Five worst head coaches in Alabama Football history

For those not steeped in Alabama Football history, it may be surprising that CFB's greatest program has had so many bad coaches. No program is immune from bad hiring decisions and that is certainly true of the Alabama Crimson Tide.

In evaluating the Tide's worst, none of Alabama's first 14 head coaches were considered. Eli Abbott only won 30% of the games he coached in the 1893-1895 and 1902 seasons, but time has changed the game so much, that Abbott does not make the worst list.

We jump forward to the middle of the 20th century before choosing a worst coach. In terms of win-loss record, the three seasons of Ears Whitworth are an all-time Crimson Tide low.

Alabama Football Worst Head Coaches - J. B. 'Ears' Whitworth 1955-1957

Whitworth played on the Crimson Tide's 1930 Rose Bowl team. He was an assistant coach at Alabama, LSU, and Georgia before he became a head coach at Oklahoma A&M (now Oklahoma State) in 1950. Whitworth had a losing record in five seasons at Oklahoma A&M. That did not stop the Alabama Athletic Director, Hank Crisp from hiring him as the Tide's 15th head coach. Whitworth was allowed to hire only two assistants. The rest of the staff was determined by Crisp, including the AD naming himself as the Tide's top defensive coach. While compiling a 4-24-2 record, the Crimson Tide lost 14 straight games under Whitworth. After the 1957 season, Paul Bryant was hired to replace Whitworth.