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Bama Football National Championship Coaches - Paul William "Bear" Bryant, Sr.
He was, and still is, one of the most highly revered head football coaches, and human being, in all of sports. There are few alive today that don't recognize the name Bear Bryant, and even fewer back in his day.
His name is Paul William "Bear" Bryant, Sr. Yes, Bear was as much a part of his name as his legend. He became associated with winning college football. And when mama was sick and ailing, he came running back to the Capstone to nurse her back to health. He was the third head football coach at the University of Alabama to capture at least one national championship in college football.
Bear was born on September 11, 1913 in Moro Bottom, Arkansas. Who would have believed this baby would grow up to be a living legend, whose legacy would continue many years after his passing? He died on January 26, 1983 in Tuscaloosa, Alabama.
He is best known for being the long-time head football coach at the University of Alabama. He led the Crimson Tide to three undefeated seasons, six national championships, 14 Southeastern Conference titles, and 24 bowl games. Many believe he won more national championships that were not rewarded. Bear became the winningest coach in college football history, at the time, with his 315th win in 1981. He surpassed Amos Alonzo Stagg as the most successful college football coach in NCAA Division I college football. He retired after the 1982 season with a lifetime record of 323-85-17.
After graduating college in 1936, Bryant took his first coaching job at Union College, now Union University, in Jackson, Tennessee. He left there when offered an assistant coaching position back at Alabama. In 1940 he left to become an assistant at Vanderbilt University under Henry Russell Sanders. He left and was to become the head coach at the University of Arkansas, but the attack on Pearl Harbor caused him to turn the car around and enlist in the U.S. Navy. He served in North Africa but saw no action, and was granted an honorable discharge to train recruits and coach the football team at North Carolina Pre-Flight.
Then in 1945 Bryant was named the head football coach at the University of Maryland. He coached there for only one season, leading the Terrapins to a 6-2-1 season. He left due to a power struggle over control of the football team between himself and former football coach and current University President, Harry C. Byrd.
From there Bryant's next stop was the University of Kentucky, where he served as the Wildcats head football coach for eight seasons. He led Kentucky to their first bowl appearance in 1947 as well as their first and only Southeastern Conference championship in 1950. In fact, the 1950 Kentucky football team is considered to be the national champions by at least one ranking system, the Sagarin ratings. Kentucky defeated Bud Wilkinson's top-ranked Oklahoma Sooners in the Sugar Bowl.
1954 found Bear needing a job after having quit the Kentucky job in 1953. He accepted the head coaching job at Texas A&M and suffered through a 1-9 first season which began with the famous training camp in Junction, Texas. It was here the so-called survivors of the camp became known at "Junction Boys." Two years later the team won the Southwest Conference championship with a 34-21 win over Texas at Austin. One year later, 1957, Bryant's star running back, John David Crow, won the Heisman Trophy.
At the end of the 1957 season mama called. Bear left Texas A&M with a 25-14-2 record.
Bear coached at the University of Alabama for 25 years, winning six national championships. Those came in 1961, 1964, 1965, 1973, 1978, and 1979. His record-setting 315th win came over in-state rival Auburn, coached by his former assistant, Pat Dye, in November 1981. Bryant retired in 1982 with a 232-46-9 record.
Bryant took his teams to 31 post-season bowl games, including 24 consecutive bowl games at Alabama. He coached 15 bowl wins, eight of which came in the Sugar Bowl. He was a ten-time Coach of the Year winner in the Southeastern Conference, and was named National Coach of the Year four times. The national coaching honor now bears his name and is known as the Paul "Bear" Bryant Award. A great humanitarian, the Bear began a trust fund that enables the children of every player he ever coached the opportunity to attend college for free.
His funeral was one of Hollywood movies, with people lining the streets to honor the man that loved his university, its players, and its fans.
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Alabama Picked By Reporters to Win SEC West...But...
Seems that the reporters that predict the Southeastern Conference finishes presented everyone with a bit of an impossibility. They chose Auburn to be the favorite to the the SEC Championship this season, but picked in-state rival Alabama to win the SEC West. Yep, impossible to happen. Oh, and first time the voting has ever turned out this way.
In the predicted Southeastern Conference Champion vote, Auburn received 108 first-place votes while Alabama had 92. But in winning the SEC West, Bama came out on top of the tally with 1,405 points to Auburn's 1,362 points.
Georgia led the voting in the SEC East with 166 first-place votes to Tennessee's 20 votes.
Don't get too excited over it Auburn fans. The media has only predicted the SEC Champion a total of five times out of 23 attempts.
Oh, and don't lose any sleep over it either.
Bama Football National Championship Coaches - Paul William "Bear" Bryant, Sr.
He was, and still is, one of the most highly revered head football coaches, and human being, in all of sports. There are few alive today that don't recognize the name Bear Bryant, and even fewer back in his day.
His name is Paul William "Bear" Bryant, Sr. Yes, Bear was as much a part of his name as his legend. He became associated with winning college football. And when mama was sick and ailing, he came running back to the Capstone to nurse her back to health. He was the third head football coach at the University of Alabama to capture at least one national championship in college football.
Bear was born on September 11, 1913 in Moro Bottom, Arkansas. Who would have believed this baby would grow up to be a living legend, whose legacy would continue many years after his passing? He died on January 26, 1983 in Tuscaloosa, Alabama.
He is best known for being the long-time head football coach at the University of Alabama. He led the Crimson Tide to three undefeated seasons, six national championships, 14 Southeastern Conference titles, and 24 bowl games. Many believe he won more national championships that were not rewarded. Bear became the winningest coach in college football history, at the time, with his 315th win in 1981. He surpassed Amos Alonzo Stagg as the most successful college football coach in NCAA Division I college football. He retired after the 1982 season with a lifetime record of 323-85-17.
After graduating college in 1936, Bryant took his first coaching job at Union College, now Union University, in Jackson, Tennessee. He left there when offered an assistant coaching position back at Alabama. In 1940 he left to become an assistant at Vanderbilt University under Henry Russell Sanders. He left and was to become the head coach at the University of Arkansas, but the attack on Pearl Harbor caused him to turn the car around and enlist in the U.S. Navy. He served in North Africa but saw no action, and was granted an honorable discharge to train recruits and coach the football team at North Carolina Pre-Flight.
Then in 1945 Bryant was named the head football coach at the University of Maryland. He coached there for only one season, leading the Terrapins to a 6-2-1 season. He left due to a power struggle over control of the football team between himself and former football coach and current University President, Harry C. Byrd.
From there Bryant's next stop was the University of Kentucky, where he served as the Wildcats head football coach for eight seasons. He led Kentucky to their first bowl appearance in 1947 as well as their first and only Southeastern Conference championship in 1950. In fact, the 1950 Kentucky football team is considered to be the national champions by at least one ranking system, the Sagarin ratings. Kentucky defeated Bud Wilkinson's top-ranked Oklahoma Sooners in the Sugar Bowl.
1954 found Bear needing a job after having quit the Kentucky job in 1953. He accepted the head coaching job at Texas A&M and suffered through a 1-9 first season which began with the famous training camp in Junction, Texas. It was here the so-called survivors of the camp became known at "Junction Boys." Two years later the team won the Southwest Conference championship with a 34-21 win over Texas at Austin. One year later, 1957, Bryant's star running back, John David Crow, won the Heisman Trophy.
At the end of the 1957 season mama called. Bear left Texas A&M with a 25-14-2 record.
Bear coached at the University of Alabama for 25 years, winning six national championships. Those came in 1961, 1964, 1965, 1973, 1978, and 1979. His record-setting 315th win came over in-state rival Auburn, coached by his former assistant, Pat Dye, in November 1981. Bryant retired in 1982 with a 232-46-9 record.
Bryant took his teams to 31 post-season bowl games, including 24 consecutive bowl games at Alabama. He coached 15 bowl wins, eight of which came in the Sugar Bowl. He was a ten-time Coach of the Year winner in the Southeastern Conference, and was named National Coach of the Year four times. The national coaching honor now bears his name and is known as the Paul "Bear" Bryant Award. A great humanitarian, the Bear began a trust fund that enables the children of every player he ever coached the opportunity to attend college for free.
His funeral was one of Hollywood movies, with people lining the streets to honor the man that loved his university, its players, and its fans.
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Alabama Picked By Reporters to Win SEC West...But...
Seems that the reporters that predict the Southeastern Conference finishes presented everyone with a bit of an impossibility. They chose Auburn to be the favorite to the the SEC Championship this season, but picked in-state rival Alabama to win the SEC West. Yep, impossible to happen. Oh, and first time the voting has ever turned out this way.
In the predicted Southeastern Conference Champion vote, Auburn received 108 first-place votes while Alabama had 92. But in winning the SEC West, Bama came out on top of the tally with 1,405 points to Auburn's 1,362 points.
Georgia led the voting in the SEC East with 166 first-place votes to Tennessee's 20 votes.
Don't get too excited over it Auburn fans. The media has only predicted the SEC Champion a total of five times out of 23 attempts.
Oh, and don't lose any sleep over it either.
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Crimson Tide Radio Legend Doug Layton Dies
A Crimson Tide broadcasting legend has died. Alabama football network color analyst Doug Layton died at his Vestavia Hills home on Wednesday night, losing his two year battle with cancer. He was 81 years of age.
Layton's colorful career spanned several Tide coaches, including Paul "Bear" Bryant, Ray Perkins, Bill Curry, Gene Stallings, Mike DuBose, and Dennis Franchione. He shared the radio booth at football games with three great Bama play-by-play announcers over the years. They were John Forney, Paul Kennedy, and the current man himself, Eli Gold.
Perhaps those that are not Crimson Tide fans remember him making national news back in 1966. He and his side-kick, Tommy Charles, encouraged their listeners on WAQY-AM to burn their Beatles in a public bonfire after John Lennon was quoted as saying the Beatles were more famous than Jesus. Incidentally, no bonfire was ever reported to have taken place in Birmingham. His wife said that one thing followed him throughout his life, even giving interviews on its anniversary date each year.
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Saban Clarifies NFL Remarks
Seems that Kenyan Drake isn't the only one causing a stir from what he said at the Wednesday morning session of SEC Media Days. The head coach stepped into it, too. Of course Alabama Crimson Tide head coach Nick Saban is used to it. Many times something gets said and twisted, or something is said and taken out of context, or sometimes something is misspoken causing a little controversy.
So, that's the set up to reporters going crazy with stories of Saban offering up excuses for the Bama loss to Ohio State last season in the playoffs. During his segment, Saban told reporters in Hoover that he wanted the NFL Draft Advisory Board to hold off giving out its draft grades to interested underclassmen until the players are through with their college seasons.
That's where the "stuff" hit the fan. Of course nowhere in his remarks did Saban say this was the reason Alabama lost the game. But when you have a large number of players looking to get into the NFL and collect millions of dollars it's easy to see that breaking this news to them would, indeed, be a distraction, for proper preparation. For all teams. Of course the team with a larger number of players headed to the NFL will be the most affected.
Of course SEC Network's Paul Finebaum would ask. And, hey, it's his job to ask questions, especially if it's being taken the way so many claimed it was spoken...as an excuse. So after Finebaum asked point-blank if Saban was saying that the draft comment was an excuse for the Alabama loss to Ohio State, Saban responded with the obvious: he simply wanted to suggest that a change in the draft process should be explored.
As all Crimson Tide (and Buckeye) fans recall, Bama lost to OSU 42-35 after holding a commanding 20-6 lead early in the second half.
A couple of Alabama players came forward and agreed with their coaches assessment and wanted the NFL Draft Advisory Board to hold off on releasing the draft grades.
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