Youthful mistakes hurt Shula
04/18/04
TUSCALOOSA -- Alabama got a little mileage out of touting Mike Shula as the second-youngest head football coach in Division I-A last season.
Problem is, Shula has acted like the neophyte head coach for much of the 11-plus months since he was put in charge of the ailing Crimson Tide football program. There is time for the 38-year-old Shula to stabilize the course Alabama is traveling, but his continued maturation is a key element to that end.
We won't elaborate on that less-than-stellar oratory display at his introductory press conference.
Shula deserves a little leniency for that day, as he was understandably nervous as a first-time head coach. Plus the power of public speaking is not a prerequisite for being a good football coach. Pat Dye and Phillip Fulmer are living proof of that.
We will call Shula into account for other gaffes.
The most striking on-the-field blunder was the brain-cramp decision to have an eager Brodie Croyle rush onto the field in Athens, Ga., with Alabama trailing Georgia 30-3 in the second quarter.
No amount of rationale can explain the utter flight of fantasy Shula was tripping on there, thinking that game was salvageable with a quarterback whose left shoulder was damaged enough to keep him from starting.
It was not second-guessing that gushed forth from the Sanford Stadium press box that Saturday in October. The media types, who had already seen the Bulldogs crashing through Alabama's offensive line that afternoon, immediately recognized the move as illogical. The proof came two plays later, when a vicious tackle knocked Croyle out of that game and the next with more shoulder damage.
Shula should not have played so recklessly with one of the Crimson Tide's most valuable skill assets.
There were other rookie coaching mistakes in Alabama's 4-9 season. But the Crimson Tide was competitive enough -- particularly after having to crash-course on the Shula system following Mike Price's self-propagated flameout -- that it was only outscored by two points on the season.
Shula had been harshly reviewed, no doubt. But as a former player he had dodged much of the most scathing criticism the state media is capable of meting out.
Then, after a relatively uneventful spring practice, Shula struck again by instigating the so-called CroomGate.
All things considered, the flap over removing -- and ultimately re-instating -- Sylvester Croom's name to an innocuous award was a relatively minor issue. It was a spring football award after all, right? Yet, as Shula well knows, spring football is considered the second-most important sport at Alabama by many.
The irony is that Shula's call to rename the award for Bart Starr came at a time when the Alabama basketball team's historic run to the final eight pushed Tide football off the front of sports pages across the state for the first time in many springs. In Phoenix at the NCAA Regional, basketball coach Mark Gottfried suggested he was pleased not to be "dissected like a frog" as the Alabama football coach can be.
Little did Gottfried know how soon his remarks would prove true.
Three days later, the Croom affair burst to life, exposing another rookie mistake.
Shula said he did not consult athletics director Mal Moore before making the ill-advised decision, which speaks of chain-of-command issues in the program.
Another season in the crucible of Alabama football should toughen Shula's skin while further testing his mettle. Tide fans should hope Shula shows more vision this time around and doesn't turn his sophomore season into a sophomoric one.
(Tom Murphy covers Alabama athletics for the Mobile Register. Contact him at [EMAIL PROTECTED])
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