Latest Alabama Football Stories
Posted: Jul 5th 2008 8:30AM ET by Adam Jacobi (RSS feed)
Filed under: Alabama Football, SEC
Have you found yourself in central Alabama, wanting to celebrate the rich tradition of the
entire SEC, even the really lousy teams that nobody really likes, and unable to find an appropriate venue to do so? Sure, we all have. But fret not, because
better days rapidly approach:The Memphis real estate company creating Birmingham's entertainment district wants to build a tourist attraction devoted to the Southeastern Conference. The venue would include a merchandise store, restaurant and catering services and an interactive history of the SEC.
An "interactive history?" Think of the possibilities!
- Darren McFadden's car
- An exhibit where you, too, can block Greg Gantt's punts
- The actual hobnailed boot used to break Tennessee's nose and crush their face
- Plaster casts of The Orgeron's footprints, replete with claws
- A copy of the petition filed by Kentucky in 1982 seeking all of Bear Bryant's Alabama titles to be retroactively awarded to Kentucky, on account of "we had him first." The measure failed 10-2, Auburn being the only school to join the Wildcats in voting "yea"
- Tee Martin in an electrified cage
The article also mentions that the center would include "a restaurant and catering facility with Southern food," and we'll just go ahead and assume that the waitresses all run a sub-4.5. After all, what's the point of getting a pitcher of sweet tea if it isn't delivered with ESS EEE CEE SPEEEEEED?
Oh, and we'll be absolutely stunned if this place doesn't engender dozens of fistfights on a daily basis.
Posted: Jul 3rd 2008 1:36PM ET by Brian Grummell (RSS feed)
Filed under: Alabama Football, Auburn Football, Texas Football, Big 12, SEC, Texas A&M Football, Iowa State Football
The SEC has long been known as a place where defense rules in college football. Maybe some of that had to do with the league's generally minimal focus on offense for so many years, but we can debate that in another entry. Regardless, its defensive credibility is rock solid.
But in recent years, a steady influx of offensive changes from coaches to schemes has balanced the league and made it all the more dangerous.
But,
as noted at the Daily Texan, there's also been a barely noticed flow of defensive coaching talent away from the SEC. Former Auburn star defensive coordinators
Gene Chizik and
Will Muschamp have made their way to the Big 12. Chizik was Texas' defensive coordinator before being hired as the head coach at Iowa State. Muschamp, meanwhile, is Texas' new D.C.
Elsewhere, former Alabama defensive coordinator
Joe Kines is now the D.C. at Texas A&M. Chances are, those three have been adequately replaced, but their departure and the SEC's changing offensive makeup seems to indicate a change from the All D, No O days of SEC past. I doubt wide open offensive football with not much defense like on display in the WAC ever finds a home in the SEC. OK, severely doubt it. But it is interesting to note a modest departure of defensive coaching talent as a steady wave of offensive coaching talent moves in.
Related: I wonder if this perks up the state of defense in the suddenly wide-open, quarterback loaded Big 12?
(Via:
Football Rumor Mill)
Posted: Jun 25th 2008 11:52PM ET by Charles Rich (RSS feed)
Filed under: Alabama Football, Florida Football, LSU Football, SEC, NCAA FB Coaching, Vanderbilt Football
Ridiculous. I realize Vandy is a private school and they provide a valuable service to the SEC in helping with the conference graduations rates. Still, if they aren't going to actually pay their football coach over $1 million dollars,
there's a problem. Sylvester Croom just got his pay pushed into the seven figure zone. Now Bobby Johnson is the only SEC coach still
earning a paltry 6 figure salary. Keep up.
Les Miles, LSU, $3,750,000
Nick Saban, Alabama, $3,750,000
Urban Meyer, Florida, $3,250,000
Bobby Petrino, Arkansas, $2,850,000
Mark Richt, Georgia, $2,800,000
Tommy Tuberville, Auburn, $2,800,000
Phillip Fulmer, Tennessee, $2,050,000
Steve Spurrier, South Carolina, $1,750,000
Sylvester Croom, Mississippi State, $1,700,000
Houston Nutt, Ole Miss, $1,700,000
Rich Brooks, Kentucky, $1,600,000
Bobby Johnson, Vanderbilt, $950,000
Then again, Johnson is the only SEC coach not to be automatically placed on a hot seat after a losing season.
Posted: Jun 18th 2008 4:29PM ET by Brian Cook (RSS feed)
Filed under: Alabama Football, Auburn Football, Iowa Football, Penn State Football, UCLA Football, Blogs
A regular trip through the college football blogosphere.
1. That list is how long? A list of
Penn State malfeasance since 2002 has been kicking around message boards for the past few weeks and may have even spurred ESPN to sic Outside the Lines on the Nits. It has 61(!!!) separate incidents featuring Penn State players and the long arm of the law. Or, sometimes, the long arm of nothing in particular:
53. Joe Paterno - Road Rage - No Charges
As much as we all love the possibly apocryphal
JoePa road rage incident, it resulted in no charges and, uh, did not involve a Penn State player.
Many of the other incidents are arrests that resulted in acquittals or college kids getting busted for holding a half-full Natty Lite, which is punishment in an of itself. The list is overstated. But how much?
Run Up The Score breaks it down for you. The general conclusion:
All in all, the Penn State Nittany Lions don't have a widespread, 1988 Miami Hurricanes style criminal gang disguised in plain football uniforms. They have a drinking and fighting problem. Players aren't shooting guns or selling drugs. They're getting loaded and brawling. While I take modest comfort in the fact that the football roster doesn't double as a suspect list from The Wire, there is still a rather obvious behavioral problem within the program.
This is probably because the man they should fear more than any other is kind of ancient and "works from home."
Posted: Jun 11th 2008 9:00PM ET by Bruce Ciskie (RSS feed)
Filed under: Alabama Football, Georgia Tech Football, NCAA FB Coaching, Atlanta, Kentucky Football
After seeing mixed success as a head coach for Georgia Tech, Alabama, and Kentucky,
Bill Curry found a home at ESPN. The former NFL offensive lineman and longtime coach spent ten years with the Worldwide Leader, serving primarily as a college football game and studio analyst.
The itch to coach, however, has returned for the 65-year-old Curry, and he's going back. Curry will be named the
first head football coach in Georgia State history Thursday. The Atlanta-based school is starting up a football program in 2010. They'll compete in Division I-AA (er, FCS) and play home games at the Georgia Dome. Similar to the Atlanta Falcons, GSU will probably fail to sell the place out most weekends.
Curry has a familiar face helping him start the program.
Dan Reeves, the former NFL player and head coach, has helped raise over $1 million for the startup program. He has given his endorsement to the reported hire.
Reeves said he was not part of the selection process but said "I can tell you this, I think that is a heck of a choice, a great deal for Georgia State, if that is the case.
"I think Bill will do a super job. He's got a great reputation. You couldn't ask for anyone better to start Georgia State's program. He's got college experience, he has recruited and he lieves in Atlanta. I think that's fantastic."
Posted: May 10th 2008 3:09PM ET by Brian Cook (RSS feed)
Filed under: Alabama Football, General CFB Insanity
WEEEEE, this seems like an exceptionally good and safe idea. Have I mentioned I've only had this thing for like two hours? I must be good at motorcycling, boy howdy, what do you mean "watch out for the ground"?
Alabama linebacker Rolando McClain is the latest athlete to come in for a round of media clucking after bashing himself in a motorcycle incident:
Alabama coach Nick Saban said linebacker Rolando McClain was involved in a motorcycle accident but sustained only minor injuries.
The sophomore was released from a hospital in his hometown of Decatur after the accident Thursday.
Cue the usual "I can't believe this guy could be so stupid" muttering from concerned citizens, but more important around these parts is how sucky McClain is at riding a motorcycle. He got in an accident Thursday, right? Guess when he bought the motorcycle?
A friend who was with the player moments before the accident told The Decatur Daily that McClain had bought the motorcycle earlier Thursday.
Rolando McClain + shiny new motorcycle + matter of hours = road pizza.
Posted: Apr 25th 2008 10:31AM ET by Pete Holiday (RSS feed)
Filed under: Alabama Football, SEC, NCAA FB Recruiting, NCAA FB Coaching
The problem with
creating rules to try to force all college football coaches to be lazy recruiters, is that some of them just won't. When the NCAA tried to "fix" the so-called "bump" rule, they did in in a way that makes sense only to those who value, for example, duck hunting over college recruiting. Instead of allowing coaches to evaluate players during the "Spring Evaluation Period", they have to sit back on their campuses and wait for someone else to tell them how great some player is.
FanHouse's own Brian Cook
described the rule this way:
It looks like the NCAA is moving to lessen the impact of the "bump" rule and provide a level playing field for coaches from enthusiastic frequent NCAA violators to guys who can't be bothered to get out of bed in March
Of course, the new NCAA rule "leveled the playing field" by catering to the laziest common denominator. It's about like making the no-huddle offense illegal because some teams don't have the personnel to run it. Or canceling a playground kickball game because you don't want to hurt the feelings of the kid who gets picked last. What most will be unsurprised to learn is that artificially induced slothfulness doesn't work.
Posted: Apr 15th 2008 6:37PM ET by Brian Grummell (RSS feed)
Filed under: Alabama Football, SEC, NFL Prospects, The Word
From inside the pages of the venerable Pro Football Weekly 2008 Draft Guide:
49ers head coach Mike Nolan told PFW to watch out for this kid. We did. He stinks. Hall was virtually non-existent all week, hardly making a peep. He supposedly was nursing an injury, but it didn't stop him from playing in the [Senior Bowl].
Ouch.
Rarely do you see respected publications straight up say a player stinks. Bonus points for throwing a coach under the bus. Rough day at the office, perhaps?
Posted: Apr 15th 2008 9:38AM ET by Pete Holiday (RSS feed)
Filed under: Alabama Football, SEC, NCAA FB Fans
In front of the second-largest crowd of the spring games (78,200 according to the half-time announcement), Alabama threw the ball early and often.
I made my way down to Tuscaloosa for A-Day this year, and what I saw didn't surprise me in the least. The traffic to Tuscaloosa and around town was not quite as bad as a typical game day. The "Kick-off on the Quad" was scaled back, but still well attended, and the campus was swarming with crimson and white, with nary a sign of another teams fans to be found. It was a thing of beauty, really.
Inside the stadium, Alabama looked like a young team with a lot of talent, exactly what everyone expected.
John Parker Wilson seemed to have improved in the off-season and Leigh Tiffin split the uprights from 44 yards out (both things fans should be relieved to hear).
Coach
Nick Saban, who spent most of the scrimmage standing behind the offense, managed to get in the way of one play (pictured at right) as John Parker Wilson scrambled from pressure. He didn't go down, but it was certainly a funny situation nonetheless..
Anyone who's lived on a college campus in the past ten years knows that Jimmy Johns delivers. If we are talking about the 
