Finebaum interviewed Gene Stallings on Tuesday about the Bama and Texas A&M jobs. Stallings talks about (18 minutes):
- -- Frustrations with the results at Bama and Texas A&M
-- He doesn't call for firings. He calls for changes. "If you keep doing the same thing the same way, you keep getting the same results."
-- The idiocy of giving Shula an extension last year. (Paraphrase) "How can you give him that big contract and extend it and say he's the best coach for Bama til he dies or whatever...and now he's a bum one year later? Either you were wrong last year or you're wrong now."
-- Bama can't score a lick in the redzone. "I wouldn't let them leave the practice field til we figured that out." And TAMU is kicking too many FGs too.
-- Indecision is worse than the wrong decision. If Bama's AD and President had been on top of this issue all year, they should be able to make a decision on Shula quickly. Nothing will be different in three weeks. Lots of frustration with the process and management of the Bama search.
-- The role of the Bama coach is to beat LSU, UT and Auburn. The role of the Texas A&M coach is to beat Texas and Oklahoma. Neither of these guys have beaten anyone this year. You don't coach at Bama to beat FIU and Hawaii.
PWD
1 comments:
About the contract extension.
I don't think it was ever really about believing in Shula as a coach. I think it was more of a response to UT#2 and Auburn telling kids that there's a very big chance that even if they sign with Shula, they'll finish their career with someone else.
In other words, I think it was just a response to the image that Bama's going to fire a coach at the drop of a hat. While all of the criticism of Bama when it comes to coaching changes isn't merited, a hell of a lot of it is.
Until they show that they're willing to stick it out with coaches, other schools are going to use it against them. They can either take those recruiting hits or take affirmative steps like contract extensions in an attempt to combat that image. It's almost like the instability at Bama cancels out all of the great tradition that they can sell recruits on.
Bama's past actions have forced them to take their medicine with Shula, imo.
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