The Shula Years: Did Alabama fans take Mike Shula for granted?
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- čas přidán 22. 08. 2023
- Do you still consider Mike Shula years at Alabama a dark time in the program’s storied history?
Fans certainly take this current golden era for granted, during which Nick Saban has led the Crimson Tide to six national championships and the top of the college football mountain -- but it’s also likely they took Shula for granted, too.
Neck-deep in NCAA sanctions that limited scholarships, Shula did his best but couldn’t quite recruit and coach the program back to the national championship glory the fan base always expected.
In “The Shula Years,” a new original sports documentary from AL.com, Alabama fans talk about what it was like to be a student during his tenure in Tuscaloosa. They talk about the ups and downs and compare it to the outrageous success of the Saban era. And they discuss whether or not Mike Shula was taken for granted by fans at Alabama, considering the circumstances of his tenure.
The doc also features former Alabama players John Parker Wilson and Mike Johnson, both of whom Shula recruited to play in Tuscaloosa and would finish their careers under Saban. Wilson and Johnson reflect on what Shula did for the program with one hand tied behind his back.
He lasted four seasons in Tuscaloosa, finishing his head coaching career with 26 wins and 23 losses, a far cry from Bear Bryant and his replacement, Nick Saban, who has reached legendary status at Alabama since replacing Shula in 2007. Alabama is once again the gold standard in college football, where anything less than winning a national championship means failure.
Presented by Alabama Credit Union - Sport
Mike Shula took the job when nobody else would. He wasn’t great but he got us through the dark times
...and Saban likely wouldn't have wanted to come here, if not for Shula making Alabama respectable again.
That statement is 100% false. There were several other people INCLUDING LES MILES who contacted Alabama about taking over for Mike Price.
Amen 🙏
Sylvester Croom wanted the job.
@@ThundarBarBarhe was one of ONLY 2 acceptable candidates that would take the job at that time. Why would anybody expect Coach Croom to have been much different than Coach Shula due to all the restrictions on scholarships when comparing now with the benefit of results at Mississippi State where there was no such restrictions. Coach Croom has already had the rug pulled from under him when he got OC job for Detroit Lions and the greatest RB ever retires. Don't try and bring that back to it because we already know that after 2 years what would have happened before that 3rd season.
He got Bama through a time when no one else would coach the team. Thank you Mike.
That's not entirely accurate. They could have hired Sylvester Croom. He wanted the job, but they went with Shula. But I agree that Shula got a bad rap.
@@columbus730 true, but Croom would have been little better. Both were random NFL coordinators who happened to be alums of a 5 star program in shambles. In any ordinary off season, they'd be seen as a few years from a serious SEC head job.
In the end there was little winning in either choices. Hell, it was so dreary after Mike Price and the NCAA nightmare, Gene Stallings offered to come back in a temporary caretaker role for the probation years and step down when we were ready to make a real hire.
@@RollOnToVictory That's probably correct but we don't know that. Croom never got the chance.
I never did, and I still to this day appreciate everything he did for the program. Helping to get them through those tough times. He took that job when nobody else would.
Not exactly true…because Sylvester Croom was interested in the position at that time.
Shula accepted the job when no one else would. He was in a no win situation.
He deserves credit.
We need to bring him back as an analyst. He is huge in Alabama lore.
Thanks Mike!
Without him, Nick Saban wouldn't be here. I'm very thankful for those years.
It's all about the journey.
Mike Shula should get alot of credit. That '08 & '09 teams had several of his players on those rosters. And the quarterback that they played 2 years in a row for the SEC championship, Tim Tebow. Was almost an Alabama Crimson Tide quarterback. So it was fitting that even though Shula was gone. Those two teams owe alot to him also. Saban just brought the stability after Shula rode that rogue crimson tidal wave of one embarrassing disaster after another. Alabama IS, and always will be the greatest college football program.
ALWAYS
And at that time when Shula got to Alabama, nobody wanted the job at all. He took a risk and went through some shit, but without Shula, we don't get Nick Saban.
Mike is appreciated... He had the courage to take the job when no one else would. So thank you Mike Shula! #RollTide4eva
Shula was a breath of fresh air. Alabama had never been dissed by a coach until Franchione. It was a humiliation. And then the Mike Price fiasco. I had season tickets, traveling from AR to AL every home game with my children.
When Mal Moore announced that Shula took the job, my heart skipped a beat. Shula was a hero as a player, had an excellent OC rep and was just what we needed at the time. His success wasn’t expected considering the turmoil but there was hope he could get it done. He was young but with credentials. The outcome is history.
The video talks about the lack of success against AU, and that played a role. But the death-nail IMHO came when Alabama almost lost to Duke, at home. That near loss spelled doom!
He was a great guy to me
I'd like to have seen what he could have done with full scholarships and no probation.
The ‘05 Florida game was lit.
A game that was crazy. I remember that Prothro leg break, and Dameco Ryan's and Roman Harper had big games. That same year, I was working in Knoxville, Tennessee remodeling a Sams Club off I-40 / Kingston Pike (US 11) and Gallaher rd. And I met Aron Sears and Jason Allen (2 former Tennessee players from Russellville and Muscle Shoals, Alabama) I remember telling them that they would lose to Bama that coming fall. And Jason laughed and was like "Where you from?" I was like "Florence " and Aron said "The only way they are beating us, will be if they keep our offense out the endzone!" The final was 6-3 Bama. I think Sears is messed up from concussion damage now. So sad! 2005, even though that season isn't in the record books as they were guilty of bullshit. But we remember they went 10-2. But 2005 was just a precursor to the games greatest Dynasty!!!
I was at that game and YES, that was the loudest it's ever been in Bryant-Denny Stadium. I know that the capacity is over 100,000 now but the atmosphere was absolutely electric on that day.
I remember that Joe Kines put good defenses on the field despite recruiting challenges of that era; but the main thing I remember is Prothro’s devastating injury.
Joe Kines was a good coach, just gotta stop that inside trap lol.
@@shane24374😂
You can not separate the downfall of Shula and the Prothro injury. That and the loss of Tebow to UF was the two biggest contributing factors. What a thought. Because both of those things could have easily went the other way and we would not be here today. It's a great life lesson about adversity...
Kines ran that 3-3-5! And yeah I was at that Florida game that Prothro got hurt in
Mike done the best he could under the circumstances he was handed !
He done did it!
I love Mike Shula. He did something special for us as BAMA fans. Had he landed Tebow boy oh boy....
I always felt bad for Mike Shula because he was put in a bad position. He was hired under less than ideal condition, because Mike Price, who was supposed to be the coach got fired. He lacked experience. He, perhaps, didn't do the best job, but he is a decent man and I wish him success.
They were glory years in the sense that everybody who held on to the Alabama program at that time did so only because they loved college football and the program for what it is.
Nothing against Coach Shuler personally,but the reason he got the job was obvious. To say nobody else wanted it is absolutely not true. From an experience stand point there was a another former player candidate.
There's not enough space in this comment section to describe the appreciation for Mike Shula during his time at Bama. He came in at a time where there was a lot turmoil from the sanctions, to the recent coaching blunders and of course the fans expectations. Being a long time Dolphins and Bama fan, I was excited to see what he could do. He has a quiet demeanor, but he's the son of a coaching legend and he was expected of success right away. I love the guy. One of my prized possessions is an autographed SI cover with Brodie Croyle on the front cover after they had just beaten UF to go 5-0 It hangs on my wall proudly. This was also the year I got my 6-yr old son to starting rooting for Bama football. Had him in my family room watching that Jamie Christensen ugly looking kick go thru the uprights for that 13-10 OT win
I talked to some Bama fans this summer at Disney World and they said he was one of the nicest, thoughtful people in that football building during his time there. He may not have been the most successful coaches at Bama, but he will go down as one that showed not all leaders need to be winners on the field to have an impact to the program.
RTR
He deserves a formal apology for the treatment he received.
Mike Shula kept the lights on during a very dark era. He was hired because we knew he could be fired when it went south. There was concern that hiring Croom would have led to a circus when he was fired. Let there be no misunderstanding. Whoever was hired at the time Shula was hired was destined to fail and destined to be canned. Shula was the perfect fall guy for the University and that is harsh, but it is also the reality at that time.
Always appreciated Mike Shula stepping into a tough spot and not embarrassing the university
Love this style of content. Great work all around on it. Looking forward to more
Lick!
I am appreciative of Mike Shula and the especially fun 2005 year!
We loved Mike
Yep, poor Mike. A real testament to the rivalry. DuBose and Franchione had lower lows, but they all did one thing Shula couldn't.... they all beat Auburn. That was Shula's biggest sin and keeps his name perpetually synonymous with frustration and pain in Tuscaloosa.
Leigh Tiffin makes the kicks @ Arkansas and 2006 would've went a bit differently.
Like most things there are two sides to this. Shula helped us navigate us through one of the worst stretches in modern Alabama football history and was able to generate good seasons, have some bowl wins and get talent on board. People forget that the core of the '08 team and the '09 title were a lot of his recruits. That said, he did not run a particularly strong or tough program, or at least one that could compete for titles every year. When Saban came on board, massive changes were necessary to get the team to ascend and perform at a championship level. We Bama fans and alum owe him a big thank you for stabilizing the program, setting up success for the next phase and removing the stink of the Dubose, Fran and Price eras. When he was fired, everyone knew that Saban was going to elevate the team, but it didn't feel great that Shula never had a chance to coach a team that wasn't crippled with sanctions.
Mike did the best he could do under the circumstances. Beating the vols in 05 was my favorite victory during Shula coaching tenure. RTR
As a UA student in 07-09, and went to games in 06, I remember being so happy for those guys that made the transition, becoming a catalyst for the next era of greats, and almost becoming champions in 08. We had no idea just what was about to happen in the next decade and a half!
The first game I ever attended was the 1996 Iron Bowl... coach Stallings last game. (EPIC ENDING) I then attended every game from 1997-2006. I have never seen a coach Saban Alabama game live. I fell completely in love with the campus during the darkest of years. My grandad is an alum who played baseball there. He had season tickets and took me to every game.
The loudest roar I ever experienced (despite what happened in 2005 vs. Florida) was the 2002 Georgia-Bama game when Charlie Peprah picked off David Greene in the 4th Q and took that thing to the house, to take the lead. I can still feel that moment when I think about it, today.
Man, I feel like I had only just emotionally gotten over my childhood Alabama nightmare. Oof.
In retrospect, I’m appreciative for this time in Alabama football. Gotta go through the bad before it can get good
No fans love shula for all he did for us as player and coach. it is talking heads that think little of him. Shula can come to bama and get standing ovation from fans. Only people talking bad about shula are media idiots and other teams fans. Mike brought us through the suspensions and penalties and handed Saban a team that was bad on paper but had heart and love for Bama. Nick then took that team and let them relearn what Bama football was bout and built on. Shula was a great coach do his best in a bad situation, and true bama fans love him for all he did for the University. I am 60 and anyone who talks bad about Shula in front of me is told fast, shut up you have no idea how bama fans feel about Shula. He held this program together during its darkest hour. Like a best friend he stood by us in the worst times and will never be forgotten by us fans or allow folks to disrespect him in front of us.
❤
I worked at one of the TV stations in Birmingham in those days and one of the sports anchors would complain that UA wouldn't give him the access that he wanted. Tommy Tuberville was at Auburn then and realizing they needed as much exposure as they could get in Central Alabama, Tuberville apparently granted this particular "talking head" the type of access he wanted and sometimes it was sickening how biased the reporting was.
Dave Rader's offense was the biggest problem Shula had other than debilitating probation caused by Mike Dubose.
I loved him i will never forget him
A Good Man!
Dennis Franchione bolted for Texas A&M a BIG 12 school back then when I was in 7th Grade right around my 13th Birthday in 2002.
His record against AU killed his career at Bama.
Wish things could have worked out for Mike. Have to remember we almost beat LSU (OT) in '05 which would have put us in a major bowl and playing for an SEC title. Great guy, wish he could get another HC job before he hangs it up.
I was in Middle School 8th Grade through 11th Grade Junior Year in High School 2003 through 2006.
He definitely stabilized the program and handed over at least something for Saban to start with......in my opinion. But, on gameday he was going to get out coached by a lot of coaches. He agreed to take over a heck of a mess and definitely did the best he could. Losing Prothro unraveled that offense in 2005.
Protho is still in the blowout game because of idiot Shula
Mike Shula was/is a CLASS act…as a player, & a coach. RGDMFT
Sylvester Croom could have had the job, but they went with Shula and Croom went to Mississippi State.
There was absolutely no way in hell, they were going to give the first black head coach the job at this time. It was a stacked deck. They all knew Shula was there till something better came along. Don't get me wrong, Saban needed to be hired, but this all could've been handled so much better. Shula wants nothing to do with Alabama now. It's tragic because he loved his school. Tony Nathan, was one of his heros and actually warned him about taking the job at this time.
Gathering up a film crew and making a documentary on what went down. It won't take much to make some Alabama fans look extremely bad. Just turn on the camera and let them talk. There won't be any editing to make anyone look bad.
I was a "Shula apologist" according to some, but you can't really evaluate Shula fairly because of the circumstances he inherited by the people who allowed Dubose to be hired, and do whatever he wanted with impunity until he couldn't win. Shula's time should come with an asterisk.
Has anyone ever interviewed him about his thoughts on the Saban era?
He did what he could do. I don’t blame him it was so much going on with Alabama at that time. Wasn’t always great but hey it’s still Roll Tide no matter wat
Yes they did he was the only person that would take the job. In my view he saved the program, so yeah!! Roll Tide Roll🐘🐘🐘🐘
I'm a die hard Bama fan and am 33 so I can appreciate and not take for granted our success lately. But the younger generation of Bama fans are sadly making Bama more hated. BUT the main thing that concerns me is how Bryant Denny Stadium is by far the least energetic home field of any SEC team now. If you go back and watch the TN game from 2022, it's sad that you can hear the TN fans louder than the Bama fans.
Not a bad short documentary. Although I disagree with Nevin’s take that Bama fans were going to games for silly promotions. Bama fans expect to win… always. Sure most fans were somewhat realistic and knew weren’t National championship quality but Bama fans expect to compete and win every game they play in. The Shula years weren’t the beginning of this doom/gloom. As someone who went to school at UA from ‘97-‘01 (DuBose/Francione) the Shula years were part optimistic, part exciting and part disappointing. Agree he did a relatively good job considering state of program and he also got very unlucky at a time when we couldn’t afford it. The 2004 team had the line of scrimmage needed to compete at a high level and lost the star QB. The 2005 season started exciting with the star QB but we didn’t have the line of scrimmage for championship standards. Then 2006 sort of showed we just weren’t going to get there. Roll Tide!
Shula was a good coach and good recruiter, there's no telling what good of a team he could have had if they would have gave him more time..if I'm not mistaking gene stallings won the 93 national champion with a lot of the kids Shula recruited.
Great documentary except the last sentence mentioning losing & the word "nevermind". smh Must have been edited by an Auburn guy?
Shula came so close to great wins with limited talent. Our starters could usually play with anybody’s starters but there was no depth and we’d fade late.
Consider these big games where he almost got it done:
2003
Oklahoma L 20-13
Arkansas L 34-31 in 2 OTs
Tennessee L 51-43 in 5 OTs
Auburn L 28-23
2004
Tennessee L 17-13
Minnesota L 20-16 (Music City Bowl)
2005
LSU L 16-13 OT (Would have been sitting at 10-0)
2006
Arkansas L 24-23 2 OT
Tennessee L 16-13
Oklahoma L 34-31 (Independence Bowl)
Shula loved Alabama. After he got fired he gave a press conference where he stated his case for not getting fired and then his final words were Roll Tide. Clearly, Mal made the right move to hire Saban. If Shula had full scholarships, he might have won a championship, but not 6. I just never got the hating on Shula. He was an incredible quarterback for us. The 85 Iron Bowl we were beat every way you could be beat but cool Mike Shula led us down the field with no time or time outs to give Van Tiffin the opportunity to win it. Huge games in wins against Georgia, Ohio State, Notre Dame. I know he’s a pro guy but I would have loved for Saban to brought him back in a coaching role like he did so many others. No way Saban would have been interested in the Bama job if Shula hadn’t cleaned it up. Shula was all class and I’ll always love the guy. Roll Tide.
He kept that program afloat during those bad years!
Bama was ok with shula. They were competitive. Never quit or gave up!
Still think if Prothro doesn't break his leg against Florida in 05, Bama at least makes it to BCS game.
We possibly could have went undefeated in the regular season in 2005 if Prothro hadn't have gotten hurt.
Mike took one for the university. Brody Croyle took many sacks for the team, LSU in particular. Mike couldn’t get the OL players needed for those great QB’s.
Again there needs to be a documentary on the Shula years. It would make the toxic delusional booster and fans look the a holes they are.
That 2005 season was undoubtedly his best season and the Florida win was his best win but he also made his biggest mistake that game because if Prothro doesn't get hurt I think Alabama could have went 11-1 or 12-0
I dare to say if Prothro wouldn't have gotten hurt, Bama would have been undefeated and competed for a national title that year
People don't remember how bad Alabama's offense was after he got hurt
@@bamafan5099 yeah they got stagnant as hell. That defense is why they didn't lose more than 2 because I remember they won close games against Tennessee and Ole Miss
Everyone always mispronounces it, it's the "Shula Error". Brodie probably still has nightmares due to Chris Capps, aka "Ole".
At this timhe Bama had gone on probation in 1995-1997 and were back on it from 2002-2005. NOBDODY...I mean NOBODY wanted this job. He came to Bama knowing that he had no chance and still took the spot. everybody looks at the won loss record and poo poos him but he took the job when it was probably worse than the Vandy job. He got Bama out of the newspapers that the real idiots Gene Stallings (yes I said it) , Mike DuBose and Mike Price had put us in and got the program cleaned up. He should have beaten Auburn in 05 and 06 and thats on him but he got the program going back in the right direction. I hope one day we bring back the 2005 team to BDS. I know they didn't win a championship, I know it was 10-2 but THAT was the season Bama started turning around. When Saban got there there were players like JPW, Mike Johnson, Rashaad, Javier Arenas, Andre, Antoine Caldwell, Simeon Castille, Glenn Coffee, Keith Brown and DJ Hall. SEC calibre players that Saban could build on. Now, I know Shula wouldn't have turned those guys into what Saban did but he got them to Bama and needs to be applauded for his recruiting.
Didn't Auburn go undefeated in 2004 lol? Why are they calling them 'average' and 'beatable'?
Moore should’ve hired Sylvester Croom
Ain't no way a black man be given this job. Mike was played. No one thinking right about this
Hog fans sure took him for granted. We were 3-1 against him and haven't beat Bama since he left.
that is pitiful!
The last 10 seconds were gold !😂
The dark years
Those of you coming on here to comment with the nonsense that "Shula took a job nobody wanted" - with all due respect, you are 100% WRONG. Several coaches inquired about the job, yes, after PRICE got canned. We can have some polite discussions on the odds Shula faced, the sanctions, a bunch of other things - but let's not endow the man with charity undeserved, either. Richard Williamson wanted the job, Sylvester Croom wanted it - and Les Miles and Tom Coughlin (among others) contacted and expressed interest. GENE STALLINGS indicated a willingness to right the ship. So let's now pretend Shula did Alabama some sort of a favor, he wasn't working for free.
Stallings did no such thing. Croom wanted it, but I know for a fact with my brother being an influential alumni, they were not going to give the job to the first black coach under these circumstances. He took the job thirty days before the 2003 started. The NCAA was talking about the death penalty. Imagine doing what they did to Mike to any of the coaches you mentioned. They even set Framcoine up lying about how severe the sanctions were going to be. The Shula name being what it is, stopped that rhetoric. There was no way he or anyone was going to succeed. Saban's first season was almost identical to what Shula's last season was. He did have to go. The alumni, like I said, knew this was inevitable, and when Saban became available, Shula was going to go even if he had won 9 or 10 games. He was a stop gap, the dike in the dam until the program was ready was an established again - the sanctions eased up. The man deserves a huge apology from the school he loved so much that he took on an impossible situation and has caught hell ever since.
Ray Perkins replaced Coach Bryant.
He was better than Mike Dubose. I’ll give him that.
0:18
Bowl Game ???
The program was under an NCAA DEATH SENTENCE 🥵
They weren’t ALLOWED to play in the postseason!
My God! How was that his fault?
Those transgressions happened under previous coaches!
We all owe Mike a huge debt of gratitude.
Thanks COACH.
We know what you did for us 👍
If not for you’re willingness to step into that crap, Nick Saban would have stayed the hell out of Tuscaloosa.
Would have won a lot more if he didn't keep Prothro in the game late...and throwing bombs.
1:18
“Everybody else”?
Do you remember the other two Mikes? Price never coached a game and du Boise shamed himself.
Did you go to any of THOSE games, twerp ?
People are mad at the wrong Mike. Put all this on Mike Dubose and him only.
Mike Dubose should never have been hired as the head coach in 1997.
Why was he hired
Sylvester would've taken the job they wouldn't hire him or anyone like him
The played Mike. Yall hire a black man under all these problems Jessie Jackson would been down here talkin bout George Wallace and setting black man up to fail. No black black player would no way want to come play for Bama after that. Yall don't know Mike was played
There were other coaches that would have took the job. Alabama gave him plenty of time, he did not produce. In fact Alabama gave him way too much time to get it together. He was not a good coach.
Mike shula would have won a championship or two with 5 more years at bama.
I stopped watching as soon as the opening, “Did we take SHULA for granted🤣😂🤣😂”
Bama isn’t a .500 program. So no we didn’t take him for granted. It was an embarrassing time for our program & he had no business being our HC.
Ok I lied. I watched the whole piece and it was a very well put together nice piece that took me back to those difficult years.
Appreciate all Shula did for us and taking the program when it wasn’t a wanted job much less the most sought after CFB jobs in the country.
Well never forget the demolishing of Florida. Had Prothro not gotten injured, we beat LSU.
The Aubarn loss was inexcusable though.
Don’t care who you are. You can’t be winless bs the the big 3 (LSU, Tennessee, & the Barn). That’s not BAMA football.
He was a pretty good recruiter not a great coach
Did you even watch the video?
Auburn was not mediocre in 2006.
Nope. They were 2 at one point
They weren't under the death penalty. That is when they shut the program down for two years. This would've meant no Alabama football for two years. SMU never recovered after they came back from it.
I mean it's SMU
He was awful.
Looking back you have to appreciate Mike Shula. He took over from a guy that was fired (Mike Price) for making it rain at a Pensacola Stip Club. Yes at one time Alabama had a coach doing some Urban Meyer shit, though there was no footage of Mike Price messaging a strippers bung hole with his finger through said strippers jeans. There is footage of Urban Meyer doing this! Old butt hole message. Anyway I'll regress. Mike Shula came in after Mike Price was fired, AFTER spring practice. He inherited a program from a coach who still reaked of perfume and tittly glitter. He put up respectable numbers. He did start the season at 9-0 in 2005. It fell apart afterwards. When Saban won his first grand price in 2009, the roster did have Shula players. Shula did bring back respect to the program. His fingers smelled clean and he had no titty glitter on him. Shula is also an Alum. So heck yea I appreciate the Shula era. He cleaned up the garbage for the Saban era. Me as a BAMA fan will always appreciate Mike Shula!
I will tell you how it was ,HORRIBLE !!!
He was a TERRIBLE Coach
Perfect example of the Bama fan that has no idea that no coach was going to succeed with those sanctions. You Want to blame a Mike? Go the Op, Alabama and look up Mike Dubose.