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re: In 2003 were you a Croom or Shula advocate?
Posted on 6/10/20 at 5:53 pm to CapstoneGrad06
Posted on 6/10/20 at 5:53 pm to CapstoneGrad06
I got you Cap you’re right chalk that one up to misunderstanding.
1
Posted on 6/10/20 at 6:23 pm to moester75
i was croom 100%. croom was far more experienced. knew bama hired shula for his last name.
Posted on 6/10/20 at 6:59 pm to paperwasp
quote:The Bryant Museum shite on him for years after that for that line.
Remember when Dennis Franchione urged us to "hold the rope?"
Posted on 6/10/20 at 7:18 pm to moester75
I'm AA, but I was pro Shula. Y'know why? B/c Firing Croom when the time came would've been media overkill. I'm sure the Bama higher-ups thought the same thing and I don't blame them. Either way, the hire was obviously a sacrificial lamb.
Posted on 6/10/20 at 7:26 pm to moester75
21-38 (Croom) vs 26-23 (Shula)
MSU isn’t historically as big of a “brand name” as Bama to draw the talent, but 21-38 is still pretty bad. Croom only had one season out of five with more than four wins. All the big 2005 wins with Shula were vacated anyway, so it doesn’t really matter, but I think Shula was the better choice at the time. He took over the program at the worst time and still managed a 10-2 season, and most of his losses at Bama were by less than a one-score difference.
MSU isn’t historically as big of a “brand name” as Bama to draw the talent, but 21-38 is still pretty bad. Croom only had one season out of five with more than four wins. All the big 2005 wins with Shula were vacated anyway, so it doesn’t really matter, but I think Shula was the better choice at the time. He took over the program at the worst time and still managed a 10-2 season, and most of his losses at Bama were by less than a one-score difference.
Posted on 6/10/20 at 7:40 pm to RollTide4Ever
quote:
B/c Firing Croom when the time came would've been media overkill.
Exactly - would have been a PR nightmare, especially if he'd had Shula's records.
Posted on 6/10/20 at 7:48 pm to SummerOfGeorge
Y’all do know Croom feel asleep in a recruit’s living room while at MSU?
Posted on 6/10/20 at 8:04 pm to Syd
I love Mike Shula for his time as a QB and for accepting the job when Bama was radioactive. I wish we had parted on better terms. Both he and his family appear to harbor bad feelings (with some justification) and I hate that. He didn't do a bad job. He just wasn't ready for the job. He is proof positive that Alabama is not the place to learn how to be a head coach. He made some fatal mistakes and it eventually caught up with him before he was able to put it all together. We needed a seasoned coach who knew how to resurrect a program. The 3 names that I can think of that were realistic possibilities that would have been good hires (I think) were Butch Davis who I threw out there in my first post, Frank Beamer if we could have pried him away from Va Tech, or Gene Stallings. That would have also been a good time to make a run at Bobby Bowden, but he might not have come, considering the circumstances.
The man I will always despise for putting us in that spot was Mike Price who should have been old enough to know better and kept his dick in his pants. Having to fire him at such a late juncture under the NCAA sanctions was a perfect storm. I think his offense would have been perfect to keep us competitive because we would have had the advantage of not needing 5 star athletes to hang with the rest of the SEC. You need a QB that can sling it, some WR's that can run and catch and some OL that can pass block and you can pretty much play with almost anyone. It was a novelty at that time. I think it would have worked if he wasn't such an idiot.
The man I will always despise for putting us in that spot was Mike Price who should have been old enough to know better and kept his dick in his pants. Having to fire him at such a late juncture under the NCAA sanctions was a perfect storm. I think his offense would have been perfect to keep us competitive because we would have had the advantage of not needing 5 star athletes to hang with the rest of the SEC. You need a QB that can sling it, some WR's that can run and catch and some OL that can pass block and you can pretty much play with almost anyone. It was a novelty at that time. I think it would have worked if he wasn't such an idiot.
Posted on 6/10/20 at 8:11 pm to phil4bama
Yea Phillip you are spot on with your entire post. That silly arse Mike Price thought he could get away with the same shenanigans as our HC as he did up in Washington. Nobody up there pays any attention to what their football coaches do. Price is an idiot and I’m glad we got rid of him but the players did really seem to love that dude even with the short time they spent with him.
Posted on 6/10/20 at 9:13 pm to moester75
quote:
were you a Croom or Shula advocate?
Most fans have forgotten that there were three coaches interested in the job, and there were a number of people convinced that Richard Williamson's relationship with Mal Moore made him the favorite. Unlike the other two, he had a lot of CFB experience in addition to the NFL. Plus he had over 7 seasons of HC experience. I personally didn't want him because of his head coaching record.
Posted on 6/10/20 at 9:23 pm to Evolved Simian
I was burned out on the bullshite in 2003 and was just ready to win again. They could've trotted out a peg leg truck driver and I wouldn't have been anymore excited than with Croom or Shula.
Posted on 6/10/20 at 9:28 pm to stomp
Before the Croom or Shula debate, I always wondered what Price could have done with Brodie Croyle.
Posted on 6/10/20 at 9:29 pm to JustGetItRight
quote:
I will never speak ill of Shula because he was willing to come home with the mess we had.
21 scholarships over three years. That was devastating. I also won't speak ill of him either. We lost many games where depth was the issue.
At the time I thought it should have been Croom.
Posted on 6/10/20 at 9:46 pm to moester75
After hearing Croom whine like a scorned bitch today, I am convinced he was not the man for the job.
Posted on 6/10/20 at 11:56 pm to crimsontater
quote:
i was croom 100%. croom was far more experienced. knew bama hired shula for his last name.
Croom would have had similar results and may have been more difficult to fire.
Posted on 6/11/20 at 9:03 am to BamaFan107
quote:
I always wondered what Price could have done with Brodie Croyle.
The reports from practice and summer workouts were all glowing from what I remember.
I had no strong opinion on Croom or Shula. Didn't think either had much chance of success given the circumstances at the time. Both were going to placeholders to get us through probation.
Posted on 6/11/20 at 9:56 am to BamaGradinTn
Leadership at the top was just not good. I just think we were never in an ideal position to replace Gene Stallings to start with. I still wonder what would have happened if Gene Stallings had gotten his man Mal Moore? Instead we get Sorensen and Bockrath and Stallings was checking out of Tuscaloosa. Coach Bryant could control all things football and Stallings just struck out. With Sorensen and Bockrath and the growing arrogance of our BOT, we were doomed going forward and it just kept getting worse. All that crapola at the top had to finally change or coach Saban wasn't coming. Mal Moore had a lot to overcome. Looking back it was really a miracle.
Posted on 6/11/20 at 10:52 am to bamameister
quote:
Looking back it was really a miracle.
This post was edited on 6/11/20 at 10:54 am
Posted on 6/11/20 at 10:58 am to TidalSurge1
It truly was a miracle. We were very much on death's door as a program, and we all knew it.
Posted on 6/11/20 at 11:14 am to SummerOfGeorge
We were one more mediocre coach from becoming Nebraska and Texas; bluebloods that lost their status.
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