Shula Documentary: Makes you think a little.

[crimsonaudio]

I don't make excuses for people who don't give 100%. If CMS had come to Bama and done the hard work to keep / meet / exceed the Bama standard, he'd be remembered fondly. He's not.

As it stands, I couldn't care less about 1985 - Shula wasted millions of dollars and years of talent being soft. I detest soft.

 

[BamaMoon]

I've always wondered about "the Destiny" of the program if Mike Price had not blown it and had brought his offensive MO to the program.

I know I was among many who were excited to see us possibly become a dynamic passing offensive team.

Talk about a fall from grace!

 

[bama2112]

and was demoted/fired after one season

I must say after watching the video, I could have skipped the first half and still get the jist of the Shula years. What I hate about it is all the negative comments from the Shula camp. Maybe he can bury the hatchet since his dad is dead, but its been over 20 years since his dad died. So I doubt he ever will.

 

[imauafan]

One big problem that xCMS had was that he always felt like the team was THIS close to winning each game they lost. He never understood that the little things here and there that contributed to the loss were actually very huge. I think that drove his thought process of keeping things as they were and not making the needed changes to improve.

 

[imauafan]

I've always wondered about "the Destiny" of the program if Mike Price had not blown it and had brought his offensive MO to the program.

I know I was among many who were excited to see us possibly become a dynamic passing offensive team.

Talk about a fall from grace!

I never was excited about the Mike Price hire. He was one of those coaches who would have a successful season and then a down season or two but could never sustain success to the level which Bama fans expect. Given what we found out about him, I think it's understandable the reason that he was "Destiny"-ed for just "good enough" results which was fine for a place like Wazzu but not Bama. I believe I heard Keith Jackson (RIP) say that he strongly encouraged Mike Price not to take the Bama job because he knew that Price would be under a much more intense spotlight and his indiscretions would not go over well in the deep south.

 

[BamaMoon]

I never was excited about the Mike Price hire. He was one of those coaches who would have a successful season and then a down season or two but could never sustain success to the level which Bama fans expect. Given what we found out about him, I think it's understandable the reason that he was "Destiny"-ed for just "good enough" results which was fine for a place like Wazzu but not Bama. I believe I heard Keith Jackson (RIP) say that he strongly encouraged Mike Price not to take the Bama job because he knew that Price would be under a much more intense spotlight and his indiscretions would not go over well in the deep south.

Did we know about his "indiscretions" before we hired him? This was before I got on the board so I'm fuzzy on details. I didn't know that about KJ either.

I always thought the "vision" with CMP was that if he was put in the SEC with the type of talent he could get a Bama it would take his concept and put it on steroids. I figure Spurrier's success at Florida influenced the TPTB to go after him.

 

[tusks_n_raider]

I’d rather listen to Beth Mowins and RGIII together than dig up this old corpse.

Dark times.

 

[selmaborntidefan]

Among all coaches who were candidates, probably Croom would have better for the program though i doubt he would have won more

If we had hired Sylvester Croom as head coach, just imagine the fallout and bad press we would have gotten when we fired him, which is how that was going to end.

"Alabama, the state where George Wallace stood in the doorway to prevent blacks from attending a mere 40 years ago, today stood in the doorway of advancement again by firing a black coach whom they hired after suffering the second most crippling probation in NCAA history and not giving him a fair chance, leaving him with a decimated team and demanding immediate results. Nothing has changed in Alabama since blah blah blah."

That's what would have happened. Let's be honest: MSU only hired him because they were in the crosshairs of an NZAA investigation and could say, "We'll hire the dude if you'll go lightly on us."

I watched "The Sports Reporters" try to say - and they literally did say - "Alabama should have done the right thing," which to them was hire Croom. Why was this "the right thing?" Well, you know their reasoning on that. Notre Dame had hired Willingham - and amazingly enough, they were savaging Notre Dame "because they only did the right thing after they learned O'Leary lied on his resume." Again - why is "hire the guy on the basis of his race THE RIGHT THING?"


My take in 2003?

"Look, we're probably going to go through this again in 4-5 years. Hire Shula because you're gonna get 1/3 the grief when he gets fired you're gonna get for firing Croom."

I liked Croom until he became a petulant child at MSU over not getting the job here.

 

[selmaborntidefan]

See? This is why we need Selma's exactitude and precise recall. It wasn't 20 years later, but 16 years, eight months, 24 days, 23 hours, six minutes and 36 seconds later by my geriatric recounting - but in any event, not a nanosecond too soon!

I'm here.

 

[rtr90]

while we are reminiscing old memories .. never understood the hatred for curry. he was a good coach for bama .. though not beating cow college might have done it for him

Beating Penn state was fun on the strip

 

[selmaborntidefan]

while we are reminiscing old memories .. never understood the hatred for curry. he was a good coach for bama .. though not beating cow college might have done it for him

Beating Penn state was fun on the strip

Curry was meeting with UK officials less than 24 hours BEFORE his team was to take the field for the 1990 Sugar Bowl.

Not after.

BEFORE.

You can't do that. Not at Alabama you can't. Had it been an NFL job, it would have been despicable still but at least understandable. Not Kentucky. Not in football.

And he's spent the last 30-plus years revising history and claiming something about "the Alabama mafia" and his edge showed in every game of ours he called on ESPN.

To be clear, I don't despise Curry at all and didn't when he was here, but I wasn't exactly sad to see him go, either.

 

[SkullDuckery]

His greatest game he coached I feel is the one where they shellacked Urban and Florida............But his loyalty to his staff was a problem when they couldnt cut the mustard

It was great until Pro got hurt and ended his career and the teams chance of an SEC title. .

 

[selmaborntidefan]

I never was excited about the Mike Price hire. He was one of those coaches who would have a successful season and then a down season or two but could never sustain success to the level which Bama fans expect. Given what we found out about him, I think it's understandable the reason that he was "Destiny"-ed for just "good enough" results which was fine for a place like Wazzu but not Bama. I believe I heard Keith Jackson (RIP) say that he strongly encouraged Mike Price not to take the Bama job because he knew that Price would be under a much more intense spotlight and his indiscretions would not go over well in the deep south.

There was only one thing I liked about Mike Price at his hiring: he had been in a situation where he had done more with less and had developed some outstanding passing QBs (most notably Bledsoe). So for once I had HOPE our coach wasn't going to think "handing the ball to Tarrant Lynch on 2nd and 26 is going to get us a first down."

Stewart Mandel said he didn't think Price would work out because he had no idea what he was getting himself into - and that was well before the stuff that got him fired.

 

[CrimsonPaul]

I was a big Shula supporter. Living out of state maybe I didn't pick up on all the complaints but for me it came clear at the 2005 LSU game. I was sitting close to the field and watched the players warming up. Looking over the Alabama players I noticed how fat some players looked, big enough to really surprise me. Then LSU players came out of the tunnel right near my wife and I. I turned and said "We won't come close to a win, look at those Greek Gods there." I'll never forget that sight.

 

[AWRTR]

It was great until Pro got hurt and ended his career and the teams chance of an SEC title. .

I have always thought that Prothro getting hurt cost Bama an SEC title and maybe a shot at a NC. That guy was electric. Look at the points-per-game decline after his injury. The guy was worth 14 a game. He might not score them all, but his kick returns, and the attention he demanded set up other guys. He was awesome.

 

[selmaborntidefan]

I have always thought that Prothro getting hurt cost Bama an SEC title and maybe a shot at a NC. That guy was electric. Look at the points-per-game decline after his injury. The guy was worth 14 a game. He might not score them all, but his kick returns, and the attention he demanded set up other guys. He was awesome.

If we had won out - 2005 would be the modern "we got robbed in 1966" because USC and Texas would have played.

 

[HighlandOak]

I must say after watching the video, I could have skipped the first half and still get the jist of the Shula years. What I hate about it is all the negative comments from the Shula camp. Maybe he can bury the hatchet since his dad is dead, but its been over 20 years since his dad died. So I doubt he ever will.

I didn't realize it had been that long.

I remember watching NFL games years ago the last remaining members of his 72? Dolphins would be on the sideline, or somewhere, to toast the last undefeated team getting their first loss.

 

[westide]

Don't blame Mike Shula. Blame the people that hired him. Mal Moore did redeem himself by hiring Shula, but he is make some very bad decisions before that. Shula did come in at a bad time. He made a classic mistake. He chose assistants that he felt comfortable with rather than getting the best assistants he could find.

 

[selmaborntidefan]

I must say after watching the video, I could have skipped the first half and still get the jist of the Shula years. What I hate about it is all the negative comments from the Shula camp. Maybe he can bury the hatchet since his dad is dead, but its been over 20 years since his dad died. So I doubt he ever will.

Don Shula has not been dead for 20 years.

He died May 4, 2020, during the Covid-19 pandemic but not from Covid.

 

[selmaborntidefan]

Don't blame Mike Shula. Blame the people that hired him.

I can blame both, and Shula was held accountable for his failure to achieve.