Three men. A classics scholar from Virginia, highly regarded in academic circles for his deep appreciation for the subtleties of Latin grammar. A son of the grinding poverty of the rural South who escaped a life of depression-era misery through a career in college athletics. And a soft-spoken, even courtly gentleman, from a farming family in Dozier, Alabama whose career took him to a position where every decision was dissected by the public as soon as it was made; a pressure-cooker of a job that had left more than a few of his predecessors discredited and unemployed.
These three men are separated by an equal number of generations. The first, from 1912 to 1936 was responsible for putting Alabama onto the national stage. He laid the foundation and was the supervising architect for building Crimson Tide football-and by extension all of Southern football-into a national power. The second, between 1958 and 1983, salvaged the University's reputation from inexcusable mismanagement, restored the football program to its former national status and took it to an unprecedented level of dynastic proportions. The third man, in many ways an amalgam of the first two, inherited a program in 1999 that was rocked by scandal and riven with internecine divisions. Although the path of his success was not always smooth, his body of work, which came to an end on March 20, 2013, leaves Tide athletics as the envy of lesser programs around the country.
Three men-Dr. George H. Denny, Paul W. Bryant and Mal M. Moore-without whom the University of Alabama athletics program in general, and the football team in particular, would not be the dominating national power that it is today.
Is it too soon to place Moore along side Denny and Bryant in the pantheon of Crimson Tide Football? Should such an assessment await a more sober analysis from the perspective of a later time? I don't think so.
Certainly, Mal Moore had his detractors. You could compile a book out of newspaper columns critical of Moore as a coach and administrator. His personnel moves, which involve hiring no fewer than four different head football coaches in the span of seven years, were among some of the most fiercely debated and, at times, ridiculed decisions of any official in the State of Alabama. Media criticism, thank goodness, is not the measure of a person's success.
When he was named athletics director in 1999, the first dumpster fire Moore had to put out was Mike Dubose's tenure as head football coach. The Alabama program was still reeling from Dubose's vehement-denial-turned-mawkish-confession of an extra-marital affair with a University employee. A record of 9-2 and winning the SEC Championship secured Dubose a reprieve which he obligingly squandered the following year by turning a pre-season number three ranking into only three regular season wins.
Not long after Moore replaced Dubose with Dennis Franchione, the Memphis recruiting scandal erupted. Logan Young became the personification of rogue boosterism as the NCAA descended on the Alabama program with a white-hot ferocity, aided and abetted by secret witnesses and coaches at other SEC schools, most notably UT's Philip Fulmer. With draconian sanctions pending, Franchione left his players "holding the rope" and Moore holding the bag as he skipped town in the comfort of Texas A&M's private jet.
Moving quickly, Moore secured the services of Mike Price to replace the inconstant Franchione. But before so much as a single down of competitive football could be played under his watch, Price's tenure at the Capstone collapsed and a lighted sign proclaiming itself "Home Of The $10 Million Lap Dace" was installed in the parking lot of a Pensacola naked dancing establishment.
For the second time in less than five months, Moore was on the market for a head football coach. His choice-Mike Shula-brought many of the attributes missing from his three predecessors: integrity, dedication, moral propriety. What he did not bring was the ability to manage the complexities of being Alabama's head football coach. In 2006, when Shula lost to Sylvester Croom's Mississippi State Bulldogs at Bryant-Denny Stadium, Moore was once again faced with the task of replacing the head coach for the University's flagship sport.
Everyone who follows college football knows the narrative from this point. Moore flew to Miami and persuaded Nick Saban to leave the NFL and return to coaching college football. Three BCS Championships, two SEC Championships, and home game attendance numbers in six figures provide all the evidence you need to argue that Moore's last football coaching hire was an unqualified success.
No one should overlook what Moore accomplished in capital improvements to Alabama's athletics programs. Training facilities, practice fields, and administrative offices were modernized, expanded and built within budgets. The jewel in the crown of this building program, of course, is the expansion of Bryant-Denny Stadium. A member of the Football Committee from the Tournament of Roses once described to me his impression upon seeing BDS for the first time: "It is a cathedral."
As a player, coach and chief administrative officer, Mal Moore was directly involved in winning ten national championships in football. Add to his ten football championships, however, the eight additional titles achieved on his watch in gymnastics, softball and women's golf and you have a measure of a life in college athletics that will never be broken.
Dr. Denny put Alabama on the map. Coach Bryant picked the football program off its back and restored it to national greatness. Mal Moore provided the stewardship to lead the football program through a crucible that threatened it with extinction, and brought it to the dizzying heights of national dominance. Three men of different eras with different gifts and talents. But three men whose lives were devoted to a single institution. People who love the Capstone should be forever grateful that George Denny, Paul Bryant and Mal Moore were each an Alabama Man!
The Commissioner
Sunday, March 31, 2013
Saturday, January 12, 2013
The Commissioner's MVPs
It is customary at this time of year to reflect on the just completed season and single out for special mention those players, plays, games and events that have been those most valuable or significant in Alabama's success. Such a process is inherently subjective and prone to error. My opinion may not be yours and both of us may have overlooked a person or event that had a greater impact than the ones we select. But with that disclaimer, here is my list of 2012 Superlatives:
Most Valuable Players:
Offense: AJ McCarron. The 2012 Crimson Tide was an offensive powerhouse. It was an irresistible force even against some of the most immovable objects that college football defenses put on the field. AJ played his position better this year than in 2011 when he was named MVP of the BCS Championship Game. He set the single season school record for touchdown passes [30] and threw for more yards [2933] than last year while attempting fewer passes. He earned an impressive pass efficiency rating of 175.3 with a completion percentage of 67.2%. During the season, he shattered the school record for consecutive pass attempts without an interception and set a BCS Championship Game record with 4 touchdown passes.
Honorable mention: Barrett Jones. Football is played first and foremost along the line of scrimmage and the 2012 offensive line lived up to its pre-season hype as the best in the college game. Anchoring that line, was a young man who is arguably the best offensive lineman ever to play at Alabama. A four year starter, Jones has played every position on the interior of the offensive line and received national recognition at guard and center. He returned for his senior season rather than go to the NFL and was rewarded with a second SEC Championship and third BCS Championship for his career. Obviously having time on his hands, Jones completed not only his undergraduate degree but also earned a masters degree in accounting.
Defense: CJ Mosley. The unquestioned leader of a stout, no-name, defense. CJ recorded 66 solo tackles during the season. Second place belongs to Trey DePriest who made fewer total tackles [59] than CJ made solo. Mosley's total of 107 tackles included 8 for lost yardage of which 4 were sacks. To this he added 2 interceptions, 2 pass breakups, 4 deflections, 3 hurries and 1 forced fumble.
Special Teams: The easy choice for this recognition in the kicking game would be Jeremy Shelly. He was flawless on 69 of 70 PATs and 11 for 11 on field goals. The only PAT miss was a team miss, and not on the kicker. He is the featured player on a special team that was greatly improved over last year. But my special teams MVP is a player who has been like a block of granite as the foundation of the kicking game. A young man who has endured and overcome more adversity in his college career than the vast majority of his peers.
My Special Teams MVP is Carson Tinker.
Freshman: Amari Cooper made his college football debut in the Michigan game and quickly established himself as a player of incomparable potential. He played in all 14 games and made 59 receptions for 1000 yards and 11 touchdowns. The 2013 Heisman voters may well have a tough choice to make between Cooper and AJ for the recipient of the stiff-armed trophy.
Most Memorable Moments: Here is my Top 10 Memorable Moments. Your list is equally valid, and by limiting the list to only 10 I am necessarily leaving many great moments out:
10. Alabama defeats Michigan to open the season.
9. Eddie Lacy bludgeons UGA's premier safety, Bacari Rambo in the second half of the SEC CG.
8. Jesse Williams knocks ND's star middle linebacker, Manti Te'o, aside with a forearm before pancaking the Irish safety to lead TJ Yeldon into the end zone in the BCS CG.
7. Amari Cooper makes a leaping catch to take away a possible interception, keeping a scoring drive alive against Georgia in the SEC CG.
6. Alabama 49 Auburn 0
5. Ha Ha Clinton-Dix intercepts a tipped pass to snuff out Notre Dame's scoring chance on the opening drive of the second half in the BCS Championship.
4. The Drive Part I: Alabama goes 97 yards on 10 plays in 5:37 to score a TD on its first possession of the second half effectively ending what was left of the BCS CG.
3. The Drive Part II: Alabama gains 72 yards on 5 plays in 0:43 capped off by a TD pass on a screen to TJ Yeldon to come from behind and beat LSU in Baton Rouge.
2. ND Coach Brian Kelly, when asked by ESPN at the end of the first half how the Irish, trailing 28-0, can get back into the game, replies: "I don't know. Maybe Alabama won't come back."
1. The Commissioner celebrates his 60th birthday with his entire family, and 101,000 of his closest friends, at Bryant-Denny Stadium as Alabama beats Western Kentucky University in the 2012 home opener.
It has been a great season and 2013 is not far off. Let's all get ready to travel this fall down the Road To 16!
The Commissioner
Most Valuable Players:
Offense: AJ McCarron. The 2012 Crimson Tide was an offensive powerhouse. It was an irresistible force even against some of the most immovable objects that college football defenses put on the field. AJ played his position better this year than in 2011 when he was named MVP of the BCS Championship Game. He set the single season school record for touchdown passes [30] and threw for more yards [2933] than last year while attempting fewer passes. He earned an impressive pass efficiency rating of 175.3 with a completion percentage of 67.2%. During the season, he shattered the school record for consecutive pass attempts without an interception and set a BCS Championship Game record with 4 touchdown passes.
Honorable mention: Barrett Jones. Football is played first and foremost along the line of scrimmage and the 2012 offensive line lived up to its pre-season hype as the best in the college game. Anchoring that line, was a young man who is arguably the best offensive lineman ever to play at Alabama. A four year starter, Jones has played every position on the interior of the offensive line and received national recognition at guard and center. He returned for his senior season rather than go to the NFL and was rewarded with a second SEC Championship and third BCS Championship for his career. Obviously having time on his hands, Jones completed not only his undergraduate degree but also earned a masters degree in accounting.
Defense: CJ Mosley. The unquestioned leader of a stout, no-name, defense. CJ recorded 66 solo tackles during the season. Second place belongs to Trey DePriest who made fewer total tackles [59] than CJ made solo. Mosley's total of 107 tackles included 8 for lost yardage of which 4 were sacks. To this he added 2 interceptions, 2 pass breakups, 4 deflections, 3 hurries and 1 forced fumble.
Special Teams: The easy choice for this recognition in the kicking game would be Jeremy Shelly. He was flawless on 69 of 70 PATs and 11 for 11 on field goals. The only PAT miss was a team miss, and not on the kicker. He is the featured player on a special team that was greatly improved over last year. But my special teams MVP is a player who has been like a block of granite as the foundation of the kicking game. A young man who has endured and overcome more adversity in his college career than the vast majority of his peers.
My Special Teams MVP is Carson Tinker.
Freshman: Amari Cooper made his college football debut in the Michigan game and quickly established himself as a player of incomparable potential. He played in all 14 games and made 59 receptions for 1000 yards and 11 touchdowns. The 2013 Heisman voters may well have a tough choice to make between Cooper and AJ for the recipient of the stiff-armed trophy.
Most Memorable Moments: Here is my Top 10 Memorable Moments. Your list is equally valid, and by limiting the list to only 10 I am necessarily leaving many great moments out:
10. Alabama defeats Michigan to open the season.
9. Eddie Lacy bludgeons UGA's premier safety, Bacari Rambo in the second half of the SEC CG.
8. Jesse Williams knocks ND's star middle linebacker, Manti Te'o, aside with a forearm before pancaking the Irish safety to lead TJ Yeldon into the end zone in the BCS CG.
7. Amari Cooper makes a leaping catch to take away a possible interception, keeping a scoring drive alive against Georgia in the SEC CG.
6. Alabama 49 Auburn 0
5. Ha Ha Clinton-Dix intercepts a tipped pass to snuff out Notre Dame's scoring chance on the opening drive of the second half in the BCS Championship.
4. The Drive Part I: Alabama goes 97 yards on 10 plays in 5:37 to score a TD on its first possession of the second half effectively ending what was left of the BCS CG.
3. The Drive Part II: Alabama gains 72 yards on 5 plays in 0:43 capped off by a TD pass on a screen to TJ Yeldon to come from behind and beat LSU in Baton Rouge.
2. ND Coach Brian Kelly, when asked by ESPN at the end of the first half how the Irish, trailing 28-0, can get back into the game, replies: "I don't know. Maybe Alabama won't come back."
1. The Commissioner celebrates his 60th birthday with his entire family, and 101,000 of his closest friends, at Bryant-Denny Stadium as Alabama beats Western Kentucky University in the 2012 home opener.
It has been a great season and 2013 is not far off. Let's all get ready to travel this fall down the Road To 16!
The Commissioner
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