BamaSon25 said:
My opinion....Barnes isn't saying this to the media, his Dad is. Furthermore, Daddy Barnes is tight with the Shula family. Sounds like sour grapes to me. I promise you, he is not helping his son's chances at a career in football (be it playing or coaching) by making these types of remarks. I suspect Jimmy saw the writing on the wall that he was not going to be a QB with playing time at Alabama, he called Dad and told him wanted to leave. His Dad asks him, "Why?" And he tells his Dad a number of reasons including "Saban is mean to me" to garner the support of his Dad in the transition. What kid in this world has not made remarks that were not really lies, but more only half truths in order to get what they want? The thing is...we can't hold this against the younger Barnes. It is his Dad who is making the remarks. I wish Jimmy the best.
RTR
BamaSon25
I share your view of how this story developed. You've got a kid explaing to his Dad why he wants to quit. The kid's idea of an indignity could be lack of playing time, lack of consideration for playing time, or perhaps being relegated to scout team QB or placed somewhere south of Fanuzzi (is he on campus yet?) on the depth chart.
I wish them both the best. Remember, the article mentions the Dad refused to elaborate on the issue, and how he was disappointed his son was leaving Alabama. He was hunted down in California for a comment by an Alabama reporter, gave one, and then refused to elaborate. The reporter had his sound bite and wrote his article.
In picking up the story, the double standard by the national press is obvious. Charlie Weis runs down a QB in a public statement, the kid then decides to transfer. Because it's notre dame, there is no outrage against one of the more arrogant coaches in all of football. If Nick Saban had said, "Starting QB is undecided, but I can tell you it won't be Jimmy Barnes", he would have been crucified. Weis gets a pass.
There have been successful coaches who were quiet and demanding, and there have been successful coaches who were fiery and demanding. Some of both have been alapahahaholes. I've experienced enough to know that there are no absolutes, but the coaches who were toughest on me on the field and in the classroom loved me the most. Despite his legendary demands in practice, Coach Bryant's off-the-field actions
also showed how much he loved his players.