Cecil Hurt is the Alabama beat writer for the Tuscaloosa News. He's got about as much insight into this program as anybody.
What are your thoughts on bringing back Neil Callaway to handle the O-Line and Offensive Coordinator duties? My gut tells me he's out at Georgia after this year. If not him, who are some qualified OCs that might come to the Capstone?
I respect Neil Callaway as a coach, but I do not think Mike Shula would have him on a short list of possible assistant coaching hires. I also don't think any veterans of the Mike DuBose staff are likely to be rehired at UA in the foreseeable future.
Is the Alabama job back to being one of the better jobs in the country? If not, why not? If so, why is it?
Alabama is a very good, very demanding job. Obviously it's better than it was in 2003 because there are no NCAA sanctions involved. But there are 20-25 jobs where you have a legitimate chance to win a national championship, and Alabama is one of them.
Can Coach Shula make it through another 7-5 or 8-4 season next year, even with a change at OC?
I really try to avoid "number-based" conjecture. There are good (or at least understandable) 8-4 seasons and bad 8-4 seasons. Progress is an elusive thing to define, but most smart football fans know it when they see it. If progress isn't visible, then, no, 8-4 or 7-5 probably wouldn't be good enough. On the other hand, I don't get a vote. (g)
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