Here's a list I just put together of possibilities. I'm not going to saw how likely they are...just people I think they may be looking at. I'll put whether or not I think it would be a good decision.
Bob Stoops: Head Coach of the Oklahoma Sooners Word is that Stoops is unhappy with the administration in Norman and may want a way out. We'd have to pay some SERIOUS money to get him, but I, for one, feel like it would be worth it. We'd easily have to offer a 7 year, $3.5 mil/year offer along with some serious incentives, but I think that's doable.
Gene Stallings: Former University of Alabama Head Coach Bebes told Mal 4 years ago that he would be willing to take over the program for a few years and get it headed in the right direction so they could pinpoint their next target, but Mal declined. He's 71 years old, but he is in excellent health and I think still has a fire to coach for another 5-10 years. They could hire him and pick up another assistant coach to breed for the job when he leaves. He stated today on Finebaum that he would LOVE to come back and coach Alabama, but not for a long amount of time.
Paul Johnson: Head Coach at U.S. Naval Academy (aka Navy)
Won multiple DI-AA national titles at Georgia Southern before taking over Navy 4 years ago. Adapts to his personnel and finds the best option for his guys to win. Knows that you have to play good defense and run the football in order to be successful, but also understands that passing is important as well. Could be a steal if we land him.
Jim Grobe: Head Coach of Wake Forest Demon Deacons I don't think he's the best fit at all. He's not a proven winner, but he does coach good fundamentals. Defensive minded, focuses on the run. Might do ok, but I don't think they'll win consistently with him as the leader of this group. Might average 8 wins per year, but that won't suffice for us.
Mike Stoops: Head Coach of the Arizona Wildcats Supposedly told people around Oklahoma that he would have "walked from OK to Alabama for the job" four years ago before Price was hired. The knock on him was that he did not have head coaching experience. Has that really changed? He's not proven, but you can see the fire he works with.
Sylvester Croom: Head Coach of the Mississippi State Bulldogs Was passed over three years ago, hasn't proven anything as a coach, but he bleeds Crimson and was a Bear boy. State has shown the ability to get better throughout the year, but has yet to get over 3 wins in one year. Is not a great recruiter, but that could change if he comes to Alabama as the first black coach in the school's history.
Jeff Bower: Head Coach of the Southern Miss Golden Eagles I believe that ALL Bama fans have the utmost respect for Coach Bower. He is a proven winner, has won multiple conference usa championships, and isn't scared of anybody. He has not had the talent at Southern Miss to be able to beat the big boys year in and year out, making it almost impossible for him to even get close to a BCS bowl. He could do good things here at Bama. I don't know if this is what the fans want though. It would be like hiring your younger brother.
Mike Leach: Head Coach of the Texas Tech Red Raiders Is a proven winner, I guess, but has not been able to beat rival Texas (not many people have lately). He has no clue what's up with defense, and that's what worries me the most. I'm sure he would probably fix the offensive problems, but what's the use in scoring 35 points if we give up 38. If he leaves the defensive staff alone, he might be able to put something together here. Scary hire.
Steve Kragthorpe: Head Coach of the Tulsa Golden Hurricane Was the hot name at the beginning of the year. He won the Conference USA title last year, but is only 21-17 so far at Tulsa. Not really a proven winner, was favored to win C-USA again and didn't even get close. Probably had a better shot at the NC job than this one. Don't think Alabama will even think about him.
Frank Solich: Head Coach of the Ohio Bobcats Solich was at Nebraska for several years, but was fired after a 9-3 season wasn't good enough in Lincoln. They suffered from the same tradition crap we did and are now stuck with a fired Oakland Raiders coach. Anyway, he has taken a losing team and turned them into winners at Ohio. They lost in the MAC championship game to Central Michigan and ended the season with a 9-4 record. I don't really think he'd be a good fit, but he is an option.
Mike Sherman: Asst. Head Coach of the Houston Texans Sherman is the former head coach of the Green Bay Packers. He tossed his own name in the hat to let people know he is interested in the job. If nothing else, he's a good leader and did a good job with the packers after Mike Holmgren left. He's known for being a defensive minded coach with a lot of NFL experience, but no college experience. He'd have to have some help finding some college asst coaches to work on recruiting. It'd be another experiment, and I don't think we want that.
Jeff Tedford: Head Coach of the Cal Golden Bears I have no idea why I'm even mentioning him. He's always been a west coast guy, but a lot of people are talking about him pretty highly and they seem to think he'd leave his home state to come down to Bama. I think he'd help the offensive troubles. Again, his defense stinks. Simply won't fit here.
Bo Pelini: Defensive Coordinator of the LSU Tigers Pelini has had excellent defenses at Nebraska, Oklahoma, and LSU. He knows what it takes to win, and was a winner even as an interim coach at Nebraska. Might be a good next step. Stoops started out as a defensive coordinator. Pelini might be the next good one. I think he'd be a great hire.
Brent Venables: Defensive Coordinator of the Oklahoma Sooners If you can't get Bob Stoops, get a young guy with a fire to win that learned under him. Stoops is easily the most successful coach of the past decade, and anybody that's been under him learning defense, etc for an extended amount of time might be a good hire. Still think he's possibly too young and his name's not quite big enough yet.
David Cutcliffe: Offensive Coordinator of the Tennessee Volunteers He can't recruit for nothin', but he is a Bama boy, and he did win at Ole Miss, which not many people have been able to do lately. He would've found a way to win games last year and this year at Ole Miss, and you've seen what he did with Tennessee's offense this year. This is a VERY last resort type of hire.
¶ 2:59 PM
Comments:
I hate to state the obvious, but if you offered Rodriguez, there's no way Stoops is even entertaining the move. I had no idea the Alabama fanbase was so out of touch with reality.
I hope for your sake your administration gets focused, quickly, on someone who you actually have a chance in hell of landing. If not, you need a new coach and a new AD.
I've always respected Alabama football and fans. Here's hoping things work out. Just aim a little lower - I hear Stoops has a couple of younger brothers who would be perfect. # posted by Kristin : 6:01 PM
This is not exactly "out of touch with reality." Until the entire story comes out, anything is possible. If Stoops doesn't want to leave until after the bowl game, then this is extremely possible.
And I would be fine with Mike Stoops, who I also had in my list.
And a new AD will be arriving in just a few years. # posted by Memphis Tider : 6:12 PM
Gene Stallings If he is willing to come back, I say grab him. # posted by Anonymous : 6:23 PM
Croom ??? Are you kidding me ? Can you imagine how hard it would be to fire him if things didn't work out ? Man, Jesse and Rev. Al would stage such a scene that we would never recover from it.If we wait until the NFL season is over, we'll be in the same situation as we were when we hired Shula. No college coach available nad possibly few NFL coaches willing to part with that big salary. Then what ? And, there is absolutely nothing past or present to suggest that Mal would ever be smart enough to pull off the scenario that was described. Everyone always says that Alabama fans live in the past well, it's because none of the BOT members, the AD or the UA president can do anything to make the future look promising. At least when it looked like RR was coming here there was a light at the end of the tunnel. Hard to see one now. # posted by Anonymous : 7:22 PM
No way on Croom........period. Let him be MSU's problem, or solution, depending upon how you look at it. # posted by Anonymous : 7:54 PM
You guys must be unaware that when Croom signed with MSU, he requested that a special clause be placed in his contract that prevents him from signing with another SEC school. So, we don't have to worry about Brother Jackson and Sharpton! # posted by Anonymous : 8:29 PM
MSU hired Croom because when Jackie Wayne left, State was being looked at by the NCAA (as were all schools Sherril has coached at). State made a "smart" move and, by hiring Croom, a black coach, got a slap on the wrist. We don't want Croom, no way, no how. He may not be able to recruit, but State's recruiting class is ranked 6 spots higher than we are for 2007, and he still can't beat Tulane,(but he beat us I guess) He beat us on pure emotion, his player won that game for him. Emotion can't win every game though. That team normally looks like they don't even practice, making the same dumb mistakes on fundamentals. And for all his talk on weeding out the bad seeds, MSU has had more players arrested than any other school in the nation. I am an alumnus of Alabama, and love the university with all my heart. I don't want us to sell our souls for a coach, but I want to see the pride return to the Capstone. I live in the heart of MS State country, and have caught hell since our loss to them, and even more through this coaching debacle. I am hurt by the administration's BS, and only hope and pray that Gene Stallings would take the job, it's unlikely because of the idiots that still run things, but we can all hope and pray. He truly is the only quick fix. Spurrier was a pipe dream, and we really didn't need his arrogance and ego anyway. The rest of the guys on this list can't hold a candle to Gene's class and ability. # posted by Anonymous : 8:49 PM
Are you guys serious??? I enjoy these blogs as much as the next guy, but we obviously have no big name coaches interested. I am a huge Bama fan, class of 2000, but Mal has obviously screwed the pooch on this one. What is our next move??? Do people honestly believe the transgressions of the last several days have anything to do with covering for another coach who has a "done deal" with us??? # posted by Anonymous : 12:38 AM
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