Coach Bryant coached teams......losses then and now

[quince]

Having been fortunate enough to be a Tide fan since 1953 I was able to see firsthand how low our program had fallen by 1957 and subsequently its return to prominence that started with Dr. Rose's hiring of Coach Bryant. Having read several posts over the past few weeks "critiquing" the coaches & players I wonder how the Coach himself would have fared in today's atmosphere?

Let us not forget that after 3 National Championships ('61,'64 & '65) and a '66 team certainly deserving of one our team had some hard times in the years that followed. We fans were not used to losing and we certainly were not used to being manhandled, so imagine how we felt after Missouri spanked us 35-10 in the 1968 Gator Bowl. Following that humbling loss with a 41-14 thumping by UT in 1969 @ Legion Field made us wonder if the magic might just be over. Coach Bryant himself even toyed with the idea of leaving and going to the Miami Dolphins.....history tells us he did not but in 1970 we were beaten soundly by USC 42-21 (again @ Legion Field) and blanked by UT 24-0 in Knoxville. I personally witnessed these games and believe me we were never in any of them unless you call being down 7-0 at the half against UT in '70 "being in the game." I guess we all knew that Coach Bryant would fix the problem(s) and get things back where we/he wanted them and he did. By the way, Alabama was named the team of the decade for the '60's & again for the '70's.

But even the '70's were not without some surprises like the number of consecutive bowl games without a win that started in 1967 and did not end until the Sugar Bowl win over Penn State following the 1975 season. You could go back to the very first game of th 1975 season for me....Missouri beat us 20-7 and it wasn't that close! Richard Todd & company were inept that night and Tony Galbraith (I believe) ran roughshod over us all night. The only score we had was a late TD pass to Ozzie Newsome that actually was tipped into his hands by a Missouri defender. In short we got hammered! The surprises continued in the first game of 1976 played in Jackson, MS where we expected to beat an Ole Miss team with ease but ended up losing 10-7. Again the offense was inept. I sat through all of these games too and it wasn't very much fun. But hey, guess what, we won 2 more National Championships later in '78 & '79! I was there for both and THAT was fun!

Maybe its the era from which I come but I don't like this "what have you done for me lately" mentality or the need of some to constanly find fault with players & coaches. With the emergence of talk radio, internet chat rooms, blogs & the like ridiculous criticisms are thrown out there for all to hear. I compare that to a couple of guys sitting in a bar having a few cold ones, spouting off about this & that just to see who could say the most outrageous things....only now there are forums for that kind of stuff. So when our Team doesn't appear to play with intensity, or lack of focus, or can't execute and even has some play calls that seem idiotic don't go crazy! Its happened before...even Coach Bryant's teams had those very things happen to them...I know because I saw it happen more than once!

 

[GeorgiaTider]

Since 1953? Wow. Nice post. Thanks for the reminder.

 

[alabamajoe1984]

Thanks for the gut check. It takes time to get these things done and I think everyone knows that. In the past ten years we havent been dominant and people are getting tired of it, regardless of CNS's system. Patience is a virtue, although if we throw the ball on 4th and 1 again on a rollout i will climb to the top of the stadium and jump off.

 

[GrayTide]

quince;686718]. Maybe its the era from which I come but I don't like this "what have you done for me lately" mentality or the need of some to constanly find fault with players & coaches. With the emergence of talk radio, internet chat rooms, blogs & the like ridiculous criticisms are thrown out there for all to hear. I compare that to a couple of guys sitting in a bar having a few cold ones, spouting off about this & that just to see who could say the most outrageous things....only now there are forums for that kind of stuff. So when our Team doesn't appear to play with intensity, or lack of focus, or can't execute and even has some play calls that seem idiotic don't go crazy! Its happened before...even Coach Bryant's teams had those very things happen to them...I know because I saw it happen more than once!

Good post quince and although I haven't been around quite as long as you I was around when it was said that the game had passed CPB by. This is sort of like the thread last week about the hate among opposing fanbases. It use to be local fans sitting around a table at the local diner on Monday morning discussing the games from the prior Saturday. There was some good natured ribbing and some subtle jabs if your team happen to have lost, but that was about the extent of it. This was usually reserved for AU and UA fans, but with the advent of the internet it puts fanbases in touch instantly with their rival fanbases and fosters smack talk and insults that leads to a certain amount of hate. Plus it also gives the delusional Alabama fan an outlet to express his dissatisfaction with the team and the players. I suspect that had the internet been round in 1969 and 1970 there would have been a firebearbryant.com site.

 

[derek4tide]

Good post quince and although I haven't been around quite as long as you I was around when it was said that the game had passed CPB by. This is sort of like the thread last week about the hate among opposing fanbases. It use to be local fans sitting around a table at the local diner on Monday morning discussing the games from the prior Saturday. There was some good natured ribbing and some subtle jabs if your team happen to have lost, but that was about the extent of it. This was usually reserved for AU and UA fans, but with the advent of the internet it puts fanbases in touch instantly with their rival fanbases and fosters smack talk and insults that leads to a certain amount of hate. Plus it also gives the delusional Alabama fan an outlet to express his dissatisfaction with the team and the players. I suspect that had the internet been round in 1969 and 1970 there would have been a firebearbryant.com site.

I always admired Coach Bryant as a man who embraced change. Never ran from it , but utilized it to teach, mentor and lead. He also was never one to not seek the advice of others.

 

[quince]

Thanks for the gut check. It takes time to get these things done and I think everyone knows that. In the past ten years we havent been dominant and people are getting tired of it, regardless of CNS's system. Patience is a virtue, although if we throw the ball on 4th and 1 again on a rollout i will climb to the top of the stadium and jump off.

I might be right behind you!

 

[Bama1970]

I always admired Coach Bryant as a man who embraced change. Never ran from it , but utilized it to teach, mentor and lead. He also was never one to not seek the advice of others.

IMO, that was one of the things that made CPB so sucessful. He wasn't afraid to change. Not the only thing, mind you, but one of the things.

 

[quince]

Good post quince and although I haven't been around quite as long as you I was around when it was said that the game had passed CPB by. This is sort of like the thread last week about the hate among opposing fanbases. It use to be local fans sitting around a table at the local diner on Monday morning discussing the games from the prior Saturday. There was some good natured ribbing and some subtle jabs if your team happen to have lost, but that was about the extent of it. This was usually reserved for AU and UA fans, but with the advent of the internet it puts fanbases in touch instantly with their rival fanbases and fosters smack talk and insults that leads to a certain amount of hate. Plus it also gives the delusional Alabama fan an outlet to express his dissatisfaction with the team and the players. I suspect that had the internet been round in 1969 and 1970 there would have been a firebearbryant.com site.

All of what you say is right......its just too easy to argue anonymously on a website with no fear of retribution and as a result I think there is an overall lack of respect missing. Not just for the opposing team but for the individual himself. Had I gone off on some of my aubie buddies (or they on me) in the '60's & '70's like I read about (and hear on talk radio) nowadays someone would definitely been given the opportunity to step outside & discuss things in a slightly different manner!

Funny thing about the 1969 to 1970 seasons, there might have been a few who criticized Coach but it was done in whispers. That would have been like talking back to you father...just wasn't done.

 

[quince]

I always admired Coach Bryant as a man who embraced change. Never ran from it , but utilized it to teach, mentor and lead. He also was never one to not seek the advice of others.

Yes, he did!

 

[Tide Rev]

Quince, you have hit the nail on the head...great post! I remember the 24-0 UT loss. There are some others that stick out also most likely because there were not that many after 1970. We also lost to UGA in Athens 21-0 or something close to that. Coach Bryant began to tweak the Wishbone a little because people were beginning to figure out how to stop it. Missouri did the best job to that point. Galbreath was a man among boys that night in B'ham. I also remember we lost to Vandy somewhere back there around 1969-70 I think.

But one thing I do remember about Coach Bryant after a loss...you did not want to be the team that played Bama in the 70's after a loss. Wish that was still true today...

 

[butchp]

But one thing I do remember about Coach Bryant after a loss...you did not want to be the team that played Bama in the 70's after a loss. Wish that was still true today...[/quote]


Give it time, it will be again.

 

[ROTYDE]

Having been fortunate enough to be a Tide fan since 1953 I was able to see firsthand how low our program had fallen by 1957 and subsequently its return to prominence that started with Dr. Rose's hiring of Coach Bryant. Having read several posts over the past few weeks "critiquing" the coaches & players I wonder how the Coach himself would have fared in today's atmosphere?

Let us not forget that after 3 National Championships ('61,'64 & '65) and a '66 team certainly deserving of one our team had some hard times in the years that followed. We fans were not used to losing and we certainly were not used to being manhandled, so imagine how we felt after Missouri spanked us 35-10 in the 1968 Gator Bowl. Following that humbling loss with a 41-14 thumping by UT in 1969 @ Legion Field made us wonder if the magic might just be over. Coach Bryant himself even toyed with the idea of leaving and going to the Miami Dolphins.....history tells us he did not but in 1970 we were beaten soundly by USC 42-21 (again @ Legion Field) and blanked by UT 24-0 in Knoxville. I personally witnessed these games and believe me we were never in any of them unless you call being down 7-0 at the half against UT in '70 "being in the game." I guess we all knew that Coach Bryant would fix the problem(s) and get things back where we/he wanted them and he did. By the way, Alabama was named the team of the decade for the '60's & again for the '70's.

But even the '70's were not without some surprises like the number of consecutive bowl games without a win that started in 1967 and did not end until the Sugar Bowl win over Penn State following the 1975 season. You could go back to the very first game of th 1975 season for me....Missouri beat us 20-7 and it wasn't that close! Richard Todd & company were inept that night and Tony Galbraith (I believe) ran roughshod over us all night. The only score we had was a late TD pass to Ozzie Newsome that actually was tipped into his hands by a Missouri defender. In short we got hammered! The surprises continued in the first game of 1976 played in Jackson, MS where we expected to beat an Ole Miss team with ease but ended up losing 10-7. Again the offense was inept. I sat through all of these games too and it wasn't very much fun. But hey, guess what, we won 2 more National Championships later in '78 & '79! I was there for both and THAT was fun!

Maybe its the era from which I come but I don't like this "what have you done for me lately" mentality or the need of some to constanly find fault with players & coaches. With the emergence of talk radio, internet chat rooms, blogs & the like ridiculous criticisms are thrown out there for all to hear. I compare that to a couple of guys sitting in a bar having a few cold ones, spouting off about this & that just to see who could say the most outrageous things....only now there are forums for that kind of stuff. So when our Team doesn't appear to play with intensity, or lack of focus, or can't execute and even has some play calls that seem idiotic don't go crazy! Its happened before...even Coach Bryant's teams had those very things happen to them...I know because I saw it happen more than once!

The whole game of college football has changed "Parity " has change the college football world. When Coach was living we would have 80 players on the sidelines (sometimes 100). Our 3rd string would be better than there first. It is like apples and oranges, dogs and cats,women and men, you just cant compare.....

 

[quince]

Quince, you have hit the nail on the head...great post! I remember the 24-0 UT loss. There are some others that stick out also most likely because there were not that many after 1970. We also lost to UGA in Athens 21-0 or something close to that. Coach Bryant began to tweak the Wishbone a little because people were beginning to figure out how to stop it. Missouri did the best job to that point. Galbreath was a man among boys that night in B'ham. I also remember we lost to Vandy somewhere back there around 1969-70 I think.

But one thing I do remember about Coach Bryant after a loss...you did not want to be the team that played Bama in the 70's after a loss. Wish that was still true today...

That UGA loss was in 1975 I believe and Vandy beat us in 1969 14-10. I have a good friend who was on the '75 team who told me UGA students/fans drove around our motel all night honking their horns...according to him most of the team took their mattresses into the hallway to sleep. That Vandy game was hard to swallow.....Johnny Musso was left in Tuscaloosa due to injury. Vandy was 0-2 up to that point...sure didn't see that coming.

 

[quince]

The whole game of college football has changed "Parity " has change the college football world. When Coach was living we would have 80 players on the sidelines (sometimes 100). Our 3rd string would be better than there first. It is like apples and oranges, dogs and cats,women and men, you just cant compare.....

I agree with you that the landscape has changed but that really wasn't my point. I was trying to say that everything I see on sites like this and hear on talk radio criticizing players not making plays, coaches not "having the team ready" and questionable play calling are not new. All of that happens to every great coach.......it just seems to happen more often to the not so great coaches and before instant communication was invented it wasn't out there in mass quantity for all to see and hear.

 

[GrayTide]

Looking back is easy and if you think about the 1969 and 1970 seasons you realize now that CPB put too much stock in Scott Hunter and throwing the ball 35-40 times a game. That was not CPB's brand of football. To his credit after the 1970 season, he went to the Wishbone and the rest is history. IMO the single biggest change in college football over the past 30 years has been the emergence and recruitment of the african-american athlete. They have brought new elements to the college game, speed and strength which has forced teams to get on board in order to stay competitive. CPB realized this but due to the times had to make this change gradually at Alabama. In looking back it is hard to remember that what is now expected and accepted was then a real social and political issue.

 

[FitToBeTide]

That UGA loss was in 1975 I believe and Vandy beat us in 1969 14-10. I have a good friend who was on the '75 team who told me UGA students/fans drove around our motel all night honking their horns...according to him most of the team took their mattresses into the hallway to sleep. That Vandy game was hard to swallow.....Johnny Musso was left in Tuscaloosa due to injury. Vandy was 0-2 up to that point...sure didn't see that coming.

I remember that game and the pain in produced. What I had forgotten was Johnny's absence. Thanks for the reminder.

 

[quince]

Quince, you have hit the nail on the head...great post! I remember the 24-0 UT loss. There are some others that stick out also most likely because there were not that many after 1970. We also lost to UGA in Athens 21-0 or something close to that. Coach Bryant began to tweak the Wishbone a little because people were beginning to figure out how to stop it. Missouri did the best job to that point. Galbreath was a man among boys that night in B'ham. I also remember we lost to Vandy somewhere back there around 1969-70 I think.

But one thing I do remember about Coach Bryant after a loss...you did not want to be the team that played Bama in the 70's after a loss. Wish that was still true today...

Tide Rev, let me correct something...the 21-0 UGA loss in Athens was in 1976, not '75 as I posted earlier. Sometimes things run together!

 

[Bama1970]

Coach Bryant is by far the greatest coach in the history of the game. But when you look at his first year at Bama through 6 games, he was 3-2-1. He came in kinda/sorta in the same situation that CNS came in to ( well actually it was a lot worse, but the point being he didn't inherit a winning team). He inherited a team that was not used to winning and it took him time to install his program and recruit his type of players. But once he got the ball rolling, we all know what happend.

 

[quince]

Coach Bryant is by far the greatest coach in the history of the game. But when you look at his first year at Bama through 6 games, he was 3-2-1. He came in kinda/sorta in the same situation that CNS came in to ( well actually it was a lot worse, but the point being he didn't inherit a winning team). He inherited a team that was not used to winning and it took him time to install his program and recruit his type of players. But once he got the ball rolling, we all know what happend.

And don't forget Coach Bryant ran off most returning seniors before the season started. Due to numbers CNS isn't afforded that luxury but his message seems clear.."Do things my way or you won't see playing time."