"I would hate to recommend a guy to take it 'cause you can't do was well as the coach before you."
Spurrier on the Bama job
- Thread starter 18IsTheMan
- Start date
He's right. I remember the guys that followed The Bear. They went through several. Gene Stallings had some success but others never were able to win on a regular basis until Saban.
True. Fans and pundits are saying it, but he's the first coach I've heard voice it.
Yeah, I still don't get it. Mike Shula's job there wasn't any easier than Ray Perkins. It's not like they said "ok, maybe it's been enough time since Bear to give Mike a couple more years". They ran off Curry after winning the SEC. He didn't follow Bear. Luckily for Stallings, he won the NC within his first 3 years, so he got a few more.
Every coach that was hired after Bear was expected to win, and win quickly...Saban included. And every coach after Saban will be expected to do the same thing. It has nothing to do with the proximity to the coaching legend, but everything to do with the culture that is Alabama football. They simply don't tolerate anything less.
Every coach that was hired after Bear was expected to win, and win quickly...Saban included. And every coach after Saban will be expected to do the same thing. It has nothing to do with the proximity to the coaching legend, but everything to do with the culture that is Alabama football. They simply don't tolerate anything less.
Agreed. A good, seasoned coach that makes good $$ (Oregon coach, ND coach) won't want to touch the job. It's going to be a Jimbo type (arrogant / slightly above average coach) or an up and comer that takes the job.
Last edited:
Well, for one, Mike Shula was fired because he sucked on his own merits, not for any comparisons to Bear Bryant. But, yes, the Perkins and Curry coaching stints were still close enough to Bear Bryant that that is the standard they were judged by. Even though they both showed some promise, they were each fired on the heels of a 10-win season.
You basically have 2 eras in Alabama football: The Bear Bryant era and the Nick Saban era. The expectations following Bear were huge. He retired in 1982. Fast forward to 2024. Saban had an even more impressive run than Bear Bryant. And now you have a 24 hour a day news cycle, on top of which you have numerous social media platforms for fans and media and whoever else to voice their opinions. If the pressure to succeed following Bear was great, it's going to be that x1000 for the coach that follows Saban.
Add to that, Saban will have an office at Bryant Denny and has said "he will still have a presence". Not only are you following the GOAT, the GOAT is still in the building.
Last edited:
I know Shula sucked. But they didn't hire him to win 10 games and hopefully win the SEC. That's my point. Their expectations are to compete for and win NCs. They will mow through coaches at a brisk pace until they find one that does that.
I thought Dabo's arrogance would be a good fit there. If he's not the Bama coach, I predict he will move on the NFL within 2 years.
Dabo is arrogant but I don't think he's stupid. He is shrewd and calculating and he knows that Bama job is a no win job for the next guy who has it. He also knows he has the easiest head coaching job in major college football. Clemson is the giant in the dwarf village that is the ACC. Dabo is making Saban money and has a much easier path to championships.
However the stability of the ACC may be a consideration.
I was thinking the same thing. I put him in the Jimbo category. He would be stupid to leave the friendly confines of Clemson.
I don't disagree. But if he had a dream to coach at his alma mater, time is drawing nigh. Also, he'd be a fool to not consider the position the ACC (particularly Clem and FSU) are in at some point.
I cannot see Dabo as a fit in the NFL...at all. HIs personality would not work there.
He'll still get paid and he'll still have the top program in the ACC. If the ACC falls apart in a few years he can look at making a move then. In the meantime, he has a pie eating job at Clemson and is worshipped by their fans. At Bama, he'd be expected to play for national championships every season and that is a lot tougher to do in the SEC, especially the newly expanded SEC.
I think his personality has changed quite a bit over the last 10 years. We used to call him a cheerleader. Honestly, he now resembles more of a NFL personality than he did then.
He WAS a cheerleader. In the past few years he has seen himself as more of the star of the show and the celebrity face of the Clemson program. It is obvious he has a huge ego. I don't think that persona would work well as an NFL coach. The players in the NFL don't want to have to check their egos so the coach can be the star of the show.
He's tamped it down somewhat, for sure. But, if Dabo hates NIL and the portal, I just can't see him liking the NFL all that much.
BC he doesn't want to fail. That's the ultimate driver for him. There's a reason Clem/FSU, and others are so adamant about leaving. The $ disparity between the conferences will be crushing. Especially WHEN schools will be able to revenue share. I think that will come sooner rather than later.
Dabo isn't driven by $$. He's not going to sit there and ride out his contract while getting his teeth kicked in. Even IF they're able to leave, nobody knows what the fallout will be. Nobody has ever challenged a GOR deal. To assume the first challenge will go well for the challenge is silly. And I don't think Clem is going to do anything until FSU finishes it process, which could take years.
My point was, there's not a lot of jobs that come open that will pay him what he's making.
What successful coach, NFL or CFB, doesn't have a big ego?? It's an ego driven business. Dabo put a lot of guys in the NFL, and by all reports, he's loved by his players.
I believe Curry was fired because he never beat Auburn. I believe even though he did not win a nc he would have been given more time if he had Auburn success.
I agree with all of that but NFL players have egos beyond what even the most arrogant college coach can imagine and those players don't want their coach to be the guy who is the face of the team. College players still look up to their coach.
I get it. But there's not a successful NFL coach that will let the ego of a player supersede their own. It's just not happening.
If it does take years, and I think it will, for the case to be decided, Dabo will be rolling in money no matter how it is decided so money isn't a concern for him. I could see him walking away if the ACC collapsed or if revenue sharing really turned the players into employees and college football was nothing more than a lower level pro league.
I agree about there not being a lot of jobs that will pay him what he's making. That is another reason I don't see him leaving. Unless there was a scandal or if Clemson started having 3 and 4 loss seasons every year for a while, he has the safest coaching job in America. Nowhere else that would pay him what he is making now would put up with him not bringing home a national championship within a handful of years.
He isn't going to get his teeth kicked in any time soon at Clemson. There will not be 2 other ACC teams that can challenge Clemson in the near future.
You have to have somebody with very,very thick skin to take this job.That ain’t Dabo.If he thinks Tyler from Spartanburg was rough , wait till that crowd from Finebaum starts in on him.
Maybe I'm wrong but he would be setting himself for failure. I guess if it's his dream.... go for it.
I'd say you have three. The precedents for winning the national championship, winning multiple SEC championships, and turning out coaches (Bryant, Howard, and others) traces back to Frank Thomas.
Wikipedia: "During his tenure at Alabama, Thomas amassed a record of 115–24–7 and won four Southeastern Conference titles while his teams allowed an average of just 6.3 points per game. Thomas's 1934 Alabama team completed a 10–0 season with a victory over Stanford in the Rose Bowl and was named national champion by a number of selectors."
Bryant specifically came "home" to Alabama in hopes of furthering what his coach, Frank Thomas, had been able to accomplish at Bryan't alma mater.
Doesn't sound like you're an egomaniac that thinks there's nothing you can't accomplish.
Well, yeah. I don’t generally go much further back than the 1950s when talking about the game.
It is, however some make a career of it (Muschamp), and some will do whatever is necessary to avoid that. Which is where I think Dabo would fall.