I was in school at the time. Hiring Perkins did not seem like a terribly peculiar choice. Alabama guy, tough, coaching experience, etc.
Lots of the media guys were saying they thought it would be Stallings but almost all of them also mentioned Perkins as being on the list. I don't think there was any secret story to Perkins leaving -- he was not a big fan of recruiting, his wife didn't like Tuscaloosa much, and Culverhouse made him a deal that most anyone of us would have found very hard to refuse. Cash is one thing and there was lots of it; part ownership of the team itself was something else again. And let's be honest, following Paul Bryant on the sidelines at Alabama was going to be very difficult for anyone. It was not inexplicable, just raised a few eyebrows. Curry was, and remains, inexplicable.
I don't know what the truth is on Bowden. He was definitely a candidate. Definitely wanted the job. Whether he officially "interviewed", just talked to people informally, had his agent make substantive contacts, etc., I don't know. I heard after the fact from a university employee who was on the committee that it was made clear that in addition to head coach he wanted to be AD and the president was foursquare opposed to that (and I did not like the president and he made lots of mistakes, but he was right on that particular point).
Lots of the media guys were saying they thought it would be Stallings but almost all of them also mentioned Perkins as being on the list. I don't think there was any secret story to Perkins leaving -- he was not a big fan of recruiting, his wife didn't like Tuscaloosa much, and Culverhouse made him a deal that most anyone of us would have found very hard to refuse. Cash is one thing and there was lots of it; part ownership of the team itself was something else again. And let's be honest, following Paul Bryant on the sidelines at Alabama was going to be very difficult for anyone. It was not inexplicable, just raised a few eyebrows. Curry was, and remains, inexplicable.
I don't know what the truth is on Bowden. He was definitely a candidate. Definitely wanted the job. Whether he officially "interviewed", just talked to people informally, had his agent make substantive contacts, etc., I don't know. I heard after the fact from a university employee who was on the committee that it was made clear that in addition to head coach he wanted to be AD and the president was foursquare opposed to that (and I did not like the president and he made lots of mistakes, but he was right on that particular point).