Started By
Message
Which scandal hurt our football program the most?
Posted on 1/25/17 at 10:04 pm
Posted on 1/25/17 at 10:04 pm
Antonio Langham or Albert Means?
I love Langham and don't blame him one bit for how everything went down back in 1994-95, but I will argue that that first stint of probation did more to degrade the quality of our football program than Albert Means. IMO, the latter scandal does not happen without the former.
Because of the NCAA sanctions wrought upon the program in '95, Hootie Ingram was forced to resign, and one of the worst ADs in the history of the program was hired to replace him (Bob Bockrath). Bockrath ran Stallings off, caved into fan pressure and hired DuBose, and did very little to invest in or build new facilities while the rest of the SEC passed us by in that department.
I love Langham and don't blame him one bit for how everything went down back in 1994-95, but I will argue that that first stint of probation did more to degrade the quality of our football program than Albert Means. IMO, the latter scandal does not happen without the former.
Because of the NCAA sanctions wrought upon the program in '95, Hootie Ingram was forced to resign, and one of the worst ADs in the history of the program was hired to replace him (Bob Bockrath). Bockrath ran Stallings off, caved into fan pressure and hired DuBose, and did very little to invest in or build new facilities while the rest of the SEC passed us by in that department.
9
Posted on 1/25/17 at 10:10 pm to RollTide1987
Means. Langham wouldn't have been very bad if Stallings wouldn't have been arrogant about it. Means damn near killed us
Posted on 1/26/17 at 7:44 am to RollTide1987
Fat Albert easily
Posted on 1/26/17 at 7:59 am to cajunbama
Means. One reason it hurt so bad was because we weren't really all the way recovered from Langham. However, we were a fricking joke after the Means case.
Posted on 1/26/17 at 8:02 am to RollTide1987
quote:
Albert Means
Not even close. We recovered from Langham relatively quickly. Our 1996 team was inside the 10 against Tennessee in Neyland to tie the game and lost by 1 in Starkville. That team was 2 or 3 plays away from an undefeated regular season (and still would have gotten walloped by Florida in Atlanta, but still).
Means, along with the athletic department and the subsequent hires, destroyed us for almost a decade. It very well could have destroyed us forever.
This post was edited on 1/26/17 at 8:04 am
Posted on 1/26/17 at 8:17 am to Triple Daves
Means, hands down was a killer!!
Posted on 1/26/17 at 12:50 pm to RollTide1987
Means
Posted on 1/26/17 at 1:01 pm to Cobrasize
quote:
Means. Langham wouldn't have been very bad if Stallings wouldn't have been arrogant about it. Means damn near killed us
No doubt Means as it compounded the Langum issue.
Also, the Langum situation should never had been a problem in the first place. Stallings totally fricked that up. Had we just self-reported and been respectful towards the NCAA, it never would have evolved into an institutional issue.
Posted on 1/26/17 at 5:22 pm to 14&Counting
It was not one thing but a series of events all occurring in a probationary window that took away our glory for over ten years.
It was Langham,it was Means,it was our inept administration,our dumb coaches,it was the skullduggery of Fulmer,it was the text book crap. A perfect storm.
But the Saban rainbow made us forget everything while reminding our rivals you can rain on our parade but you cant drown us.
It was Langham,it was Means,it was our inept administration,our dumb coaches,it was the skullduggery of Fulmer,it was the text book crap. A perfect storm.
But the Saban rainbow made us forget everything while reminding our rivals you can rain on our parade but you cant drown us.
Posted on 1/29/17 at 8:27 pm to RollTide1987
Means and it ain't close
Posted on 1/29/17 at 9:34 pm to Triple Daves
quote:
Means, along with the athletic department and the subsequent hires, destroyed us for almost a decade. It very well could have destroyed us forever.
This.
Posted on 1/31/17 at 12:12 pm to RollTide1987
Means...although it was a cause and effect thing. Because Bockrath was hired in the Langham aftermath we ended up with Dumbose, who wasn't good at evaluating talent or Means might have never been offered. The "staring down the barrel" comment would have never been made which hurt our prestige.
I think long term , it actually helped the program since we got the Admin to truly hand the keys over to Saban.
I think long term , it actually helped the program since we got the Admin to truly hand the keys over to Saban.
Posted on 1/31/17 at 1:47 pm to RECConspiracy
quote:
I think long term , it actually helped the program since we got the Admin to truly hand the keys over to Saban.
This is true. But hindsight is always 20/20. The events Langham set in motion back on January 1, 1993, led to the ultimate hiring of Nick Saban. But we went through a lot of pain and agony to get there.
Posted on 1/31/17 at 6:18 pm to RollTide1987
quote:
The events Langham set in motion back on January 1, 1993, led to the ultimate hiring of Nick Saban. But we went through a lot of pain and agony to get there.
Was it worth it?
Posted on 2/1/17 at 12:14 pm to Commander Data
quote:
Was it worth it?
I'd say so. Not that I'd like for us to get on probation again and go through a revolving door of coaches, but we ended up having a dynasty because of it. I think the probation helped us in that the barn was torched and we were able to burn the rats.
Posted on 2/1/17 at 1:08 pm to 14&Counting
quote:I know this is true, but Stallings, at the time, was defending his player. Langham told him to his face that the accusation wasn't true and Stallings defended him. I can't blame coach for sticking up for a player.
Stallings totally fricked that up. Had we just self-reported and been respectful towards the NCAA, it never would have evolved into an institutional issue.
Posted on 2/1/17 at 5:02 pm to RollTide1987
Yes
Posted on 2/2/17 at 11:32 am to Commander Data
quote:
Was it worth it?
we went through a ten year stretch of meh (that included two 10 win seasons and an SEC title) and on the other side have been on a 10 year stretch unmatched in the history of college football that has included 5 SEC titles, 4 National Titles, 2 Heisman winners, and shows no signs of stopping. You tell me was it worth it.
Posted on 2/5/17 at 3:17 am to bamasgot13
Means wasn't even that good in HS. Very overrated.
Posted on 2/5/17 at 1:12 pm to RollTide1987
I agree that you don't get the Means scandal without Bockrath/DuBose, and for that you needed the Langham scandal first.
Also, the Langham scandal was the first real rules scandal in program history. Did a lot to damage the brand.
But in terms of on-field impact, it has to be Means. That nearly killed the program. Some would tell you that was their intent.
Also, the Langham scandal was the first real rules scandal in program history. Did a lot to damage the brand.
But in terms of on-field impact, it has to be Means. That nearly killed the program. Some would tell you that was their intent.
This post was edited on 2/5/17 at 1:14 pm
Page 1 of 2
Latest Alabama News
Popular
Back to top
Follow SECRant for SEC Football News