Alabama Football: Bryant and Saban excluded, being UA head coach tough duty

Alabama Football: The Crimson Tide program having two ‘Goats’ belies the fact being an Alabama Head Coach is tough duty.

Going back to Xen Scott’s first Alabama football season in 1919, the Alabama Crimson Tide has had 14 head coaches. Interims, like Joe Kines, are not included in the count, though one who never coached a game, Mike Price, is one of the 14.

Of the 13 who preceded Nick Saban, none of the exits were painless. Paul Bryant left on his own terms but it was clear to those close to him, his health has been damaged by decades of hard work (and some hard living). Some of those insiders believed he literally coached himself to death, leading the Crimson Tide.

Xen Scott and Frank Thomas had to step down for health reasons as well. Thomas lived several years after he stepped down, but died in Tuscaloosa at the age of 55. Xen Scott was seriously ill in 1922 during his fourth and last Crimson Tide season. He died less than 18 months later at only 41 years of age.

Five of the 13 former Alabama Football head coaches failed in Tuscaloosa. The quickest bust was Mike Price whose personal credibility was destroyed within six months of becoming the Crimson Tide Head Coach. Other Alabama Football head men fired were Mike Dubose, Ears Whitworth and Red Drew. Dubose failed on and off the field. Whitworth was a popular former player who proved to be a terrible head coach.

Harold ‘Red’ Drew loved the University of Alabama. Before and after his Crimson Tide head coaching tenure, Drew was an Alabama assistant and track coach for almost 25 years. He coached Don Hutson and Paul Bryant. He was the Ole Miss Head coach for one season in 1946 before he returned to Tuscaloosa to lead the Crimson Tide in 1947-1954.

Drew had a 54-28-7 record in Tuscaloosa and was named SEC Coach of the Year in 1952. After a solid 1953 season, the Crimson Tide slumped to four wins in 1954. Bryant was offered a chance to replace his old coach, but declined, saying he would not undercut his old coach. Drew was fired anyway and Whitworth was hired as the next- best option.

The fifth of the ‘fired’ group was Mike Shula. Shula heeded the call of his alma mater after the Mike Price debacle. He had almost no chance to succeed and didn’t. Dennis Franchione was not fired. He decided to bail on his own, with no real loss to the Crimson Tide.

The remaining four former Crimson Tide head coaches chose to step down. Varying proportions of internal and external pressure and interference led Wallace Wade, Ray Perkins, Bill Curry and Gene Stallings to resign. Wade found the university administration uncooperative and intruding. Perkins, Curry and Stallings were three names on a list Bryant shared for the school to choose his replacement. All three were good choices but their seasons in Tuscaloosa did not match their own expectations.

Thirteen Alabama football head coaches before Nick Saban and none had their Tide careers end as they expected. There is zero reason to believe Nick Saban will one day follow the pattern. Alabama football fans will never want Saban to retire, but when he does, he deserves a grand exit and a great life after football.