An EMOTIONLESS Shula leads Bama to another loss........

[TiderinTenn]

I was one of the 82k fans there to witness the terrible loss yesterday. It was soooo embarrassing to sit there and watch that game. We had good seats and we kept our binoculars on Shula for most of the game. I wanted to get a real take on he handled certain situations.

Well it is sad to say, but for the most part he offered limited comments to his players and coaches. He spent 85% of the day reading his play sheet and probably thinking to himself, "I never thought it would be like this". It was truly embarrassing leadership. When we were down there was no emotion from him whatsoever. He didn't do anything. It looked like he gave up. The fans all around me were in shock. This was not 'Bama football. My wife couldn't believe it. She was watching Lou Holtz motivate his players. It was like night and day. We were watching a coaching legend get it done by getting in the trenches with his players and a newcomer trying to do it NFL style. Sorry but the young players are affected by emotion whether is is good or bad. The leader has to rally the troops at times. The problem is ours is to rattled to rally anyone.

I am afraid to say what the future holds down at the capstone, but I can say this, Alabama football as we once knew it is gone. Until someone with some "big cahones" makes somethings happen down there, we will continue to be stuck in the "land of college football mediocrity"

 

[RollTideNAlbertville]

thats a very fair post. I too watched, and saw the same. The problem is, when Shula was hire, no one othere than SC wanted the job. I know Shula loves Bama as we do, but sometimes you must work your way up the ladder, in the way Marc Richt, and Stoops did. College is very different than the Pros, we are seeing how different now. We went out on a limb with this hire, and to date, it has not paid off. I had alot of faith in Coach Shula, but after the last 2 games, theres not much faith left. Roll Tide and lets hope somehow he pulls this team and himself together.

 

[Alanbama27]

Actually this is just another stupid post! The fact is that

while we'd all like to have a coach with that outward Jon Gruden type fire, not all coaches have it and frankly I'm tired of a bunch of armchair QB's questioning the mans desire to win and his abilities!

You are the same people who sat here prior to the season and said that we should expect a really bad year because of our lack of depth and yet now, when that very thing happens you jump ship and start critisizing Shula for his demeanor. What won't you guys like next...his shirt?

 

[BayouBama75]

both ways

If I remember correctly everyone was praising Shula for remaining calm and not getting too excited last year when we were behind S Fla..... I guess that is only good if we come back and win, then he is remaining calm... when we lose, he has no fire or emotion.....

Hard to have it both ways.... I think some fire will come with time, but you seldom see if from Marc Ritch either and no one seems to complain... it is all about wins and loses.... if the wins come, none of this other stuff will matter.

 

[Bamaalfa]

Alanbama27 "The Post of Excellence"

while we'd all like to have a coach with that outward Jon Gruden type fire, not all coaches have it and frankly I'm tired of a bunch of armchair QB's questioning the mans desire to win and his abilities!

You are the same people who sat here prior to the season and said that we should expect a really bad year because of our lack of depth and yet now, when that very thing happens you jump ship and start critisizing Shula for his demeanor. What won't you guys like next...his shirt?

If it would be worth writing down these Bama fans lol !! ID's
Which they will change them and talk about what a Great Coach ... Mike Shula is win The Tide is kicking rumps in the next couple of years and they even have the guts to claim that they love Bama more than Coach Shula, they don't ( arm chair) I guess they would fill better if he threw his hat/headphones and that would make the loss not hurt as much..

Alanbama27, this is sad, but I heard a hugh Auburn fan call in the calling all sports show and was telling all these so called Bama fans that were calling for Coach Shula's head.... He hoped that school would fire him and when we hired another Coach keep him a year and fire him to. He said, he would love for Bama to never have anymore stability and thats exactly what would happen..

49 Freshman, Near Death Penalty Sanctions, Coach Fran leaving ( no matter what they thought about him) price and his pathetic act.. I could name quite a few more bad things that got dumped in Coach Shula's lap and this great bunch of ball players..

Pulling for them till I die !!!!

T C

RTR

 

[Maudiemae]

I don't recall ever seeing Coach Bryant running around like a crazed chicken, jumping over a player to preach or yell at another one and I don't remember him throwing his famous hat onto the turf in a hissy fit and I'm pretty sure he cared whether we won or not.

 

[kwftide]

Stallings got mad at bad calls from the refs, but that was about it. He never jumped up and down, screaming and throwing his visor. Oh wait, that was another coach.

Stallings and Shula both have class.

 

[Alley Cat]

Most of the "fans" blaming MS can't even spell SANCTION much less understand what they're all about. Anybody that does certainly knows that we were flying a little above projections with Brodie and now we're back playing like the punishment was meant to make us play!!

 

[TiderinTenn]

People can never handle criticism....

Its like people sometimes expect everything to be rosey any and all the time no matter what happens. Lets all join hands and sing "kume-by-ya". There should be NO criticism because that means you hate the TIDE. No "realistic" opinions because that paints a doomsday picture for the future of our football program.

No worries, everything will be ok as long as we keep a coaching staff that will be here for 5, 10, 15 years and gain some stability. After we have 15 or so years of stability and maybe 1 or 2 SEC championships everybody will still be happy and still sing "kume-by-ya". Because Alabama has some stability. WRONG! There have been enough mistakes already made down there. The last thing we need to do is just settle for stability.

Auburn fans might be happy with us hiring and firing, but who cares. The bottom line is they are on their 5th Offensive Coordinator in 5 years and it looks to me they finally got it right.

Some tough decisions are going to have to be made in the next few years down in T-town.....and if there aren't any changes made we will still be battling just to get into a bowl. Believe what you want but the future will speak for itself.

 

[bamar]

tiderintenn, you sound like a tennessee fan more than a alabama fan. that is why i dont root for ut. maybe if shula would do a few cartwheels on the field after a touchdown would inspire the team to bigger and better football. i believe mike shula the qb of the only team to beat notre dame and a pretty good one at alabama has been thru a lot of emotional moments. i guess you want a houston nutt, or tommy tuberville. mark richt has never show emotion on the georgia sideline, he keeps the same clipboard in his face whether is winning or losing. mike will be fine.

 

[i4bama2]

What has Shula proven so far? That he can recruit? Look at Mack Brown; he can recruit too but cant win the big games either. Shula don't need prove to me he can win, he needs to prove it to the player.

 

[wisten]

He needs time. Of course, right now, that's not so easy to stomach, but the fact is, we need stability, and he needs time.

 

[bamaga]

Most of the "fans" blaming MS can't even spell SANCTION much less understand what they're all about. Anybody that does certainly knows that we were flying a little above projections with Brodie and now we're back playing like the punishment was meant to make us play!!

I am a fan and take that comment personally. the head coach is 'the man'. he does get and deserve the blame when a team plays that poorly. if my expectations were to get pounded by south carolina then I would not be a BAMA fan. how can anyone on this board say that is the expectations of ALABAMA football. calling or implying that fans are dumb because they voice an unpopular opinion is (would have been deleted by mods) . I beleve the job of the HC is to make sure the team is prepared, thats why he gets paid big money! the team last night was not ready. the play at QB was terrible. losing your first team QB is a handicap but should not destroy your whole team. Pennington played better last year than this game.

 

[Bamabuzzard]

You are the same people who sat here prior to the season and said that we should expect a really bad year because of our lack of depth and yet now, when that very thing happens you jump ship and start critisizing Shula for his demeanor. What won't you guys like next...his shirt?

I think what most folks are mad at is that he quit during the game. That to me is what's a shame. You can't rationalize quitting, especially from a head coach.

Now you can bi**h about other things and say we're all are "idiots" and don't know as much football as you do and blah blah blah. But you can't spin the fact that the guy flat out quit. I don't care how much time is left, what the situation is, YOU NEVER QUIT and he did just that.

I'm all for being patient fella, giving folks time to recruit and giving four to five years to settle in. But there is no time or patience for quitting. And what made it worse is that it was so evident that the fans were leaving in entire sections, in mass numbers. They new it, the announcers new it and everybody watching the game new it.

Now as an "armchair qb", I apologize for not taking the approach to this situation as you. Obviously you're approaching it the right way and anyone else not approaching it the way you are obviously isn't a true fan or doesn't have much sense.

But hey, nobody's perfect.

And again, quitting is never acceptable, even on a five your plan.

 

[BamaRedemption]

Truth tellers get the burned at the cross

I understand that we ware going to lose more than usual because of sanctions but with our tradition and following if we have more than one losing season in a coaches tenure that is unacceptable no matter what...so if Shula goes 5-6 I will NOT be saying lets be more patient. Those of you that question our loyalty and desire for our team should really look at yourself because REAL Alabama fans don't settle for just having stability..we want it all because we know about having it all ...12 times over !
We criticize our team when needed because we have the backbone to take the heat for our opinions ...We love our team and don't want to be lowered into being the perfect picture of the patient fan base ...thats what the media wants..they want us to stop wanting championships every year and realize we arent the 12 time national Champs anymore..thats the politcally correct way that we as Bama fans are to start behaving now because ESPN said so !!!
Screw ESPN and screw the media and screw those that question a mans love for his team because he doesnt want them to roll over on national T.V.
Losings one thing.... plain out and quitting is another. This isnt Alabama football no matter how the most optimistic fan spins it. If your worried how we look to ESPN or the media then your the one thats not a REAL fan.
Lets stop writing off these next few years and expect to win more than 5 or 6 and stop with the "patience all the time" lectures.
I expect more because I have seen more in my years as a fan and I'm not rolling over just because a few people say we are supposed to lose, smile and adhere to the ole "patience is a virtue".
I have seen many coaches have one losing season in a program with probation then turn it around so Shula should not be excused for having two losing season (if he does this year). Butch Davis turned it around and was bowling by his second year at Miami,Tubberville turned it around at Ole Miss his second year as well.
This is supposed to be Alabama football and I won't accept constant losing and non effort at any time.... for anyone on here to say I should accept it and be patient is the one that needs "REAL" fan check ! RTR

 

[1BamaNita]

I have seen many coaches have one losing season in a program with probation then turn it around so Shula should not be excused for having two losing season (if he does this year). Butch Davis turned it around and was bowling by his second year at Miami, RTR

I was going to ignore this entire thread, but simply could not ignore this comment. While I disagreed with your entire post, I could not let this one pass.

You really need to do some research. Butch Davis had back to back losing seasons at Miami, including a 66-3 loss to Syracuse. Miami's sanctions were not as severe as Bama's, and, at that point, the Big East was not exactly a powerhouse conference. In his 3rd year, their record was 7-4 which was the prediction for Bama pre-season-BEFORE Brodie got hurt. It took Butch Davis 5 years to compete for a championship!

It damages your credibility when you use incorrect facts to try and make a point.

 

[bayoutider]

I have seen many coaches have one losing season in a program with probation then turn it around so Shula should not be excused for having two losing season (if he does this year). Butch Davis turned it around and was bowling by his second year at Miami,Tubberville turned it around at Ole Miss his second year as well.
This is supposed to be Alabama football and I won't accept constant losing and non effort at any time.... for anyone on here to say I should accept it and be patient is the one that needs "REAL" fan check ! RTR

OK, take a deep breath because I want you to read this post from TI.

Since we are "Alabama" and became bowl eligible this season, this post will be blown off by those whose football intellect consists of crimson jersey=victory regardless. However, I thought it might be interesting to compare our tribulations with another tradition rich program who suffered through serious NCAA sanctions: Oklahoma. In December of 1988, Oklahoma was hit with a reduction of 14 scholarships, a one year TV ban, and a two year post season ban. Barry Switzer had just completed a 9-3 season and headed to pasture when the NCAA hammer fell.
Gary Gibbs took over and managed a 7-4 season (1989)in the first year after the sanctions were levied. He kept the Sooners respectable with the classes not affected by sanctions (8-3 and 9-3 in 1990,1991 respectively). The following year when the last "sanctionless" Senior class took to the field, it pulled off a 5-4-2 year including a 3-2-2 Big 8 record. The following year, it appeared Gibbs might just turn the corner with a 9-3 record including victories over 6 teams with losing records and two with exactly .500 records.
When the full blunt of sanctions hit (Sr., JR., and Soph. classes affected, OK fell to 6-6 resulting in Gibbs being let go. Over the next four seasons, OK won a staggering 17 games while dropping 27. One of these years was led by Schnellenberger, and John Blake took over for 1996, 1997, & 1998. Blake was considered a terrible coach, but a fairly solid recruiter. In 1999, Oklahoma rolled the dice on a well respected assistant on Spurrier's staff: Bob Stoops. In his first season, Stoops pulled of a 7-5 record. The following year, he won 13 games and the national title...11 years and three coaches after the sanctions were announced.
Gentlemen (and perhaps ladies), I'm not happy with what is happening on the field, but our sanctions were worse than OU's. It took the NCAA two years to even rap up our investigation with every major news outlet suggesting DEATH PENALTY on a nearly daily basis. I love the kid to death, but Notre Dame's Rudy played 3 plays in a blow out and our version starts on the defensive line in the most talented conference in the nation. Our receiver rotation consists of 1 true soph., 3 true Fresh., and one RS Fresh. Our starting right tackle just started his 5th game on the offensive side of the ball...EVER. Our backup QB was highly recruited coming out of high school, but has not seen the field in nearly three years. Sure, the coaches are not blameless and will ultimately be held accountable. However, they will be given time to overcome the second worst NCAA sanctions ever handed down. Besides, I have seen areas of improvement. Our offensive line has improved and I think is exceeding expectations. Our defense is overcoming a severe...I mean SEVERE...talent shortage at the tackle position and playing great as a unit. Our backs are running hard and Hudson's improvement in the last two seasons is remarkable. Our receivers...well, did I mention our kickers kicking better.
All the anger in the world is not going to cause our players to mature any faster or lift any harder in the weight room. I will continue to pull for Bama and hope we as fans can do our part by showing recruits we are there in the good and bad. I don't think we did our part by finding the gates with 10 minutes to go or by screaming furiously when unrealistic expectations are not met. Shula did a great job recruiting last year. If he does the same this year, the cupboard begins to fill. If CMS is not able to get it done, whoever comes in will have a much easier transition. Roll Tide Anyway.

As a final note to this post, recruiting is the key. Talent is the most important ingredient and from listening to some high school athletes and members of this squad, they love Coach Shula, so sure let's run him out of town because your heart was broken because he made our team lose. That makes about as much sense as cutting off your head to cure a headache.

 

[mlh]

Great post(s), bayoutider. Thanks for sharing that with us. We need to get our expectations in line and hang with Shula for a while. He needs time to recruit his own players and restock our talent. If last year's class is any indication he will bring good players to the Capstone. Then we'll see how he does. In the mean time we need to hang on and support our team. Those kids are playing hard and doing their best.

 

[BamaSkins]

I see a trend with Coach Shula and his staff, the team does NOT improve from week to week...we actually are getting worse...his staff did that last year, the team was worse at the end of the year than at the beginning...isn't that the opposite of how it should be...

you don't know how bad I want Coach Shula to be successful...BUT IT'S FAR MORE IMPORTANT FOR ME FOR ALABAMA FOOTBALL TO BE SUCCESSFUL...

the way this team looked Saturday, we may not win another game this year...

 

[Big_GBamaTide]

As a final note to this post, recruiting is the key. Talent is the most important ingredient and from listening to some high school athletes and members of this squad, they love Coach Shula, so sure let's run him out of town because your heart was broken because he made our team lose. That makes about as much sense as cutting off your head to cure a headache.[/QUOTE]


Recruiting is part of the key not the whole key my friend. You can bring in all the talent in the world but there are a few other important areas you have to do very well in order to be a top flight program.
1. Strength and conditioning

2. Preparation- you have to have quality teaching daily on the practice field. The old saying is you play on Saturday, you win on Monday-Friday. I don't see our team getting better at this. We are not well prepared.

3. Game Day Situations- the biggest part of coaching is what happens on Game Day. If a coach constantly looks like a deer in headlights then he is in trouble. It happens once in a while when nothing you try works. My concern is that CMS continues to have trouble with game day situations and how to help his players when they need him.

4. Communication- A team has to know that his leader is taking them somewhere. There has to be clear direction and that comes thru clear communication and solid leadership. The whole Alabama situation appears to be too big for Mike. I don't see that he believes enough in himself that he can get it done. I like Mike as a person. He is as good as they come. But I think He needs a confidence boost which would rub off on his players when he communicates with them.

There are many others but these are some major areas that have to be a part of a major winning program at any level. I don't believe Bama will have be great in these areas under Mike Shula.