This book by Donald Staffo, professor of Health and Physical Education at Stillman College, gives a detailed account of Alabama football coaches after the death of Paul “Bear” Bryant. The filling of Coach Bryant shoes would prove to be a daunting task. No ordinary coach would suffice. Alabama expects their football coaches to win national championships.  The first man that they choose was Ray Perkins.  He seemed a logical choice since he played for Bryant in 1960s along with Joe Namath and Kenny Stabler. Perkins coached the Tide from 1983-1986.  Overall, Perkins did very well with his team.  He improved his team with each year. Perkins is the only head coach at Alabama to lead his team to victory over Notre Dame. He also coached Mike Shula, who would become the head coach at Alabama from 2003-2006. The next coach that the book focuses on is Bill Curry who coached from 1987-1989.   Even though he was hand picked by Ray Perkins, Curry was not a part of the “Alabama Family”.  Many Bama fans were outraged by the selection of Curry, because they viewed him as an outsider.  He also had a losing record with his previous team at Georgia Tech. Curry’s first two years at Alabama were winning seasons, but they were mediocre. In his last season at Alabama, the team went 10-2.  Alabama shared the SEC title for that year with Auburn and Tennessee.  He was even awarded the SEC coach of the year for 1989. However, he lost to Auburn (a team he was never able to beat at any school) and to Miami in the Sugar Bowl.  Under Curry the Crimson Tide was okay, but Bama fans were not satisfied with okay. They wanted championships.   Curry left Alabama for Kentucky because his vision and the vision of fans and boosters did not line up.  The book then goes on to discuss the career that Gene Stallings had at Alabama. This book was published in 1992, so it did not discuss most of Stallings’ time at Alabama including his national championship win.   However, praise is given to Gene Stallings for the things that he brought to Alabama.  There is certainly  a lot of optimism about what Stallings would accomplish at Alabama.  This book is full of interesting facts about the coaches such as Ray Perkins endorsing Frito Lays on the coaches television show instead of Golden Flake, which was Bryant endorsed for twenty five years.  If you are interested in modern Alabama football history and would like to learn more about the coaches at Alabama, then you should check out this book. We have multiple copies of this book at McLure Library.

Education Library:  GV 939.A1 S73 1992x

Review written by Robert Burgess, Education Library Graduate Assistant.