Shula Documentary: Makes you think a little.

[westide]

Mal Moore did not want to hire Shula nor Croom but Richard Williamson. He was overridden. Neither Shula nor Croom should have been big time college HCs. Shula seemed to have no clue about staff. I don't think he was loyal as much as he was unaware of what he was doing.

Mal Moore knew football coaches. Williamson would have been a solid hire - probably as as good as Alabama could have done at that odd time of year. He would have been a far better choice than Shula or Croom, probably Stallings-lite, though more of an offensive coach. He was tough, no non-sense and smart enough.

I guess the next al.com documentary will be the "Ears years - 'what we wish were er uh, should be', the norm for Alabama football". Of course nothing about what is easily the greatest run in college football history. Actually, one of the greatest runs in mature, major (MLB, NFL, NBA, NCAAF, NCAAB) American sports history.

I said, "blame the “people” that hired Mike Shula. Moore was certainly one of the people involved in the hiring process. Mal Moore was the Athletic Director, and he was involved in hiring Shula just like he was involved in hiring Mike Price and Franchione. After two failed hires one can understand why some would question Moore’s judgment. The fact is Moore was the one who called Shula on a Saturday and the next day he and Witt flew to Florida. He spoke glowingly about Shula. Moore said Shula was a perfect fit for the Alabama job. "It was that mix of enthusiasm, experience and ties to the University of Alabama that made Mike the perfect fit for this job." "We are obviously excited to have Mike on board."

Williamson was a good coach. I believe he would have done a good job. I believe he was in his early sixties at the time. I remember some wanted a younger coach. Williamson may have been Moore’s #1 choice, but to say he didn’t want Shula does not fit his statements. I do remember there was some outside political pressure to hire Slyvester Croom. Give blame where blame is due and credit where it is due. Mal Moore hired Nick Saban. Everyone should credit him with that great achievement and that is part of his lasting legacy as a player, coach, and administrator who certainly loved the University of Alabama and its football program.

 

[Crimson1967]

I’m over it. It was a bad hire that didn’t work out. But he didn’t get us on probation and didn’t sleep with his secretary, which is more than we can say for other coaches we’ve had. He went 26-23, not great and way below our standards, but it’s not horrible.

He has been an OC or QB coach in the NFL ever since. He probably could have gotten a head coaching job if he pushed for it. But he is probably happy at where he is in life. He makes good money and with what his dad left him, doesn’t really need much money to begin with. He is now the “senior offensive assistant” for the Bills. No idea what that job entails.

And if we’d hired anyone else, we might not have Saban now.

I credit Dr. Witt giving Moore a blank check to take to Miami for the Saban hire more than anything Mal did.

 

[Crimson1967]

One other quick thought, although I'm sure there is a thread deep in here somewhere. I know Coach Perkins passed away a few? years ago and he was residing in T-Town. Did anyone here have any contact with him? I know he'd been at ARKY State in the 90's and then more NFL assistant positions before finally retiring I think near Hattiesburg MS. Makes me want to dig up an old article on his passing as I'm sure Cecil Hurt did one!

Perkins died in December 2020. He had dementia in his later years and I believe an autopsy revealed CTE. He was at a high school in Mississippi in 2017. I’m not sure what his role was there.

He died in Tuscaloosa and I don’t know when he started to decline mentally or if he had any contact with the program in his last years (or at any time post-1986).

Our former coaches are getting up there in age so we’ll be losing them in the next few years. The threads about them will be interesting to read when the time comes.

 

[selmaborntidefan]

You are referring to 1990 .. what happened between 87-89 ... there was hatred and bricks were thrown... cannot blame Curry for 1990 when you do that

I can blame him for not being willing to wait 48 hours to talk to another employer.

That Curry was mistreated by the fanbase is acknowledged.
That he handled it badly is equally true.

 

[theballguy]

We got exactly what we wanted with the Shula hire. It was a messy time leading up to that point and he was the salve for a spiraling PR problem. His demeanor was perfect for the role but he was never hired to win championships. I love the guy, as a player, coach and person for all he has done for the University. After 4 years of steadying the ship, it was time to get back to winning.

Perfectly said. Every bit of it.