Common sense says you’re right. I know I’ve said this before, but I vividly recall my grandfather saying Bear Bryant was the worst thing to ever happen to Alabama, which, in this state at that time was sacrilege in this state that carried a death sentence. But his logic was sound. Bama was a dominant program in the 20s and 30s and very good at times in the 40s. Yes, they’d fallen, and needed to be restored- and Bryant did that. But, he also became synonymous with the program and eventually overshadowed the program. He became bigger than Alabama, so that when he retired- then worse, passed- he became a Saint. Anyone that succeeded him (even if hand picked, by Bryant, which Perkins was) was going to be reviled if they did ANYTHING different than “thuh Bayuh”. And Perkins did himself no favors trying to establish himself apart from Bryant right off the bat- removing Bryant’s famous tower infuriated the fan base. And so, a giant shadow loomed over the program too proud to learn, with an entitlement and elitist booster base that continually kept Bama at mediocre, barring Stallings’ success. After Stallings left they made things continually worse, and suddenly we found ourselves, after a few - few!!! But, for a Bama fanbase, what felt like eternity- years of terrible, helped by unfair NCAA sanctions- we found ourselves with losing seasons, losing to UCF at homecoming, while Florida and LSU won national titles and Auburn was locked out if winning one in 04. The base had finally been so humbled and, for the first time ever, confronted with the reality of becoming a faded, forgotten power (like Nebraska), that Moore knew he had to go all in on a winner who did by give a damn about Bryant or Bama’s entitlement, someone that knew if he could overcome the Bama fanbases (unrealistic, at that times) expectations, he could galvanize and focus the program to be what it can be- the most ideally positioned program to be world crushers. He did that. And we all recognized right off he could and would. This wasn’t a coach we expected to obey, like DuBose or Shula or Franchione, this was a coach the fanbase knew to submit to. That was evident at that spring A day game when over 93,000 showed up to watch a scrimmage of terrible players.
Needless to say, the rest is history.
So, what you’re suggesting is, history repeats itself. And Bama is now overdue for a long walk in the desert before sniffing the promised land again. And you may be right. God knows, DeBoer will be under exceptionally heavy scrutiny with EVERY decision he makes…going for it on 4th and 2, or throwing rather than running it…and anytime we finish outside the top 5 in recruiting, watch out. But I don’t think he’d have taken the job if he didn’t think he could win a title within 3 years with us. And if he does, he’s golden. We never expected Saban to be the Bear. We just wanted another Stallings.
Also, while put fan base has been unrealistically spoiled in 17 years, with 6 National titles, playing for but falling short of 2 others, and nearly playing for 4 more…with 4 Heisman winners and several Heisman runner-ups…16 10 win seasons…etc etc etc…you’d think we’re expecting that to be continued. But, I really don’t think so.
While yes, our fan base has once again become spoiled to the point of near unappreciative, there is still that lingering recollection of mediocrity, and how our rivals reveled on it. Yes, it was 17 years ago, but peoples memories are longer now. For starters, as dumb as it may sound, 17 years (Saban) is less than 25 (Bryant). That’s literally 2-3 more generations of kids. But moreso; The once regional sport is now national. Bryant became a deity, synonymous with Alabama, but we’ve never made that mistake with Saban. With Bryant, who was an Alabama man, people just knew he’d be there forever and always win. With Saban, while we’ve lived him and expected the utmost from him, we were oddly more appreciative as we always knew the timeline was finite. In the early years, we feared he’d leave for another job, pro or lateral move. After the 2011 tornados, we knew better, but then it became fear of retirement. We knew the clock was ticking, for all our bravado, so we’ve been savoring it, but secretly, collectively, fearing undefeated time taking its toll. And it finally did. As such, despite how accustomed we’ve become to bring a top 3 recruiting class every year, a title Hunter every year, a ten win program every year, etc, we’ve always kind of known it’s due to SABAN, not just Bama…where as Bryant, synonymous and indistinguishable from Bama, we didn’t. And don’t get me wrong- Saban could not have done what he has ANYWHERE else than a Tuscaloosa. Find the right coach with the right mind snd guys here? And there will be epic magic.
And maybe that’s my source of optimism. If history does repeat itself, the University of Alabama combined with the right coach have twice produced the greatest coaches with most titles in history. Ours is the hardest coaching job in college football, but for any man that can accept that? He ca. harness a program that is unparalleled when it’s up and ROLLING!
247sports.com
