Just reported on a local WV TV station and repeated on ESPN. I'm not surprised. That's not a rejection of Bama as much as it is a confirmation of how deeply Rich Rod is involved with West Virginia. Like Schiano and Beamer, some guys can't be moved for a little extra money.
I was.... <t>Just listening to Finebaum and they are upset to say the least. Wonder where they go from here.</t>
You got to blame that on the SID. He's got to take control and squash the rumors. Bama fans deserve better than the BS they got from the local press. There were reports in the local papers that RR had agreed in principle when in fact that was not true. One local board Rivals or scout had an article which indicated that RR mentioned that he would not coach at the Gator Bowl. In the Miami Herald, there was an article that Bama offered Saban $5 mill a year with a $ 7 mill signing bonus. Add to that the Finebaum show, the airport gazers and they made a circus event out of it. If I was a Bama fan I would be pissed. That SID should be fired. The same thing happened when Franchionne skipped town.
I was just going to post this. Amazing isn't it, reports yesterday sounded pretty conviencing that he had taken the job, today he stays at W. Virginia. So what do you think, had he agreed in principal or not? Any way, Bama is back to the drawing board. I think they made a mistake letting Shula go.
He never saw the contract! They were faxing the contract this morning. His lawyers didn't even see it till this morning. I think he agreed to be a candidate, not agreed in principal. He never visited the campus, he was at the Gator Bowl conference. The guy has a zillion things to do. How was he going to agree in principle if he didn't even START his due dilligence? Make it $ 3,4 or $ 5 million and yes maybe he would have agreed in principle without DD. The $$ difference would have been overwhelming.
WVU came up with the money to match Alabama's offer apparently. Also the pressure is a lot less in Morgantown than in Tuscaloosa. I also agree it was a mistake to let Shula go, and yes this is looking a lot like the last few coaching searches. And yes I'm pissed.
Alabama needs to be patient although it definitely will have a negative effect on recruiting. If it wasn't for the fact that Ron Zook was a great recruiter that hasty hire by Florida would have been hard to overcome in just 3-4 years but UF seems to have done just that. In UF's defense though they were on the hunt suddenly in early Jan. after Spurrier leaped to the Skins. Bama has time.
KP, Who do the Bama fans blame for this fiasco? Mal ? Paul Bryant Jr? Too many loose lips? Too many hands in the cookie jar? Maybe they should try to find another Tressell from the AA ranks or promote an assistant from within.
as a stranger in a strange land <t>i will offer this perspective.<br/> <br/> they are all to blame.<br/> <br/> its a gd circus sideshow around that athletics dept and too many big money boosters are calling the shots. too many people still 'demand' to be involved in the program and there are still a few too many of the 'old guard' that are there that like to keep it that way. they are afraid of change because change means a departure from the things that have kept them in such a lofty position.<br/> <br/> now with that said, i've listened to fans and media pundits alike trash the ever loving sh*t outta anyone who wasn't named Saban, Spurrier or Rodriguez...and trust me when I say that Rich Rodriguez was only BARELY acceptable because the pundits said so..<br/> <br/> I listened to the callers and hosts of one major show here in the area bash the hell out of Paul Johnson like he was nothing more than a big fish in a little pond.<br/> <br/> Sometimes, you get what you deserve.</t>
Alabama showed no patience or intelligence in firing the last coach why should they be expected to show any in the hiring of his replacement. As painful as it is, I think that our fans and administration need a reality check. We are making (or have made) our coaching position undesirable to anyone who is looking to develop a longterm winning program. :x
There is one guy out there who might jump at the job but he already ran afoul of the kind of reasoning that got Shula fired....Frank Solich. This guy could be all that Bama needs if they could convince him he wasn't sitting in a greased chair behind that coach's desk.
Solich was fired I believe because his recruiting had fallen off and the Huskers felt like that unless they made a change that the program would make a big dive...which it did. I'm pretty sure AJHuskerfan will back me up on that. Besides it's only in baseball do guys who are fired as failures get hired as saviours by another team.
Maybe you're right but he had a 58-19 career record at Neb and now has Ohio of all teams in a bowl. The guy can coach even if he had a couple of down years at Neb. What other hot coaching commodity will be willing to leave a successful situation for a very tenuous one? I would say an NFL coach on the hot seat could be the guy a la Wannstedt going to Pitt. I don't think Saban is in that kind of pressure at Miami so who else in the NFL might be that guy? Coughlin? Guys like Tedford, Petrino and obviously RR aren't going to of all places the hot seat at Bama. Is there a top nationally known college assistant available? Or a Weiss like NFL assistant?
actually <t>I think Coach Price has got a job still. He won at UTEP when he got there and looked to be rebuilding with a young team this year. I remember the took Tortilla Tech to OT earlier this year but haven't followed much of them since.</t>