Speculation by Paul Finebaum....could Shula survive 0-5 like Mack Brown did vs OU? Of course Mack was never 0-5 vs OU, he was 0-5 vs Stoops. He beat OU in his first year at UT. ___________________________________________________________ UA faces worst-case scenario Tuesday, May 16, 2006 It's the one question Alabama fans are afraid to ask, the one they don't want to consider, comprehend or contemplate. It's the question that could haunt administrators and keep athletic director Mal Moore up until the wee hours of the morning. In the wake of Mike Shula's new contract, worth nearly $2 million a year, what if everything goes right, except the most important thing? What does Alabama do if two years from now Shula is winning football games but is 0-5 against Auburn? Clearly, it is the nightmare scenario for school president Robert Witt, who has been the head cheerleader for Shula. Unlike most academicians, Witt won't be able to hop and skip over to the graduate library or the law library and dig deep into the dusty and moldy stacks for a primer on what to do. There are no templates at Alabama because it's never happened before. In fact, in the school's long football history, dating back to 1892, no Tide coach has ever lost four straight to Auburn. The conventional wisdom is that last year's 10-2 season has given Shula a pass beyond this season, even if the Iron Bowl has the all-too-familiar and painful result for Alabama. However, beyond that, the school will be getting into uncharted territory. Obviously, if Shula wins a respectable number of games this year and hits the nine or 10 mark next year, it seems inconceivable the school would throw him overboard, especially with a contract running until 2012. However, some wonder if Shula's ability to recruit against Auburn's Tommy Tuberville wouldn't be severely damaged if it becomes apparent he can't beat his chief rival. Some of Shula's most ardent supporters have pointed out that Texas' Mack Brown couldn't beat Bob Stoops at Oklahoma and was still able to recruit and eventually win the national championship. True, but does anyone really think Shula, at this stage of his career (with a 20-17 record), should be considered in the same breath with Brown? Still, the argument doesn't fly in several other departments. While OU is the most anticipated and storied game on the Longhorns' annual schedule, it isn't as important as the cross-state rivalry against Texas A&M. Everything is debatable, of course. But it's also worth pointing out a couple of important facts here. Brown beat OU in his first year. Got that monkey off his back rather quickly. He won his second year, too. He did lose the next five, some of them by embarrassing scores. As for A&M, Brown has dominated the series, so it's a non-issue. So back to the question: Can Shula overcame a winless streak against Auburn? The obvious answer: It's too soon to tell. Shula has been able to overwhelm his most unrelenting skeptics by beating dumbed-down expectations on the field (last year going 10-2 while most experts had the Tide winning seven or eight games) and presenting a very classy and dignified appearance in public. Naturally, there is an easy solution to this incommodious conundrum. Beat Auburn this year at Bryant-Denny Stadium. End of debate. But what if Shula doesn't? The pressure will only intensify and so will the rampant speculation. Contact Paul Finebaum at: finebaumnet@yahoo.com His column appears Tuesdays and Saturdays in the Press-Register.
One more year <r>I think most realistic fans (not the majority in Alabama) think that the 2007 season is when Alabama should be back and contending for the SECC. Our situation is unprecedented in Bama history (i.e. NCAA sanctions) and I think Shula can even lose to Auburn (I am in no way conceding that) this year and survive. November 2007 will be the real test. Finebaum can't sell any commercials if he doesn't stir the pot. <E>:!:</E></r>
I'd never seen what Fienbaum looks like till I went to that page. He has sort of a deep manly voice, but looks more like Mr. Peepers. Where the heck is he from anyway?
Memphis. He's a Vol alumnus. Finebaum came to Birmingham 25 years ago as a newspaper reporter. Worked up to columnist. One day he'd lampoon The Tide; the next The Tigers. Or UGA, UF or whomever. He was a redneck audience's reincarnation of Howard Cosell. There would be letters to the editor side by side in the Birmingham Post-Herald written by AU and UA fans demanding his immediate termination over his barb du jour. As his infamy grew he went on local radio where fans called in daily to complain about his "homer bias". BTW, the newspaper went out of business. Finebaum got credit for breaking the Antonio Langham scandal. He also "outed" Auburn over the Terry Bowden fiasco. And he hates ND. And he's parlayed it all the way to the bank.