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!
Shula Documentary: Makes you think a little.
- Thread starter bamamc1
- Start date
I get that , it was Late in the game, maybe shouldn’t have been in. But injuries can’t be predicted, and it was a freak injury. In 2020, AFTER Waddle went down, Nick Still had Smitty as gunner on punts after the game was in hand.
Nick let Tua talk him into one more series vs Miss state. It happens.
It helps us appreciate where we are when sometimes we're reminded where we once were.
CMS walked away with a check of 5 million, so he was well paid (for that time) for steadying the ship on a journey through the CFB wilderness.
My unsolicited $.02 on Shula.
Good: a good guy who was a damn fine and very tough QB for Bama (his senior year was my freshman year). Took the job at the worst time of year for hiring assistants and prepping for the season and in spite of his lack of obvious qualifications for an SEC HC gig. Never cheated or embarrassed the school as the 2 Mikes before him did). Didn't leave the cupboard bare for Saban despite NCAA sanctions.
Bad: all the things that come from being promoted beyond one's skill/experience. Did not surround himself with assistants who could've helped him grow in the job (calling Dad doesn't count). Allowed a poor culture to fester within the team. Poor in-game management. Slapdash approach to recruiting/talent evaluation. Darby Up The Middle. Too loyal to inferior assistants (Rader/Connolly) and refused to upgrade his staff whenever he had the opportunity.
tldr: He kept the program away from total implosion but was never going to contend for championships of any kind.
His dismissal was unfortunate but inevitable. It's a shame things ended so badly between UA and the the Shulas that Mike is unlikely to return and at least be acknowledged for his accomplishments on the field.
Good: a good guy who was a damn fine and very tough QB for Bama (his senior year was my freshman year). Took the job at the worst time of year for hiring assistants and prepping for the season and in spite of his lack of obvious qualifications for an SEC HC gig. Never cheated or embarrassed the school as the 2 Mikes before him did). Didn't leave the cupboard bare for Saban despite NCAA sanctions.
Bad: all the things that come from being promoted beyond one's skill/experience. Did not surround himself with assistants who could've helped him grow in the job (calling Dad doesn't count). Allowed a poor culture to fester within the team. Poor in-game management. Slapdash approach to recruiting/talent evaluation. Darby Up The Middle. Too loyal to inferior assistants (Rader/Connolly) and refused to upgrade his staff whenever he had the opportunity.
tldr: He kept the program away from total implosion but was never going to contend for championships of any kind.
His dismissal was unfortunate but inevitable. It's a shame things ended so badly between UA and the the Shulas that Mike is unlikely to return and at least be acknowledged for his accomplishments on the field.
Shula was a nice guy, but he was TOO nice. His handling of Juwan Simpson more than proved it. Didn't he sit the guy for like a quarter against Florida International and called it a "suspension"
I was in the suite next to Mal Moore during the MSU game. He was yelling and screaming all game long, even before the game started. He made the decision at 2:51 left in the first half to fire Shula. The team officially gave up for the rest of the season after that play.
Everything happened for a reason. During that time, like JP said in the doc, it was kinda hard to recruit at Alabama because of the sanctions. So you had to have a compilation of players made up of mostly guys who really loved Alabama...guys who were from the state and grew up loving the Tide (Demeco, Prothro, Todd Bates, the Castilles, LeRon McClain, JP, Brody, etc.)..
But as has been pointed out ad nauseam, it was all a perfect storm to get what we have been afforded over the past decade and a half.
I think I've mentioned on here more than a few times that I was at Bama from 2000-2006. Those were some rough times. But we definitely appreciated the smaller things that we tend to take for granted now.
I don't miss the humiliating losses in games that we clearly should have won. I wasn't as active on this site back then, but I lurked a lot. And there was so much going on here that I make fun of other fan bases for doing now. Following flights...grasping at straws....thinking marginal players would singularly turn our program's fortunes around, drunken postgame arguments that led to fight challenges & suspensions LOL! Fun times.
I don't know how much longer we got of the GOAT, but let's enjoy the ride while it lasts
But as has been pointed out ad nauseam, it was all a perfect storm to get what we have been afforded over the past decade and a half.
I think I've mentioned on here more than a few times that I was at Bama from 2000-2006. Those were some rough times. But we definitely appreciated the smaller things that we tend to take for granted now.
I don't miss the humiliating losses in games that we clearly should have won. I wasn't as active on this site back then, but I lurked a lot. And there was so much going on here that I make fun of other fan bases for doing now. Following flights...grasping at straws....thinking marginal players would singularly turn our program's fortunes around, drunken postgame arguments that led to fight challenges & suspensions LOL! Fun times.
I don't know how much longer we got of the GOAT, but let's enjoy the ride while it lasts
I’m not going to link it but look up my thread about Mike Dubose retiring if you want to see some nasty opinions.
Let's put it like this:
Ray Perkins got a college coaching job after getting canned by Tampa.
Bill Curry got one after getting canned by UK.
Franchione got one after getting canned by aTm.
MIKE PRICE got one after his nonsense here.
Even Mike Dubious got a college head coaching job (Millsaps).
I'm not saying any of these were great gigs, but they were college coaching jobs.
Mike Shula has never held a head coaching job anywhere since he left here.
Other than "let's make Daddy Don happy," I don't think he's ever gotten a head coaching INTERVIEW anywhere, either. (See, if he at least was getting NFL interviews, the college thing means less).
And that really ought to just drive the point home all it needs to be driven home.
I reiterate: I separate Shula the player from Shula the coach.
Player? Good memories mostly.
Coach? Bad ones mostly.
Ray Perkins got a college coaching job after getting canned by Tampa.
Bill Curry got one after getting canned by UK.
Franchione got one after getting canned by aTm.
MIKE PRICE got one after his nonsense here.
Even Mike Dubious got a college head coaching job (Millsaps).
I'm not saying any of these were great gigs, but they were college coaching jobs.
Mike Shula has never held a head coaching job anywhere since he left here.
Other than "let's make Daddy Don happy," I don't think he's ever gotten a head coaching INTERVIEW anywhere, either. (See, if he at least was getting NFL interviews, the college thing means less).
And that really ought to just drive the point home all it needs to be driven home.
I reiterate: I separate Shula the player from Shula the coach.
Player? Good memories mostly.
Coach? Bad ones mostly.
That win against Urban Meyer's first florida team was pretty good though eh?
He proved to be a bad HC. He proved to be a pretty good QB positional coach.
My biggest two memories of him as a player are the Georgia comeback drive - Shula to Bell, and of course the drive that led to "the kick."
He also brought us down and caught the TD to tie LSU in 1985 - and though we came up short, he got Van Tiffin close enough to at least try against the Vols, too.
Well, except for when he left Tyrone Prothro in the game way too long and.........
He likely hasnt wanted a HC job, imo. If you have in the NFL as long as he has, your name will just naturally come up. I knew him to be a very strong family man, and very private person, introverted actually, when he was here.
He may not have possessed the skills and personality traits to be a HC, especially at Bama, but he left here with his dignity intact but his ego bruised. He stood by the staff that got him started good or bad. This is a job for only the very few.
We always have a tendency to view our coaches only through prism of winning. As I get older I try to separate the two.
In terms of values, he probably falls in the top 4 of HCs we have had. Bryant>Stallings>Saban>Shula
He may not have possessed the skills and personality traits to be a HC, especially at Bama, but he left here with his dignity intact but his ego bruised. He stood by the staff that got him started good or bad. This is a job for only the very few.
We always have a tendency to view our coaches only through prism of winning. As I get older I try to separate the two.
In terms of values, he probably falls in the top 4 of HCs we have had. Bryant>Stallings>Saban>Shula
Among all coaches who were candidates, probably Croom would have better for the program though i doubt he would have won more
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