| FTBL Saban interview at the Senior Bowl: (video)

[TerryP]

Mash me

 

[aMAZEnFan]

Great Interview, TP!!! Thanks!!!

 

[DIXIEDARLING]

Recruiting

We are in the 4th qtr and now we have to finish!

 

[Guest]

I love the way he carries himself, has a little swagger but not in a cocky way. That's what you want in your football team...

That Shula interview was interesting too.

 

[Guest]

I love the way he carries himself, has a little swagger but not in a cocky way. That's what you want in your football team...

That Shula interview was interesting too.

I was impressed with Shula. I know that daddy Don mouthed off after Mike was let go, but I wish Mike nothing but success.

Even he says that he wished he had done a better job. It was an interesting comment he made - that he wishes he would not have put others in the position where they had to let him go. That was a very classy statement.

 

[Guest]

I love the way he carries himself, has a little swagger but not in a cocky way. That's what you want in your football team...

That Shula interview was interesting too.

I was impressed with Shula. I know that daddy Don mouthed off after Mike was let go, but I wish Mike nothing but success.

Even he says that he wished he had done a better job. It was an interesting comment he made - that he wishes he would not have put others in the position where they had to let him go. That was a very classy statement.

Yes, CMS did handle that very well. I'm working on remembering what a fine QB he was and glossing over his days as a head coach.

 

[ExiledTidefan]

I am here to tell you that Mike Shula took a beating from a large majority of Bama fans. He was raked over the coals. I'm sure I can honestly say that we are better off today, but he should get nothing but a "thank you" and a pat on the back as he left Tuscaloosa. He's a fine person, a good football coach, and a pretty good judge of talent. Probably just lacks the skills to run the organization. It's common in big time coaching, pro or otherwise.

 

[Guest]

I am here to tell you that Mike Shula took a beating from a large majority of Bama fans. He was raked over the coals. I'm sure I can honestly say that we are better off today, but he should get nothing but a "thank you" and a pat on the back as he left Tuscaloosa. He's a fine person, a good football coach, and a pretty good judge of talent. Probably just lacks the skills to run the organization. It's common in big time coaching, pro or otherwise.

As I said, I thought Shula was class in his interview - but lets not play revisionist history with his firing. I am not going to beat the dead horse anymore, but Shula's #1 problem was his own stubbornness. It wasn't organizational skills or managerial ability. He knew what needed to be done and refused to do it. He had no trouble firing people, but someone who does not hesitate to fire Ben Pollard - arguably the best S&C coach in America, and refuses to let arguably the worst OL coach in America go, made his own bed. He should have made himself QB coach, and hired a real OC. When Mal asked Mike for a plan to turn things around following the 2006 season, the bulk of what he had to do was:

(1) Replace Bob "Bucket Step" Connelly
(2) Replace Dave Rader with quality playcalling OC.
(3) demote self to QB's
...and address recruiting deficiencies.

The defense was fine.

He was to present his plan to Moore Sunday night after the Iron Bowl. Mal called him at the office, then at home, then on his cell - and got no answer. Finally, Coach Moore drove to Shula's house and found him there.

What Mike offered was:

(1) Turn over playcalling to Rader
(2) reassign Dave Ungerer to assist Connelly with OL.


That was it. I believed then, as I do now, that Shula wanted to be fired. That is the only explanation for his behavior surrounding the events after the Iron Bowl in 2006.

So while I do think Mike is a class guy and I do wish him success - I also think he could have kept his job and had success. He made his own bed.

 

[Guest]

I love the way he carries himself, has a little swagger but not in a cocky way. That's what you want in your football team...

That Shula interview was interesting too.

Teams tend to take on the personality of their coach. That is a good thing for Bama fans.