A letter to a coaching friend.

I've heard in other places that Sexton contacted Moore after Mississippi State, when it was getting to be pretty likely that Shula was going to go. I think that Saban and Mal did this thing exactly like tons of other coaching changes have been done. I only wish Saban had said, "I don't expect to be the coach of Alabama" instead of "I won't". That was a mistake. I think he kinda got badgered into it, but a standard, "No comment" would have been much better.

I really do think that Shula did not quite have it in him. I am the same age as him and was a football tutor when he was there & I've always like the guy. He was not ready when he took over, but he bailed us out in a terrible situation. He started out with that disastrous press conference, but he did improve in public. From what I understand several of the coaches, especially the line coach & the strength coach (as in your note) were not up to it and he wouldn't make the changes. I've heard from guys down there that they just didn't work hard (which you & I know could contribute to all the 4th quarter fades). Shula had a very NFL attitude, not a teacher/coach attitude to player development, workouts, & discipline. You know that Juwan (Garth) Simpson is from Austin, so there was alot of focus on his situation & Shula here. Even he, the embarrassment, said that Shula was lax & no one ever actually feared getting in trouble with him. The playcalling is a matter for debate - I can't say precisely 'how' it was bad, but something they were doing down close was clearly awful. If you don't blow them off the ball, you have to do something else besides up the middle, no matter how much that appeals to me.

I think Saban will win. I think it is a minor miracle that Mal was able to get him. I was afraid we could no longer get a top coach. There are no Bama guys left really. Saban is a hardcore discipline and character guy (despite the hiring debacle) and he is an incredible recruiter, look at LSU even now. He will not suffer fools, he will have a system, a schedule and a plan. He's from West Virginia, which was in the south until 1863, and he's an immigrant's grandson who used to work at his dad's filling station when he was 11 years old for a dollar an hour. I can take that. His wife is a lot like yours - she's deeply involved in the program, feeding recruits, keeping an eye on academics, raising money, talking to the players about her husband when he's not there. I really think she wanted to get back to college as much or more than him.

It's been an ugly hire, and Shula clearly took one for the team in this (his dad, one of my heroes, has looked bad the last couple of days). We know how coaching goes. I think Saban will kick butt and take names and Alabama will be where we should be. He's not cuddly, and he's a tough SOB.

There is a dark truth here as well:
I want to shut Auburn people up so badly I can't stand it. 5 years of losing in a split town is an eternity. I've been embarrassed by my team's results and the smirking by Aubies and UT fans stops right now. They all fear what is coming, and that's what I want - I want the fear back in their eyes and I want the gdmf smirking and cocky smiles to all go away. I want to be hated and not laughed at anymore. Saban can bring that, I don't think Shula ever could. There I said it.