Why Did Ray Perkins Replace Bear Bryant?

Snuffy Smith

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Sep 12, 2012
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If true, who supposedly decided that Alabama should get away from being a 'football school', this the hiring of Curry?


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My memory of all that is fuzzy. I was not living in Alabama at the time & that was before the internet, but IIRC UA had a president (Joab Thomas) that was flexing some muscle by bringing in Sloan & Curry. At least that is the slant some of my old T-town contacts had on the situation.


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mikeua69

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Didn't Pat Dye say that Bryant wanted him to take the Bama job when he retired? If I recall Dye once said that Bryant told him not to take the Auburn job because he wanted him to replace him at Bama. Could have just been Pat Dye drunk talk....
 

Padreruf

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Didn't Pat Dye say that Bryant wanted him to take the Bama job when he retired? If I recall Dye once said that Bryant told him not to take the Auburn job because he wanted him to replace him at Bama. Could have just been Pat Dye drunk talk....
That's what Pat Dye has said for years...trust but verify...
 

Rama Jama

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My recollection about the hiring of Perkins is pretty much the same as the rest of the comments on here. I thought Stallings was the 1st choice, but the PTB thought Perkins was a bigger name. He was turning the Giants around at the time and was thought to be a coach on the rise. It was reported that the NY Giants weren't worried about Perkins leaving because who would leave the NY giants for Alabama. He was lambasted by the NY media at the time as I remember when he chose to leave NYC.

I thought Perkins was abrasive and not the right pick once I witnessed his surly demeanor on the coach's show. He would criticize fans and attack without the slightest provocation. In his defense, I'm sure it was no picnic following CPB who was universally loved by the fan base. I thought he was a good, but not great coach. He did beat Auburn in the game that made Van Tiffin and household name and a made the Tiffin Motorhome company millions of dollars. That was probably the greatest, most improbably win ever against Auburn.

I never thought much of the choice of Curry as a coach after Perkins. Joab Thomas(the president of the University at the time) thought he was going to make Alabama the Harvard of the south. Curry was part and parcel of his desire for the University to shed its football factory image and become a respected academic institution. He did not understand that he could use the football program as a springboard to better the university as a whole including academics. Many people don't realize Bowden was a player at Alabama as a freshman, but he transferred to what was Howard then(now Samford) If I remember the story Coach Bowden told a my church, he was encouraged to transfer because Bryant thought he couldn't play at Alabama. He dearly wanted to be the coach at Alabama, but Dr. Thomas essentially told him thanks, but no thanks and hired Curry. I think Dr. Thomas wanted to win, but that was secondary to him to having scholar athletes which he though Curry would deliver.
 

FitToBeTide

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I'll throw this little tidbit in about Bowden, while his name is up at the moment. I've heard that at one point, Coach Bowden had his name in for the job after CPB retired, but was told by the committee that he had to do the job interview process like every other applicant. His feeling was that his record should by-pass any need for a standard interview process. As a result, he got his feelings hurt and removed his name. (Frankly I hope this was not true and just some story put out there.)
 

PitMaster

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I'll throw this little tidbit in about Bowden, while his name is up at the moment. I've heard that at one point, Coach Bowden had his name in for the job after CPB retired, but was told by the committee that he had to do the job interview process like every other applicant. His feeling was that his record should by-pass any need for a standard interview process. As a result, he got his feelings hurt and removed his name. (Frankly I hope this was not true and just some story put out there.)
Bowden came and thought it was just basically to be offered the job. He walked into a room full of folks - Joab had assembled about 12 people, including a current student, former QB Walter Lewis, and others to be a "progressive and diverse" panel. Bowden was interviewed by the group, getting all sorts of questions, even the infamous "Would you have problems playing a black quarterback?" from Lewis. Bowden exited the room in bad humor and disappointment, went back to Tallahassee and withdrew his name.

And we ended up with a schmuck, farse, phony in Curry :mad::mad::mad::mad::mad:
 

GrayTide

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If I remember the story Coach Bowden told a my church, he was encouraged to transfer because Bryant thought he couldn't play at Alabama.

I may be wrong, but Coach Bryant was not at Alabama when Bowden was a freshman and then transferred to Howard.
 

selmaborntidefan

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Bowden came and thought it was just basically to be offered the job. He walked into a room full of folks - Joab had assembled about 12 people, including a current student, former QB Walter Lewis, and others to be a "progressive and diverse" panel. Bowden was interviewed by the group, getting all sorts of questions, even the infamous "Would you have problems playing a black quarterback?" from Lewis. Bowden exited the room in bad humor and disappointment, went back to Tallahassee and withdrew his name.

And we ended up with a schmuck, farse, phony in Curry :mad::mad::mad::mad::mad:
Earle has essentially said exactly what you're saying - and taken Bowden's side (If I'm not mistaken).
 

Crimson1967

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The whole Perkins/Curry/Bowden thing is water under the bridge now. I wasn't a fan of Curry, but he didn't get us on probation or sleep with his secretary. He was also 3-0 against Tennessee.


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PitMaster

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The whole Perkins/Curry/Bowden thing is water under the bridge now. I wasn't a fan of Curry, but he didn't get us on probation or sleep with his secretary. He was also 3-0 against Tennessee.


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And amazingly 3-0 vs Penn State, but he was not amn Alabama quality Coach
 

bama61

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If I remember the story Coach Bowden told a my church, he was encouraged to transfer because Bryant thought he couldn't play at Alabama.

I may be wrong, but Coach Bryant was not at Alabama when Bowden was a freshman and then transferred to Howard.
You're correct, Red Drew was the head coach at Bama at that time.
 

IMALOYAL1

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After Coach Bryant retired, the rumor I heard was Stallings had obligations to Dallas. Perkins was right up there as a top runner for the job. Bryant loved them both.
I never understood the animosity toward Perkins for removing the tower. Many fans seemed very upset about it. It was always going to be hard to follow Coach Bryant. Many bumper stickers "Perk up or Perk out". Perkins was close to turning the corner in my opinion when he left. He had just recruited one of our best group of players "on paper" and was going to continue to do so each year. But Hugh Culverhouse promised him a contract that was almost unheard of to attract him from Alabama. Perkins also had made the statement "Alabama will never play at Auburn" and never did under his watch. He had inherited the dislike for Auburn that Pat Dye never did. He also felt it was a win / lose situation that Auburn needed to pay for their stadium with season tkts purchased by Alabama fans just for 1 game. TV back then was not what it is today.
After Perkins left, many referred to Curry and AD Sloan as the "Righteous Brothers" especially after the remark Alabama was not going to be "a football factory" and also compared records of Curry and Bowden which I feel is somewhat unfair.
I thought Bill Curry said all the right things at his press conference, but never seemed to fit in with the football powers and was not a very effective recruiter. He put a great deal of weight on the "student" part of the student athlete, which is great for the ivy league, but doesn't compete well in the SEC when your rivals go after the top athlete regardless of literacy.
 
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Padreruf

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Bowden came and thought it was just basically to be offered the job. He walked into a room full of folks - Joab had assembled about 12 people, including a current student, former QB Walter Lewis, and others to be a "progressive and diverse" panel. Bowden was interviewed by the group, getting all sorts of questions, even the infamous "Would you have problems playing a black quarterback?" from Lewis. Bowden exited the room in bad humor and disappointment, went back to Tallahassee and withdrew his name.

And we ended up with a schmuck, farse, phony in Curry :mad::mad::mad::mad::mad:
Pretty much accurate from both sides of this -- a couple Bowden sons are friends so I got his side straight from them. He said that with his record he did not interview...thought the job was to be offered. However, they did agree to offer but when word got out before he could tell his president at FSU, he withdrew his name.

President Joab Thomas was an academician first...and a really good person. I still have tons of respect for him. If Curry could have coached a lick and Sloan would have worked instead of playing golf every day the outcome would have been different. They are outstanding men, but in over their heads. Happens to most of us at one time or another...
 

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