Iconoclastic

Winning is not a sometime thing. You don't win once-in-a-while. You don't do things right once-in-a-while. You do them right all the time.
Winning is a habit. Unfortunately, so is losing. There is no room for second place. There is only one place in my game, and that is first place. I have finished second twice in my time at Green Bay, and I don't ever want to finish second again. There is a second place bowl game--but it is a game for losers played by losers. It is and always has been an American zeal to be the first in anything we do and to win, and to win, and to win.
Every time a football player goes out to play, he's got to play from the ground up. From the soles of his feet right up to his head. Every inch of him has to play. Some guys play with their heads. That's okay - you've got to be smart to be number one in my business. But, more important, you've got to play with your heart. With every fiber of your body. If you are lucky enough to find a guy with a lot of head and a lot of heart, he's never going to come off the field second.
Running a football team is no different from running any other kind of organization--an army, a political party, a business. The problems are the same. The objective is to win. To beat the other guy. Maybe that sounds hard or cruel. I don't think it is.
It is a reality of life that men are competitive and the most competitive games draw the most competitive team. That's why they're here--to compete. They know the rules and the objectives when they get in the game. The objective is to win--fairly, squarely, decently, by the rules--but to win. And in truth, I have never known a man worth his salt who in the long run, deep down in his heart, did not appreciate the grind--the discipline. There is something in good men that really yearns for...needs...discipline and the harsh reality of head-to-head combat.
I don't say these things because I believe in the "brute" nature of man, or that men must be brutalized to be
competitive. I believe in God, and I believe in human decency. But I firmly believe that any man's finest hours, his greatest fulfillment to all he holds dear, is the moment when he has worked his heart out in a good cause and lies exhausted on the field of battle victorious.

Branding Miles' critics as "haters" is a trick intended to discredit his critics, without having to respond to the content of their criticism. How many times does it have to be said that name calling is the last refuge of the intellectually bankrupt?

Miles is not a great coach. Basically, he's an average coach, but he's a very good recruiter. As far as player development goes, which is the other aspect of recruiting, he's average at that, too. Most of the time, he wins because he has better players and more of them.

From an outside perspective looking in, this adage appears to be an apt metaphor for much of what is wrong with our football program. Miles is too much of a "players coach" and not enough of a "martinet" (a stern but fair disciplinarian). As such, Miles is mostly responsible for the off-the-field issues last season, and the ongoing lack of discipline on the field during games (personal fouls and other avoidable penalties, players not knowing their assignments, etc.). Miles' philosophy sets the tone, and it trickles down the line to the other coaches. Miles is extremely stubborn, so he may never learn that: coaching is not a popularity contest, it's better to be respected, than liked, and being respected doesn't mean being hated. Miles will likely leave involuntarily, although probably gracefully, in 2-3 years, but he'll do so with his already arranged golden parachute.

If Bama bias exists, how much of it derives from the fact that the SEC is headquartered in Birmingham and that for many years, Bama and the Bear were largely responsible for keeping SEC football in the national discussion?

The only statistic that matters is the score. You're making an argument for a moral victory, and that's a loser's mentality. As long as Miles is the coach, it's very unlikely that we'll win another NC, unless Saban retires or takes a job in the NFL.

Elephants are an endangered species;
It will be an ebb Tide on Saturday night;and
Death Valley is not the domain of Tony-the-Tiger.

(No Message)

"What you do today will impact the weeks ahead."

Tomorrow is Halloween, remember?