FanHouse Mike Shula

In the annals of academic-athletic cheating scandals in college, particularly in the SEC, what Alabama got penalized for on Thursday pales in comparison. After all, Georgia basketball under Jim Harrick several years ago got busted for awarding credits to players who did not attend Harrick's son's class on basketball strategy, which included a test that asked how many halves are in a basketball game.

Upon further contrast, Alabama may even be more worthy of commendation than sanction. This transgression was of players, the biggest offenders being in football, abusing their athletic department's textbook acquisition policy.

Imagine that. Athletes were busted for spending money at a campus bookstore not so much for obtaining more school paraphernalia, mind you, but for procuring recommended textbooks, which is against NCAA rules, rather than just required texts. How about that? At least that is some evidence Alabama athletes are actually trying to pursue the first part of the most famous NCAA phrase: student-athlete.

Its a day late but definitely not a dollar short, as the NCAA will reportedly come down on Alabama to the tune of an unknown number of vacated football victories between 2005 and 2007, three additional years of probation and a cash penalty, according to the Birmingham News.

Alabama football players and athletes in several other sports were involved in a prohibited textbook and materials disbursement scheme. It's seemingly benign stuff compared to recent allegations against Memphis and USC, but this is Alabama we're talking about, which seems to have its Brooks Was Here moment every time it finds itself paroled.

Michael Lewis's opus The Blind Side is currently filming in Atlanta and slated for release on November 20, 2009. The book recently received a jolt of interest when the primary subject of the story, Ole Miss offensive tackle Michael Oher, who rises from a hardscrabble existence in Memphis to become the top offensive tackle in the nation, was drafted in the first round by the Baltimore Ravens. A major portion of the story focuses on the top-ranked Oher's recruitment by three men: then-LSU coach Nick Saban, then-Tennessee coach Phillip Fulmer, and then-Ole Miss coach Ed Orgeron. It's a recruiting battle for the ages.

Two weeks ago Bruce Feldman reported that Orgeron would play himself in the movie. Now I can report that Phil Fulmer will be playing himself, having traveled down to Atlanta this past Friday to film his scenes with Sandra Bullock. All that remains to be determined is whether Nick Saban is playing himself. And wouldn't that be great if Saint Nick donned the purple and gold to reprise his role for the film?

The Bear died in 1982, and ever since Alabama's been yearning for a sustained national presence. Sure there was that national championship victory over Miami, but overall the program's been plagued by inconsistency, scandal, sanction and the rise of the SEC.

A victory today over Georgia would perhaps put Alabama over the hump.

Then again, they were supposedly experiencing a renaissance just a few short years ago, opening 9-0 in 2005 before finishing at 10-2. Coach Mike Shula was gone the very next year. Nick Saban and his $32 million contract have been brought in to finally turn things around.

I generally don't like to post rumors, but this one may be worth discussing (though keep in mind that these are very unconfirmed rumors). According to some folks over at ChiefsPlanet, Terry Shea, the Chiefs' QB coach, might be on the hot seat. A name that has been bandied about as his replacement? The recently-fired-for-Nick-Saban Alabama coach Mike Shula.

The theory is that Shula coached Brodie Croyle, so he would help facilitate Croyle's transition to starting quarterback of the Chiefs. I'm not sure how I feel about this. I like Croyle as the QB of the future, but I still think it's too soon for him to take over the reins. I also like Terry Shea, and think that his firing would only mean he was the targeted scapegoat for the Chiefs' abysmal performance in the playoffs. After all, it isn't his fault the wide receivers forgot how to catch and the offensive line forgot how to protect. Nor is it his fault that Trent Green had such a severe concussion and probably hadn't fully recovered. Shea also did a nice job in getting Damon Huard established as a starting quarterback.

Shula, meanwhile, has a bit of a spotty history. I suppose, in some sense, the marriage between Shula and Herm Edwards would work out, because they were successful in Tampa Bay together under Tony Dungy. Shula also facilitated a quicker-than-expected turnaround of the Crimson Tide. However, that turnaround was short-lived. Furthermore, the Chiefs suffered from a lack of offensive creativity, something that Shula does not seem ideal for countering.

Of course, this all depends on whether Shea gets fired or not. I'd like to know how much input Shea had on the playcalling this year before deciding whether he deserves his walking papers. Earlier this year, I liked the possibility of Mike Solari and Shea working together. My impression is that Shea didn't have much input, which would very much make him a scapegoat if he is fired. If he did have input, though, then maybe Edwards really is better off having coaches with whom he has an established working relationship.

As you would expect, all the talk in the state of Alabama today is centering on the firing of head football coach Mike Shula. For the third time in four years, Alabama will yet again try to fill the shoes of the very late Paul "Bear" Bryant.

Listening to the syndicated Paul Finebaum Radio Show out of Birmingham on Monday, it's apparent how out of touch most Alabama fans are when it comes to college football in the 21st century. The vast majority of callers have put their stock in somehow luring South Carolina coach Steve Spurrier to the Capstone. Another often mentioned name is Miami Dolphins coach Nick Saban.

Do Alabama people honestly believe that either one of those men would remotely consider taking the Alabama job. First off, the jobs they have are better than the Tide job - yes South Carolina has much more upside these days than Alabama.

Some say Saturday's win over Alabama wasn't pretty. They obviously aren't Auburn fans. In what's becoming as traditional as Thanksgiving, Auburn carved up an out-manned and despondent Alabama team 22-15.

Auburn's win Saturday night shows just how much the power has shifted in the state of Alabama. The Crimson Tide program is in shambles. Despite taking the field with a banged up quarterback and running back and going without it's top receiver, Auburn's offense answered the bell when it needed to and controlled the clock on its way to a fifth consecutive win over a once proud program.

Will Muschamp's defense also showed up in a big way and nobody stood taller than Quentin Groves. His two sacks, make that muggings was the difference in the game. For the second year in a row, Alabama's offensive line failed miserably.

The game was essentially won when Alabama coach Mike Shula, showing little faith in his offense, decided to kick a field goal with the ball inside the Auburn 2-yard line in the first quarter. From that point on, Alabama's defense was never the same.

Living in Alabama, the Iron Bowl is never far from your mind. It's truly something that is talked about every day of the year. But recently the series has lost its luster. Why? Well, it's simple - Alabama is just not competitive anymore. Auburn has won four in a row and five of the last six.

During the Tigers run to an undefeated season in 2004, fans and coaches alike were worried about a letdown against Alabama in the season finale. The truth is, Alabama is the most overrated team and program in the country.

They are like that guy you went to high school with in the 1980's, who still wears his Member's Only jacket. The Tide Nation can't get over the fact that the Bear is really dead. Never mind that he's been gone for more than 20 years. Before every game they pay homage to him on the big stadium screen. Do they realize that today's players haven't a clue who he is or when he coached? Like an analysis on Fox Sports said recently, "Auburn is Alabama."

What he means is that Auburn's program is where Alabama's used to be. It's a sad commentary for the once proud program from Tuscaloosa. Here's an interesting fact: Since the turn of the 20th Century, Auburn has had 15 head coaches. Since 1983, Alabama has had eight.

Dennis Franchione left the Alabama head coaching job for Texas A&M. Would anyone have guessed 20 years ago that someone would leave Alabama for College Station? In fact, Bear Bryant left A&M for Tuscaloosa. My how times have changed.

Alabama is the most penalized program in the history of the NCAA. And their last run-in came within a whisker of getting them the dreaded death penalty. To finish my point, after the Mike Price debacle, Alabama could find no credible head coaches to even consider the job. Case in point, it settled for a "green" Mike Shula over another former Tide player, Sylvester Croom. That was the best they could do.

Meanwhile, in Auburn, the Tigers are chasing their second SEC Championship in three years and are in the hunt for the national championship. In case you missed it, Alabama had to come from behind to beat Vanderbilt on Saturday, 13-10. As the stadium PA announcer likes to scream, "This is Alabama Football."

Link: Football Saturday In The South

Great head coaches make the tough decisions. They sometimes make the unpopular decisions. Great coaches make decisions that may hurt them in the short term but will pay huge dividends in the long run. Auburn coach Tommy Tuberville and Texas coach Mack Brown are two of the great ones.

Each has had to deal with off-the-field troubles involving their players this year. For Tuberville, it started this summer with linebackers Kevin Sears and Tray Blackmon. Both ran into trouble and were immediately handed multi-game suspensions.

For Brown, it happened last week when Texas cornerback Tarell Brown and linebacker Tyrell Gatewood got into trouble with authorities. Brown's response to the players was immediate suspension for this week's game against top-ranked Ohio State. Never mind that Tarell Brown's assignment on Saturday was to cover Buckeyes All-American wide receiver Ted Ginn Jr. Right is right and wrong is wrong. Two strong leaders had the same response.

Now contrast that with Mike Shula and the Alabama program. On Saturday night, Shula didn't hesitate to start linebacker Juwan Simpson despite him being arrested earlier this year on hand-gun and marijuana charges. Since Bama fans enjoy invoking the name of the Bear in everything, I'll do the same. What in the hell would Paul Bryant say about that move?

Has the Alabama program become so desperate that it now must overlook felony charges in order to field a somewhat decent football team? It's safe to say that Mike Shula has never struck anyone as a larger than life leader. I'm not sure he's struck anyone as a leader period.

But this move on opening night is unbelievable. What's more unbelievable is that outside of Paul Finebaum, this has been a non-story. Don't tell me that the Bama media machine is not alive and well in the state of Alabama. Auburn's football team has 18 players out almost 300 total students take a questionable course and the state media writes about it for weeks.

But when Juwan Howard commits multiple felonies and starts on opening night, hardly a word is said or written. I have many friends who are Bama graduates and strong supporters of the university. I feel sorry for them today. The Alabama program continues to spiral out of control. Talk about lack of institutional control. The Tide football program is at a point where it will do anything to win - even against Hawaii. On second thought, I can partly see why Shula started Simpson. He might have been the difference in that weak eight point victory.

I recently watched the Fox Sports Preseason Show featuring Auburn. During the show in a round table discussion, one of the analysis made an interesting observation. He said, "Auburn is Alabama. Auburn is what Alabama used to be."

That's the absolute truth. And it's a truth that Alabama people are having a hard time grasping - including Mike Shula. Look for Juwan Simpson to line up against this week against Vanderbilt. The Bear would be proud.