Kyle Bennett speaks about Fran and Shula on local radio show.
- Thread starter Bamabuzzard
- Start date
I don't remember hearing about outright abuse as much as I remember hearing about neglect and favoritism.
It was an NFL approach of caring about the player only so much as they produced between the lines. But different from the NFL, there was an inner circle of players who were exempt from workouts and other off-field requirements.
And yes, I bought into the clean-cut all-American image. It took a while and several incidents to disabuse me of the ideal. I still shake my head at myself over that.
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"Abuse" is probably too strong a word for the stories I heard, which basically involved a revolving set of standards in which the coach's favorites could do virtually anything they wanted while the rest, including some of our highest character kids, were subject to arbitrary and biting discipline. That, too, sounds like a guy in over his head.
Keeping Bucket Bob as OL coach could certainly be considered abuse of QBs, but mainly, it was incredibly preferential treatment. Brody Croyle could do pretty much anything he wanted--skip workouts, show up late for team meetings, etc.
This makes me think less of Brody and the coaches. True leaders lead by example. Maybe this if the reason for the "honk if you sacked Brody" bumpersticker.
The Shula introductory press conference was so bad, it was grounds for his immediate dismissal. :biggrin:
I have seen better prepared public speakers in high school English class. I was kind of shocked - not only that he prepared nothing in advance for the event, but also that no one helped him prepare either. (This would have been a good time for Don to offer a little fatherly guidance.) Anyone watching that press conference could see that our program was in deep trouble.
The classic blunders:
- Never get involved in a land war in Asia.
- Never go in against a Sicilian when death is on the line and
- Never let Bucket Step Bob onto your campus.
Evan Mathis was just as nasty as Smiley and probably a tad stronger. He's still in the league which blows my mind for an O Lineman these days. Wesley Britt was also pretty nasty.
I often wonder if fRan would have stayed, what we would have built at Bama. I bet he sits back in his office chair at Texas State and sees Saban and the empire that he has built and ponders, what the hell was I thinking?
As much as it hurt during the time, it was all honestly probably for the best. The timing of everything was perfect. And suffering through my entire time in school (1st semester was Dubose's final season. Last semester was Shula's last season. SABAN was hired 2 weeks after I graduated) has made this last 8 years that much sweeter
No..I'm saying that my time at Alabama started with Dubose and ended with Shula. All that was in between was just as awful
I'm a 80s baby, and I didn't follow football until shula days.... I would love to hear stories on Shula... what threads can I look so I wont' wastetoo much time looking for it?
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