I would rather have a coach who gets tough with a player and motivates them to perform better than a finger-waving cheerleader coach who doesn't. I'll bet P.J. Fitgerald agrees with me. And as for the suggestion someone made of a player hitting his coach - Really?
Do you really think that Tubberville is not a motivational leader because he is "playful"? C'mon, everyone has a different style. Some people even have to change in order to become truly successful.
If you've really read all about Bear Bryant's career, you'd realize that later on he was truly embarrassed about the way he had acted in Junction, Texas. He was ashamed that he had done that. Even Gene Stallings wouldn't talk about the facts of what happened. He tried to play revisionist when ESPN produced the movie about the Junction Boys. Bear Bryant himself said that what he did was wrong. He loved those that "survived" because they loved him. They didn't love him because he was cruel to them. They loved him because he apologized in his actions. Was he still a task-master? Yes...and a great one. But, by his own words, he was never "crazy" again. As he said, it was after he stopped being "crazy" that he won national championships. Namath and Stabler would have never measured up to the Junction Boys standard, and they (and many Alabama fans) are glad that he changed.
Playful coaches is really part of the Auburn mystique...Jordan, Dye, and Tubberville are in the same mold. Jordan always had a wry sense of humor. Tubberville has won his players respect by firing a "crazy" Tony Franklin. The damage was done. They played the rest of the year like a defeated team, but body language of the players in the Auburn-Georgia game showed me that they love and respect Tubberville.
Kids, 12-22 years old, still need to know an adult is going to protect them from harm, both physically and mentally. Saban certainly has his kids' respect. His turned around a program in less time than everyone thought. Time will tell whether or not PJ was OK with what happened. Time will tell whether the rest of the team is OK with it too. Interestingly, Saban's former players at LSU and Miami Dolphins don't have nice things to say about him.
The will of God prevails. In great contests each party claims to act in accordance with the will of God. Both may be, but one must be, wrong. - Abraham Lincoln, 1862
Im posting this here because of what was said about Saban and the punter is all!!
GAINESVILLE
When Alabama athletic director Mal Moore hired Nick Saban away from the Miami Dolphins, he said he was seeking a coach with a proven record of championship success and achievement.
Two years later, Saban has resurrected a storied program that has had four coaches in a decade and hasn't been to the SEC Championship Game since 1999.
The man who won 48 games and a national championship in five seasons at LSU has Alabama one game away from playing for the 2008 national championship. According to players and former assistants, the quick turnaround has come exactly as it has at nearly every other stop Saban has made: with focus, an acute attention to detail and a drive for perfection.
"Everything, every little thing is big," quarterback John Parker Wilson said. "There's nothing that's overlooked or pushed to the side. I think every aspect of the program he pays close attention to and inputs a lot of time and effort into."
No. 1 Alabama and No. 2 Florida will meet Saturday in the SEC title game, and if Alabama wins, Saban, 57, will join a list of coaches that includes Florida's Urban Meyer and Oklahoma's Bobby Stoops, who took teams to the title game in their second season. Meyer and Stoops both won.
Saban said the key to Year 2 success is changing the culture, then having players, particularly older guys, buy into what the coach is selling.
"We kind of provided a road map, a plan, a direction that we wanted the program to go into, and we didn't deviate from that plan," he said. "I think a lot of hard work, commitment, perseverance, discipline has gone into that. I think a lot of guys have made choices to change the way they've tried to develop as people and as students and develop their career. So all of those things, I think, have contributed into a positive way to helping the players here get better."
In hindsight, the players aren't surprised at the quick turnaround.
"In his first meeting, his first introduction, he demanded respect," senior offensive lineman Antoine Caldwell said. "That's what he brings with himself. He's a proven winner. His resume, where he's been, speaks for itself. He demands a lot out of us, and I think that's a big part of why we're at where we are right now."
Saban's public persona isn't often warm and cuddly, but those who know him well say that perception is way off the mark.
"It definitely is," said Jimbo Fisher, now the FSU offensive coordinator who once worked for Saban. "He's just a person who is very driven, he loves what he's doing, and he has a way that he knows he wants it to be done, and he just demands that the folks around him are as dedicated to that as he is. If people aren't, he addresses it. But I always respected that about him. You always knew where you stood. You knew what was expected of you. The man is very intelligent, and he always has a great a plan. … He's one of the most organized and structured guys I've ever been around. Probably the most."
Bucs receiver Michael Clayton grew close to Saban while a star at LSU. When Clayton's high school number was retired a few weeks ago, Saban was in Baton Rouge to play LSU and attended the high school game.
"With Coach Saban, it's all about accountability," Clayton said. "He's a players' coach. He understands that players are going to make mistakes, but they can't continue to make the same mistakes. He views that as a reflection of his coaching. So, when people see that demeanor, it's just that he holds everybody accountable, including his coaching staff. He's also a fiery guy. At times, he may get after a coach and it might look a certain way, but that's just him. A lot of people perceive it to be negative, but you can look at it in a positive way if you want. He's striving for full potential for himself and the team.
"So, he's always a guy who asks everybody to be on one accord, and if you're not, he'll stress the importance of having a weak link. His goal is to get rid of the weak link and to have a strong chain."
So far, so good. Times staff writers Stephen F. Holder and Brian Landman contributed to this report.
Grandkids and kids all make Us feel younger than We actually are!!!
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Why do CBS,the Tuscaloosa news and eveyone else keep saying that Florida is number 2?There is only one poll that counts which is the BCS poll and Florida is number 4
quote from PAPA 2
(No. 1 Alabama and No. 2 Florida will meet Saturday in the SEC title game, and if Alabama wins, Saban, 57, will join a list of coaches that includes Florida's Urban Meyer and Oklahoma's Bobby Stoops, who took teams to the title game in their second season. Meyer and Stoops both won. )
Let me ask a really, really dumb question. I am ignorant to the facts on most college football things. One of them being that somewhere I heard that John Parker Wilson had already Graduated. If this is true, then how is he still able to play on the team? Like I said I am ignorant to these facts so please be gentle!
Posted via Mobile Device he graduated this year. He can play 4 full years and one redshirt year. Florida is 2 in the ap poll. Most news outlets use that poll
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Let me ask a really, really dumb question. I am ignorant to the facts on most college football things. One of them being that somewhere I heard that John Parker Wilson had already Graduated. If this is true, then how is he still able to play on the team? Like I said I am ignorant to these facts so please be gentle!
In most cases, this means that he took extra credit hours (classes) so that he could get finished quicker or started during the summer after he graduated HS and didn't wait until the fall like most people do. He may have taken summer classes or just a heavy course load. If you could get all of your required hours in during the winter, spring and summer quarters (if that is the system your school is on), then you wouldn't have to go to class during the fall session. Meaning . . . you don't have to go to class while you are playing football. If you did this throughout your collegiate career, then you would graduate in the summer and still be eligible to play in the fall because you haven't used up your eligibility but you have completed the required hours to graduate.
N8RPX, you are right about everything except one item. The NCAA requires that every student-athlete is enrolled and attending a minimum number of quarter/semester hours WHILE they are playing their sport. A football player cannot take off the fall quarter to just play football. I'm not sure what that minimum is, but the NCAA does require them to be in classes while in season.
That is why Wilson and Caldwell are taking courses toward their respective masters degrees. That is even more impressive since the class/degree requirements are even more difficult.
The will of God prevails. In great contests each party claims to act in accordance with the will of God. Both may be, but one must be, wrong. - Abraham Lincoln, 1862
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Re: Official Auburn Football 2008
Re: Official Auburn Football 2008
