You are reading into the situation too much. Its not so much a team division, but players that want to work as hard as Saban wants to them. Its not like Remember the Titans. And when people refer to Shula type players, this is what they are mentioning. Really not hard to figure out is it?
What is a "Shula type player?" :insane: It's a myth that Shula's players were any less disciplined or any less inclined to demonstrate good work ethic. It's convenient to lay the blame at Shula's feet, but it doesn't make it true ...... keep in mind that Shula was only one season removed from a 10-win season, with many of the same players. You don't win 10 games in the SEC without working for it in a disciplined manner .....
The one's that do not want to buy into working harder and changing their attitudes. It is not a reflection of Shula (kind of), just a way to separate the players. And as mentioned, the Saban and Shula arguments aren't about on the field things. And saying the discipline between the two is not different shows you have absolutely no idea what you are talking about.
Sorry, don't have time to read the thread but allow me to put these ridiculous rumors to rest. I assure you all there ain't no division at Bama. Hell, they still strugglin with addin and subtractin.
Of course, players feel badly about losing. But, it takes a certain mentality and willingness to get what has to be done, done. (I'm going to get into the 10-2 thing at the last of this post) PT, what you said in the original post was is at the end of the season there were fans stating this was all rumors started by the Alabama faithful. My response to you was I have yet to see one post about this story where the blame was placed on Auburn fans spreading rumors. There isn't anything in this article about blame being put on Auburn fans. (And damn you for making me read something on al.com :lol: ) What is pointed out in this article is the same points I've been making here for quite some time now. What he stated is he had nothing to do with the investigation, and when the word came out the players were suspended. When Chris King found out about it, Saban suspended them and the number of games chosen was based on a recommendation from Chris King. We've been through this DJ Hall suspension. Playing him in the second half wasn't due to losing or anything like that. It was a decision left to, and made, but the peer council. I don't have a problem with it at all considering what the story was in the first place. Two things here. It's no myth and I know that based on what happened under the former staff. Again, throwing whatever you can against the wall and hoping something will stick has been a losing battle. Soon, I hope you give it up. Secondly, while Shula's team was just one season away from the 10-2 seasons the Sr. leadership in that team is what propelled them to be as successful as they were. What lacked in '06 was just that, Sr. leadership. The players in this Sr. class have had the rep of "slacking" in their responsibilities ever since they arrived in T-town. Damn, look there...it's not sticking to the wall again.
Don't worry, TP, according to Caddyattack's 'logic', Dubose was an awesome coach - '99 had nothing to do with senior leadership on the team...
Terry, I was not talking about you or anything that I remember you personally saying. You're OK in my book.
Coacheshotseat.com has Saban ranked #2 on their Coaches Hot Seat Ranking at http://www.coacheshotseat.com/CoachesHotSeatRanking.htm Last week, he was #1. I also found it humorous what the site had written about Saban this year: MARCH 2007 Nick Saban and Alabama are the perfect combination. A school where the fans, if not the administration, demand excellence, and a coach that expects excellence from everyone around him. Technically, except for the Gene Stallings era, Alabama has been out of the football business for 25 years now, basically since Coach Bryant ... With Nick Saban now in charge the name Alabama will again strike fear in it's opponents and electrify college football fans around the country. APRIL 2007 92,138+ for the Alabama A-Day Game.... that number, that audacious number of Alabama fans that were in Bryant-Denny Stadium to kick-off the Saban era ... Coach Bryant...put Alabama at the top of the college football heap, just as the 25 years since Coach Bryant's death have been filled with monumentally stupid decisions and questions over who just was running the football program. That question has now been answered, as Nick Saban is firmly in charge and is alone in guiding the Crimson Tide back to "it's rightful place" among the college football elite. All of college football, but especially the SEC, the SEC Western Division ... should take that number, those 92,138+ Alabama fans as nothing less than a warning. Saturday's A-Day crowd is nothing less than a "Paul Revere" type clarion call, only this time Nick Saban is riding this mighty horse, and the horse's name is the ALABAMA CRIMSON TIDE! JUNE 2007 Well, Nick Saban has finally signed his contract at Alabama ... even a moron can win 10 games in a year at Alabama. Can you imagine what someone actually qualified to hold the head coaching job at Alabama can do? Nick Saban + Alabama. Now that is a scary combination! DECEMBER 2007 all of us are going to find out just what kind of football coach Nick Saban really is. There is nowhere to hide for Nick Saban. It is either put up or shut up, and it will be fascinating to see if Saban can right the ship at Alabama after all of the mistakes he made in season 1. First up, win the bowl game.
Sure, and according to a lot of Alabama fans, Shula was to blame for everything wrong with the program, when the reality is that he was made a scapegoat for many decisions that were handed down to him from others in the program. CMS did what he was told. Shula wasn't brought in to "lead the program out of the wilderness," and that much was acknowledged when he was a candidate for the position. He was brought in to guide Bama through a sanction-riddled period when the powers at Bama needed somebody in the HC role that they could absolutely trust .... and CMS did exactly as he was told. Criticize his gameday performance if you wish, but the management of the off-field issues and the resulting "discipline" was orchestrated by others higher up in the program. Do you honestly think Shula made the decision to play Ray Hudson? "Gotta' have dem' boys playin' on Saturday ...." And BTW, Dubose was a crappy coach for Alabama, while Saban is a superb fit, IMO. Terry can spin the DJ hall suspension any way he wants, but the "peer review" rumor was simply another excuse that insures that the much-heralded, highly-compensated Saban will bear as little of the stink as possible. It's okay .... we get it ..... it's kind of difficult for Bama fans to blame Saban as being soft on discipline after you made such a big deal of how different he would be compared to Shula. My point is that Shula wasn't soft on discipline, the program was soft on discipline. Put the blame where it rightfully belongs. Hey, ..... whadda ya' wanna' bet that attendance at the bama spring game is a little shy of where it was last season? :yelwink2:
My how things have changed so fast from September to December. Bama fans told us loud and clear Les Miles is an incompetent coach back in September. Now it's December and we only have to look at the record of this past season. From what I see Saban has delivered another Mike Shula season for a much higher price and Les Miles has LSU in the National Championship game with Michigan hot on his heels. After the BCSNC game in January I will be looking forward to next year. With an eye toward Bama I wonder how many fans will show up for their Spring game? When Bama comes to Baton Rouge we look forward to greeting our old coach in style with a few kind cheers of Tiger Bait.
