re: gumps worst physical beating....

quote:

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I remember Perkins suceeded Bryant, had weaker than expected bama teams, and he stated that Brynat didn't recruit as well as he could have his last few years (probably due exhaustion from his bad hear). The fans base raised hell at this comment. It was probably true, but a stupid thing to say.

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I think Bear admitted that recruiting had suffered as he couldn't promise the kids at the end that he'd be there for four years. He also knew what his expectations were for Bama Football, and knew that Bama fans had those same expectations...and realized that his best years were behind him.

Unlike the Bowden's and the Paterno's, who both tarnished their images over the last few years of their career with less than spectacular teams.

All in all, the way Bear stepped down gracefully, and on his own terms (and passed away within a month), only added to his legend.