most exciting HC hire since Bear

[moorav]

excluding Saban

Which head coach hire since Bear did you get most exicted about and had the highest expectations.

I rank mine
Perkins (thought he would get us there)
DuBose (liked the player - liked him as a def coach - he did win the SEC)
Curry (thought he had toughness - had hope for him)
Fran (wasn't sold on him but he had some good moments at Bama )
Stallings (did not have a great record prior to Bama but wow I like DEFENSE)
Price (knew he was temp until we could attract a real coach )
Shula (knew he was temp unitl we could attract a real coach )

 

[bayoutider]

1 Saban - Time will tell but he has the best pedigree. While at LSU he did have a losing record against Auburn and Florida (2W - 3L) and .500 vs Tennessee. I do have high expectations but it will take time and some patience on our part.

2 Perkins - It was new territory for me and I figured this is the new Bama football. I thought he would work his way into being another Bryant.

3 Franchione - Fran was my choice and had high expectations for him. I should have done a better background check.

4 Stallings - Even with the slow start I thought Stallings would return Bama to greatness. Curry recruited well, Stallings was the better coach.

5 DuBose - I knew from the start Bama is no place for on the job training but was willing to give him a chance and a chance is all he got.

6 Price - I thought Price would coach at Bama for about 6 years and we would upgrade. I should have done a better background check.

7 Shula - Years ago I thought he would someday make a good HC at Bama. I thought the same about Danny Ford. I knew Shula was no more than an interim HC but in 2005 I had a fleeting hope he might actually make it. 2006 changed my mind completely.

8 Curry - Didn't like him being hired, thought there were better candidates, glad when he left.

 

[Probius]

For me it is definitley Coach Stallings. He may have had a bland offense, but the one thing that gets me excited is winning. And he did that a whole lot during his time at the Capstone.

 

[moorav]

I am talking at the timeof the hire not after hire - Stallings would obviously be the choice after the fact. I am talking when the coach was announced. I liked Stallings the man but didn't think much of his record.

A lot of people credit Bill Oliver with that 92 season just as much as they do Stallings. I am not one of those, I credit the HC.

I didn't think Stallings at the time of the hire would do what he did but I have always liked him. Loved his Bama teams because I like defense

 

[gmart74]

i was intrigued about seeing what price could do with our offense.

i would say the most excited ive been was with saban. i think i was one of the many that were reloading tidefans every 2 minutes.

 

[graydogg85]

I'm not old enough to remember any hires/coaching searches prior to Mike Dubose.

I recall that at the time I thought Dubose was the logical choice. He was an Alabama graduate, and he had done quite well as an assistant coach and defensive coordinator. Even had that deep, gravely voice I had come to associate with Alabama football coaches. Obviously, he didn't exactly pan out.

I remember being a bit puzzled and unimpressed by the Franchione hire, but back then I didn't really follow coaching searches. I figured we would either land Butch Davis or Frank Beamer. However, once I saw Franchione's product on the field, I was totally sold. To this day I am still quite fond of his offense and his game-planning. Too bad he was a mercenary.

I was a bit disappointed with the Price hire, but after a little while I convinced myself he would be all right. I figured he hadn't had access to the kind of talent at Wazzu that he would at UA, and his offense was going to be fun to watch. We all know how that turned out.

Shula concerned me a bit because of his inexperience and his track record, but he seemed to have a fairly solid and experienced staff (at the time, anyway), so I figured he'd have lots of help and he would eventually grow into the job.

I was actually quite shocked that Coach Saban came onboard. I never thought there was a serious chance we'd land him. I had convinced myself we would wind up with Jim Grobe, who I thought would have been a decent hire. But needless to say I was pretty pleased with that hire. We'll see how it turns out.

 

[XXL TideFan]

Right around the Price hire there was a coach at Bowling Green that I thought would have made a good hire.:biggrin2:

 

[bama_at_uab]

Yeah, Urban would have been a great hire but he had just signed on to take the job at Utah so he really wasn't an option then. Actually, I was most excited about Fran and a little disappointed with the Price hire but to be honest I was most disappointed with the Dubose hire because at the time I felt like we should have hired a proven head coach from outside the program.

 

[moorav]

actually I prefer a coach with ties to the program. I of course like the Saban hire but If it came down to equals I'd prefer the one with Bama connections.

 

[bayoutider]

actually I prefer a coach with ties to the program. I of course like the Saban hire but If it came down to equals I'd prefer the one with Bama connections.

Not that many left with HC experience to choose from.

 

[moorav]

you got that right not many (any) that I can think of that I would like to have as a HC..?

 

[bmcklv]

I was a bit disappointed with the Price hire, but after a little while I convinced myself he would be all right. I figured he hadn't had access to the kind of talent at Wazzu that he would at UA, and his offense was going to be fun to watch. We all know how that turned out.

Yep, the only offense we got to see from Price was a scandalous one.

 

[bama_at_uab]

There's certainly a part of me that would like the coach to have some ties with the university but in reality I think that era has come and gone. I believe that the onus is upon the university to hire the most qualified individual and in today's college football world that more often than not means looking outside the confines of your own program for proven talent. Now, certainly if you have an alum such as coach Bryant was that has also proven himself to be qualified at other institutions then by all means that is certainly better, but I think for several years we actually handicapped ourselves by limiting our possibilities to only those with close ties.

 

[bmcklv]

I was happy with Stallings after the fact, but not thrilled when he initially got hired because of his so-so record at the time.

1.)I really liked the Perkins hire at the time. I thought he would get the job done.

2.)I was probably equally excited about Fran after his performance at TCU(I think it was TCU) the year before. Now I'm still holding his rope, but it's got a noose on one end of it.

3.)I was glad to get Shula considering the timing involved and the candidates available. He was probably the best option we had.

 

[moorav]

The thing I felt about Shula was he would not get us in trouble or embarass off the field (didn't think about on the field)

 

[Bama Bo]

1 - Fran. He was my 1st choice from the get go.

2 - Perkins. I thought he would do great things, and I believe he would have if he would have stayed.

3 - Dubose. I was converned about lack of experiance, but I thought he'd do well after a couple of years.

4 - Shula. I'd always thought he'd be a good HC some day. He proved me very wrong.

5 - Stallings. He didn't have a every good record as a HC. I figured he would bomb out. He also proved me VERY wrong.

6 - Curry. Bobby Bowden should have gotten the job.

7 - Price. Never liked this hire. Never believed his type of O would work in the SEC. And I thought he was to old.

 

[GrayTide]

Excluding Coach Saban, ranked from best to worst based on my perception of the newly hired coach at that time.

1. Perkins because he had some success in the NFL and had played for Coach Bryant. Also figured he had all the guts in the world to follow the best coach ever.
2. Curry, although I have never been a fan of Ga Tech he had NFL experience as a player and HC experience at the college level. He was articulate and more approachable than Perkins.
3. Dubose, much like everyone else, he had coaching experience, albeit none as a head coach, he played for Coach Bryant and even with the lack of head coaching experience I figureed he would surround himself with top notch assistants (which never happened) and grow into the job.
4. Shula, much like Dubose although he never played for Coach Bryant. Figured having played at Alabama and learned football from his father gave him an excellent pedigree.
5. Price, I was somewhat anxious to see if his type offense would be successful in the SEC, obvious head coaching experience and he possessed a very likable personality.
6. Stallings, really disappointed with this hire. I thought his lack of success as a head coach at both the collegiate and NFL level made him a poor choice. He appeared standoffish and was not as polished as Curry.
7. Franchione, almost led me to give up on Alabama football. I was terribly disappointed with his hiring. His resume was one of job jumping and his biggest claim to fame was taking TCU to 10 wins. In hearing his first interview he came across, at least to me, as someone who knew something you didn't and he was by god going to use it for leverage. His demeanor was almost too business like. I could not believe some of the names under consideration and we wind up with someone from Pittsburg State.

 

[RAM]

Excluding Coach Saban, ranked from best to worst based on my perception of the newly hired coach at that time.

1. Perkins because he had some success in the NFL and had played for Coach Bryant. Also figured he had all the guts in the world to follow the best coach ever.
2. Curry, although I have never been a fan of Ga Tech he had NFL experience as a player and HC experience at the college level. He was articulate and more approachable than Perkins.
3. Dubose, much like everyone else, he had coaching experience, albeit none as a head coach, he played for Coach Bryant and even with the lack of head coaching experience I figureed he would surround himself with top notch assistants (which never happened) and grow into the job.
4. Shula, much like Dubose although he never played for Coach Bryant. Figured having played at Alabama and learned football from his father gave him an excellent pedigree.
5. Price, I was somewhat anxious to see if his type offense would be successful in the SEC, obvious head coaching experience and he possessed a very likable personality.
6. Stallings, really disappointed with this hire. I thought his lack of success as a head coach at both the collegiate and NFL level made him a poor choice. He appeared standoffish and was not as polished as Curry.
7. Franchione, almost led me to give up on Alabama football. I was terribly disappointed with his hiring. His resume was one of job jumping and his biggest claim to fame was taking TCU to 10 wins. In hearing his first interview he came across, at least to me, as someone who knew something you didn't and he was by god going to use it for leverage. His demeanor was almost too business like. I could not believe some of the names under consideration and we wind up with someone from Pittsburg State.

Not trying to change the topice but!
Just picked your post for two reasons.
1. about the same list as others.
and
2. You may know

Who were the runner ups/second possible coach we could have got but ended up with the said group of 7?

 

[Whammer Jammer]

Perkins excited me and had he stayed he may have been one of our best. He made Coach Saban look like a PR exec.

Stallings was sent by Angels or at least there was devine intervention.

Saban is the best hire since "Mama Called"...Coach Saban welcome to BAMA, have a long stay!

 

[4Q Basket Case]

1 Saban - Time will tell but he has the best pedigree. While at LSU he did have a losing record against Auburn and Florida (2W - 3L) and .500 vs Tennessee. I do have high expectations but it will take time and some patience on our part.

2 Perkins - It was new territory for me and I figured this is the new Bama football. I thought he would work his way into being another Bryant.

3 Franchione - Fran was my choice and had high expectations for him. I should have done a better background check.

4 Stallings - Even with the slow start I thought Stallings would return Bama to greatness. Curry recruited well, Stallings was the better coach.

5 DuBose - I knew from the start Bama is no place for on the job training but was willing to give him a chance and a chance is all he got.

6 Price - I thought Price would coach at Bama for about 6 years and we would upgrade. I should have done a better background check.

7 Shula - Years ago I thought he would someday make a good HC at Bama. I thought the same about Danny Ford. I knew Shula was no more than an interim HC but in 2005 I had a fleeting hope he might actually make it. 2006 changed my mind completely.

8 Curry - Didn't like him being hired, thought there were better candidates, glad when he left.

Not counting Coach, that's eight coaches in 25 years. An average of barely over three apiece. Add Coach, and that's nine coaches in 50 years, still only 5.5 apiece.

Ranking Alabama coaches in the last 25 years is kind of like ranking British Prime Ministers between William Pitt and Winston Churchill. You get a David Ben-Gurion / Gene Stallings just often enough to remind you of where you used to be, but you get a Mike DuBose / Neville Chamberlain significantly more than often enough to remind you of what a real leader is.

With the acknowledged benefit of hindsight, I'd rank the all-time hires at Alabama as:

1. Coach. From 4-24-2 over three years to undisputed national champions in four years. Follow that up five more times (1964, 1965, 1973, 1978, 1979), plus two additional robberies (1966 and 1977). 'Nuff said.

2. Frank Thomas. Heir to Wallace Wade, but a more consistent record. Outcoached a guy after whom another school (Duke) named a stadium.

3. Xen Scott. Brought Alabama from nowhere to a national name with a defeat of Penn (yes, the University of Pennsylvania, not Pennsylvania State University) in the 1920s. At the time, the Quakers were a power. Nobody, including the condescending New England press of the day (some things never change) gave us a chance, and we beat them 9-7 on their turf. As big a win as the Tide has ever had outside of Pasadena. Some inconsistency in the overall record, especially after contracting a terminal illness. But being the first to climb the peak counts for a lot.

4. Wallace Wade. Spectacular good years. Too many mediocre years to be at the very top. Plus, he was not someone to generate warm fuzzies about much of anything.

4A. Gene Stallings. Like Wade, had spectacular good years, but also had his own set of failings. Defense won championships, but offense was light years behind the times, except for the reign of Homer Smith, with whom Stallings himself didn't get along. Underachieved his offensive talent. Still, a representative of the University for the ages. If you don't like Gene Stallings as a person, you're not human.

Just my thoughts. Good fodder for debate during the offseason, though.