Update: Lee Fobbs, Chris Thurmond, Mark Tommerdahl, Melvin Smith, and Charley North all went to TAMU with Franchione. Good riddance to Tommerdahl, I say. I am happy to report, however, that as of now, Torbush and Koennig are staying.
Ben Pollard, the strength and conditioning coach, has apparently reached an agreement with Mal Moore that will allow him to stay on at Bama.
I think Koenning will stay, as well. I think Torbush is gone, regardless of who is hired. He wanted to be the head coach. That’s frustrating – the man knows defense.
Supposedly the new Bama coach will be either Mike Riley, the assistant head coach of the New Orleans Saints, or Jim Leavitt, the head coach of South Florida. I think either one would be a good choice.
Fair enough. It’s hard to tell the good coaches from the not-so-good ones, and there has been a lot of turnover at Alabama since Saint Bear’s passing. No, I haven’t kept up with all of them.
If the Bama fans are still outraged about how it happened, then that’s surprising, given their experience. As you agree, that is simply how the business side of big-time college football operates. It’s okay to be disappointed, but get the hell over it, and fast.
As for that little probation thang, the penalties are against the school and the program, not against the (former) coaches, and the NCAA cites “lack of institutional control” as the main reason. That’s the school’s fault. Don’t bitch about it, don’t blame the guys who left, just get your own operation cleaned up and keep it that way - or else it will just happen again.
Yeah, so I hear. Man, I hate to hear that about Torbush. He’s an ace at defense. One of the best in the country. I wish he’d stay on.
Well, considering that various national media outlets are still trashing Franchione about the way he left, I think actual fans of the school he left can be given a little latitude regarding the length of time they vent about it.
And you touch upon yet another sore spot for Alabama fans. In the recent NCAA penalties, the NCAA did NOT include the dreaded “lack of institutional control” or even the less severe “failure to monitor” charge. In fact, the NCAA went out of its way to praise the school’s compliance efforts, and said that Alabama could not have done more to cooperate with the NCAA. If I recall correctly, the NCAA had never imposed a two-year bowl ban on a school without at least a “failure to monitor” charge. And yet it did so against Alabama.
I think some rules were probably broken by Alabama boosters, although not as many as some might think. But I also think the penalties assessed against the school were absolutely draconian in nature.
This just goes to show there should be more coaches like Joe Paterno. He’s been through thick and thin with Penn State and never left. A legend and a class act.
I agree wholeheartedly, tramp. JoePa is class personified.