Shaking away Ghosts from Schools

#1
Bobby Dodd

Bobby Dodd

Kingsport's Greatest Vol
Joined
Feb 13, 2006
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#1
I've done some thinking in the past day about Alabama's football situation, and the struggles they have had after Coach Bryant left the Capstone.

We at Tennessee had the same problem after General Neyland left. It took us nearly a half century to get our next National Championship, and during that time we had good spells and bad spells.

We had some success with Bowden Wyatt (1956), then he got us into mediocrity. Dickey helped revitalize the program, yet left us for another job. Battle did an honorable job, yet he couldn't beat Bama with Condredge.

Then Johnny Majors came marching home, and the Vols were restored to national prominance.

Looking back, all of our coaching changes in this time look similar to what Alabama has gone through post-Bryant.

Bowden Wyatt was a former player for Neyland, Ray Perkins played for the Bear. Very similar.

Dickey gave Tennessee great pride, yet left before he could make the Vols top in the land, and was an outsider. This is similar to what happened to Bill Curry at Alabama.

Finally, Johnny Majors and Gene Stallings could not be a more perfect pair. Both were old school and ran their programs on their own terms, although Stallings did so wrongly. Stallings had 1992, and Majors had the 1985 SugarVols team, which put their legacies in place.

The thing for Alabama is, no one has stepped up and achieved stability in the program like Phillip Fulmer has for Tennessee. Fulmer has won a National Title, and helped produce the greatest player in school history (Manning).That is where the comparison ends, as Alabama can't find that.

Since Stallings left, it has been a revolving door for Tide coaches, and stability is gone.

I thought Mike Shula would be the Phillip Fulmer of the Alabama program, but now we will never know.

So how long will it take Alabama to find their version of Fulmer to make the program stable and winning again?
 
#2
#2
Great post! Hopefully in the next coach....:cray:


PS. Is there any way this thread could be serious instead of getting jammed full of Bama slams? I would like to enjoy this one for a change.. :)
 
#3
#3
I see people hating on Phillip F, but I must say from the outside looking in that he has done so many great things for UT. And yes it has been a little while since the last NC, but we must remember how hard it is to win one especially playing in the SEC.
 
#4
#4
iconpopcorn.gif


So how long will it take Alabama to find their version of Fulmer to make the program stable and winning again?
Click to expand...

I have a hunch that this will get a reaction from some of our members. Call me psychic...
 
#5
#5
Roll Tide Rev said:
I see people hating on Phillip F, but I must say from the outside looking in that he has done so many great things for UT. And yes it has been a little while since the last NC, but we must remember how hard it is to win one especially playing in the SEC.
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An Alabama fan not bashing Fulmer?!?!? I think you may be taking on a fever. You may want to lie down for a little while.:p
 
#6
#6
Bobby Dodd said:
I've done some thinking in the past day about Alabama's football situation, and the struggles they have had after Coach Bryant left the Capstone.

We at Tennessee had the same problem after General Neyland left. It took us nearly a half century to get our next National Championship, and during that time we had good spells and bad spells.

We had some success with Bowden Wyatt (1956), then he got us into mediocrity. Dickey helped revitalize the program, yet left us for another job. Battle did an honorable job, yet he couldn't beat Bama with Condredge.

Then Johnny Majors came marching home, and the Vols were restored to national prominance.

Looking back, all of our coaching changes in this time look similar to what Alabama has gone through post-Bryant.

Bowden Wyatt was a former player for Neyland, Ray Perkins played for the Bear. Very similar.

Dickey gave Tennessee great pride, yet left before he could make the Vols top in the land, and was an outsider. This is similar to what happened to Bill Curry at Alabama.

Finally, Johnny Majors and Gene Stallings could not be a more perfect pair. Both were old school and ran their programs on their own terms, although Stallings did so wrongly. Stallings had 1992, and Majors had the 1985 SugarVols team, which put their legacies in place.

The thing for Alabama is, no one has stepped up and achieved stability in the program like Phillip Fulmer has for Tennessee. Fulmer has won a National Title, and helped produce the greatest player in school history (Manning).That is where the comparison ends, as Alabama can't find that.

Since Stallings left, it has been a revolving door for Tide coaches, and stability is gone.

I thought Mike Shula would be the Phillip Fulmer of the Alabama program, but now we will never know.

So how long will it take Alabama to find their version of Fulmer to make the program stable and winning again?
Click to expand...

According to your own analogy, I would say Mike Shula is Battle ... right now the Bama Nation is looking for their Johnny Majors.
 
#7
#7
Very true, and I really didn't want to compare Battle to any Tide Coaches because of his character. To me, I think he most resembles Dubose, but I think Battle/Shula argument has merit.
 
#8
#8
i know alabama has made some odd moves of late, and it caught up to them. But i can't imagine they dumped Shula w/ no one to turn to. I think they do have that "big name" coming in that can revive the program. His name but not be extremely well known, a la a spurrier or a saban, but it is someone that shows a lot of promise as a coach. I'm still not ready to count out Bama yet as much as i hate to say that
 
#9
#9
utvol0427 said:
An Alabama fan not bashing Fulmer?!?!? I think you may be taking on a fever. You may want to lie down for a little while.:p
Click to expand...

You know all bashing aside, we all know in our heart of hearts what is what. We can hate each other (in football) all we want, but the truth is the truth. It's just hard to admit sometimes.

That doughtnut loving coach you got has done great things for/at UT. :dance2:
 
#11
#11
Well from what I am hearing he says he is happy at USC so who knows.

What many donot realize is that there was more to Shula's firing than wins/losses. Although that played a part of course it was not the only factor. There are other things being said about favoritism, fighting, insubordination, etc... Who really knows whats true?
 
#12
#12
Roll Tide Rev said:
Well from what I am hearing he says he is happy at USC so who knows.

What many donot realize is that there was more to Shula's firing than wins/losses. Although that played a part of course it was not the only factor. There are other things being said about favoritism, fighting, insubordination, etc... Who really knows whats true?
Click to expand...
Well either way, good luck with who ya get.
 
#13
#13
To those outside the program, it seems they stuck a knife in the back of one of their own. IMO it is different than the CPF situation because the Vols have not been on probation.

If I were a Bama fan, I would probably be in Moore's corner on the issue. This seems to be the recurring pattern of teams affected by porbation. Bring in the coach to right the ship, and then look for a juggernaut to take you to the next level.

Regardless of the circumstances, Bama's SEC record was unacceptable this year. Shula's entire coaching career is pretty nondescript if you ask me. He never really accomplished much at any stop. The way I see it, the Bama program expects excellence, and the expectation is the start for acheivement.
 
#14
#14
volfanbill said:
i know alabama has made some odd moves of late, and it caught up to them. But i can't imagine they dumped Shula w/ no one to turn to. I think they do have that "big name" coming in that can revive the program. His name but not be extremely well known, a la a spurrier or a saban, but it is someone that shows a lot of promise as a coach. I'm still not ready to count out Bama yet as much as i hate to say that
Click to expand...

I tend to agree with you. They have travelled this road before when they fired Price without having anyone lined up and I have trouble belieiving that the same guys would do it again. From lurking on the Bama boards the past few days it seems to me that there is a short list of names that would satisfy those who demand an A-list coach (Saban, Spurrier, Mac Brown, Pete Carroll, and Petrino). I'd be very surprised to learn that they have one of those guys in the bag but who knows?

There is always the possibility that some of the Bama athletic trustees/boosters did not like Shula and they used the catalyst of a 6 loss season, punctuated by the loss to AU, to support a fast break move against CMS. If that is the case, there may have been an element of leaping before they looked in order to take advantage of a small window of opportunity. My guess is that Shula could've weathered the storm if the administration had waited a week or two.
 
#16
#16
Thanks alot I honestly appreciate it.

To be honest I just want someone that we will stick with it and will consistently be a good coach. Would Shula have been? No one will know, but we must move on. We need someone that will take us to where we should be and have been before. In the class where we belong, with regular winners as you guys have been, and understanding there will be tough years as well. I want Alabama to be respected again.
 
#17
#17
Lord, first thing I thought was Saban..............

:blink:

Here I thought after Spurrier left that Tennessee would dominate the SEC.
 
#18
#18
Roll Tide Rev said:
Thanks alot I honestly appreciate it.

To be honest I just want someone that we will stick with it and will consistently be a good coach. Would Shula have been?
Click to expand...

I think his overall coaching record indicates that he was not the coach to take you to the next level.
 
#19
#19
Why would Saban leave Miami to come back to college to coach Bama. If he wanted to stay in college and not the NFL, why would he trade LSU only to get Bama back in return. Spurrier will always be a God at Carolina. He could go 0-10 and get a raise there. As much as he loves to win, leaving SoCar for Bama is not what he is waiting on. If the Bama Admin was more mentally stable and less inbred, maybe...Petrino was sought after last year, stayed at UoL. Don't see him leaving that gravy train where he can go BCS every other year for Bama.
 
#20
#20
And Mac Brown/Pete Carroll?? Who made this short A-list. These are a joke. Maybe Mac Brown's bro. He's already close to town. Bama's last A-list led to Shula. They did not stick with him long enough to give them an edge on bringing in a ringer.
 
#21
#21
OrangeEmpire said:
Here I thought after Spurrier left that Tennessee would dominate the SEC.
Click to expand...

Boy, we were set up to, weren't we? We finished ranked #4 after blowing out Michigan in the bowl game, Zook was in at Florida, and the golden path to Atlanta looked to be spread out before us for the next few years. Unfortunately it was Mark Richt and Georgia that would be rushing in to fill that void, not us. We fumbled away that game to Florida in the rain the next year, lost five games, and haven't been able to get back to that level since.

(But that's another thread.)
 
#22
#22
GVF said:
Why would Saban leave Miami to come back to college to coach Bama. If he wanted to stay in college and not the NFL, why would he trade LSU only to get Bama back in return. Spurrier will always be a God at Carolina. He could go 0-10 and get a raise there. As much as he loves to win, leaving SoCar for Bama is not what he is waiting on. If the Bama Admin was more mentally stable and less inbred, maybe...Petrino was sought after last year, stayed at UoL. Don't see him leaving that gravy train where he can go BCS every other year for Bama.
Click to expand...

i think saban's name popped up because he was on a seriously hot seat just a few weeks ago. That seat has cooled down dramatically w/ the dolphins 4-0 since their bye week.
 
#23
#23
I hate to say it but I doubt the powers that be have any realistic names on their short list. Seriously, with the expectations that will be heaped on the next guy who will step out and take the chance? Maybe a guy with strong Alabama connections but who would that be?
 
#25
#25
I think Tennessee has been fortunate with what will be (God willin' and the creek don't rise) thirty years of solid coaching by responsible individuals who run clean programs and also happen to be native sons. Must be some kind of record. People can argue all day long about shoulda's and coulda's but when I look at Bama, I'm very thankful for the stability on the Hill.

I can't believe that the powers that be at Alabama have hamstrung their program during another recruiting season. I hope we can feast off of their error and enhance our recruiting class.
 
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