Re: For all you Shula Bashers
When I say 2012, I am serious. Yes, we have a great tradition, and facilities that are unmatched anywhere, people. But, the fact of the matter is, we are a very average, mediocre program right now. For those of us who grew up watching this program win 10-11 games a year and automatically compete for championships year in and year out, well, times have changed. We live in a different world today. It's not the one you and I grew up in.
All that having been said, I really think Alabama can return to that elite group. Look at Southern Cal. For years in the eighties and nineties, they played in virtual anonymity and didn't go anywhere. Look where they are now. The same could be said about Oklahoma. For the most part, they were awful in the nineties, yet they too finally got their program on track by hiring Bob Stoops. I truly think one day in the future this program will return to the same kind of dominance. But for that to happen, I truly believe we need to give Coach Shula a minimum of three to four more years. After that, there will be absolutely no doubt whether he is the right man or not for the job. Until then, we need to be patient and support him. He is our coach. RTR
I am not buying the 2012 thing at all. It should not take that long to rebuild, even with the crippling sanctions we have experienced. It is funny that you mention Southern Cal. Look at the old traditional schools who have resurfaced and how quickly they did it.
Southern Cal was no contender until Pete Carroll arrived, BAM, instant contender. Ohio State was good, but not great, Tressel arrives, BAM, soon contending for NCs. Notre Dame, Weiss, BAM, much improved and was being pimped as NC contenders this year (even though they are over-rated). Oklahoma wasn't much until Stoops arrived, BAM, NC contenders. Butch Davis rebuilt Miami after sanctions into contenders, yes they had a couple of down seasons, but they came right back fairly quickly. The job Nick Saban did at LSU, turning them into a national power in a couple of years. Mark Richt turned UGA into the team to beat in the east, almost instantly.
My point is, these coaches walked into programs with basically the same talent the previous coach had and could turn them into contenders where the previous coach couldn't. If Shula is the coach I hope he is, it should not take until 2012 to be contending for championships. I am patient with CMS, but I am expecting to see some major improvements next year because these young players will have a lot of game experience and another spring and fall camp under their belts.
I don't think it is unreasonable to expect improvement, however, there is one thing that really bothers me. CMS was raised around winning football and has been involved with Offenses since he started playing and coaching. He has been a collegiate QB and a QB coach and OC at the NFL level.
I know we are young and inexperienced on Offense to a point, especially the line, but I am amazed that we still have games where the Offense does not score TDs. Gosh, the Offense should at least score as many TDs as the Defense.
Well, let's go on and get this out of the way. I am not a coach, have never been one and never claimed to have great football knowledge and I also don't have a high post count. To some, that disqualifies me from having an opinion. Having said that, I am a big fan of almost any type of motorsport. I am not a mechanic or driver, but I can still see when a car and/or driver are having problems.
