BREAKING NEWS: The head coach of the Alabama has terminated his employment with the team following a background debate with management over….Read More..
When Alabama players stepped off the bus at the Swamp in September of 2006, Florida fans mocked them with a chant of “Au-burn re-jects.” Auburn was in the middle of what would become a six-game winning streak over its bitter in-state rivals under Tommy Tubberville. A little more than two years later, Alabama shut out Auburn in the Iron Bowl to send Tubberville packing, and the Crimson Tide and Gators met in the SEC championship game as the top two teams in the nation.
How did Alabama transform from the butt of jokes to one of college football’s biggest juggernauts? It hired Nick Saban in 2007.
“It was just a different culture, man,” former Alabama wide receiver Mike McCoy (2006-2009) told BamaCentral. “He did a complete 180 turnaround.”
McCoy was headed to a workout when he and his teammates heard on the news that Mike Shula had been fired. Shula, who served as the Crimson Tide’s head coach from 2003-06 was coming off a 6-6 regular-season record, capped by a 22-15 loss to Auburn.
“It was definitely a shocker, and I was hurt because I actually went to Alabama because of him and the receiver coach, Charlie Harbison,” McCoy said. “I went to Alabama based on those two coaches. So when they left, it was like a gut punch because there’s so much uncertainty.”
Rising sophomore defensive back Javier Arenas couldn’t say the same.
“I didn’t know who he was to be honest with you,” Arenas said. “I just knew there was a lot of hype around him.”
Redshirt senior defensive lineman Wallace Gilberry couldn’t care less about hype. Unlike McCoy, the Baldwin County product chose Alabama out of the pride he had for his home state. He was committed to finish out his career with the Crimson Tide regardless of who the coach was.
