Tag: Bear Bryant

Nick Saban uses Bear Bryant, Bobby Bowden to place emphasis on the current state of college football

What would Bear Bryant and Bobby Bowden think about the current state of college football?

Do you ever sit back and wonder what the former generations would think about the current state of college football? If so, you are not alone. On Monday night, former Alabama head football coach [autotag]Nick Saban[/autotag] referenced two of the most legendary college football coaches of all time when discussing the sport we all love.

While speaking at the 2024 Nick Saban Legacy Awards, the recently retired coach used Bear Bryant and Bobby Bowden as examples of why change is needed in college football. Not only did Saban reference the two legends, but he also pledged to do his part in working with SEC commissioner Greg Sankey and Alabama athletic director Greg Byrne to help develop a plan.

“If coach Bryant or coach Bowden could all of a sudden be with us tonight, what would they think of college football right now? That should be the very reason that we’re all very much committed to what we can do to make college football something where players can have a great quality of life, but we still have a venue where they have an opportunity to grow and learn and be successful.

“I would like to be a part of trying to help people that are working hard to make that happen like Greg Sankey. Like Greg Byrne. Like our conference commissioners are trying to do. That’s really, really important for young people, and it’s something that we’re very much committed to.”

Even though he has been retired for less than two months, Saban is proving that he wants to continue to be active in the sport he dominated for so long.

Contact/Follow us @RollTideWire on X (Twitter), and like our page on Facebook to follow ongoing coverage of Alabama news, notes, and opinion. You can also follow Stacey Blackwood on X (Twitter) @Blackwood89.

How 12 football head coaches fared as the replacements for legends like Bill Belichick and Nick Saban

Who replaced Bear Bryant, Don Shula and John Madden and how did they do?

During one of the craziest weeks of football in recent memory, we saw the end of an era for legends like Bill Belichick and Nick Saban.

Belichick, 71, and Saban, 72, are easily two of the greatest coaches that the sport has ever seen. Next season, college football will look very different without Saban coaching Alabama. Meanwhile, the NFL will also look very different without Belichick coaching the Patriots.

Both teams will have huge decisions about how to fill these massive shoes. While there are some interesting candidates for the gig in New England and the job in Tuscaloosa, can either live up to the reputation that Belichick and Saban built?

We looked back at some of the most legendary coaches in football history, both in the NFL and in college football, to learn how these replacements have typically fared.

The results are a fairly mixed bag but if there is one thing we learned, it is that it is not easy to replace someone as accomplished as either of these two Hall of Fame-caliber coaches.

Notre Dame All-Time Bowl History

What is your favorite Notre Dame bowl memory?

Notre Dame has played in 41 bowl games all-time, a number that might seem low considering they’ve been playing football for over 130 years.  However, Notre Dame didn’t play in bowl games out of their belief in amateurism for over 40 years which means for a lot fewer bowl appearances than several other blue-blood programs.

There have been great triumphs and incredible heartbreakers both over those 41 games.

Legends were made, thrilling wins were had, and heartbreaking losses also occurred.

Check out the game-by-game history of Notre Dame in postseason bowl games below.

More Bowl Game History from the College Wire Network:

Alabama / Aub / Fla / LSU / Tenn. / UGA // Mich. / Mich St. / Ohio St. / Wisc. // Okla. / Texas // ND // USC

Former Oklahoma coach Bob Stoops to receive Bear Bryant lifetime achievement award

Former Oklahoma Sooners head coach Bob Stoops to be honored with the Paul “Bear” Bryant Lifetime Achievement Award.

Bob Stoops won a national championship in just his second year at the helm for the Oklahoma Sooners. 191 wins, several more national championship game appearances, and 10 Big 12 conference titles later, and the College Football Hall of Famer continues to receive accolades well after he officially retired from the Sooners back in 2017.

Stoops is set to receive the Bear Bryant Lifetime Achievement Award sponsored by the American Heart Association.

“It is an honor to receive the Paul ‘Bear’ Bryant Lifetime Achievement Award from the American Heart Association,” said Stoops. “I have spent my career dedicated to developing players both on and off the field. To be named amongst the coaches that have come before me that have made a legacy in college football is a distinction that I do not take for granted.”

Stoops will be honored with the Lifetime Achievement Award as one of four national coaching honors given during the Bryant Awards Ceremony, presented this year by Marathon Oil, on January 11, 2023, in Houston, Texas.

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Contact/Follow us @SoonersWire on Twitter, and like our page on Facebook to follow ongoing coverage of Oklahoma news, notes, and opinions. Let us know your thoughts, and comment on this story below. Join the conversation today. You can also follow John on Twitter @john9williams.

29 vintage college football photos that’ll make you wish it was August

See these incredible historical photos of college football teams, players and coaches from over the years. 

When you’re a college football fan, it’s hard not to get a little restless in the spring and summer months waiting for a new season to arrive. Regardless of which team or conference you root for, college football is revered as a cultural institution rooted in tradition, nostalgia and irrational hatred for anyone even remotely associated with the other team (which is part of its charm!).

We spent some time going through the USA TODAY photo archives and stumbled upon hundreds of incredible historical photos of college football teams, players and coaches from over the years.

Here are some of our favorites.

Alabama’s all-time record against Arkansas

A closer look at Alabama’s all-time record against the Arkansas Razorbacks!

Alabama will have its final home game of the 2021 season this Saturday as they take on SEC West foe Arkansas.

Arkansas has become a familiar face for the Tide since the Razorbacks joined the SEC in 1991. But the two programs faced off before Arkansas made the move.

The first-ever meeting between the Razorbacks and the Crimson Tide was back in January of 1962 in the Sugar Bowl. Alabama won a defensive struggle in New Orleans 10-3.

Their next meeting was not until the 1980 Sugar Bowl when a matchup of hall of fame coaches in Bear Bryant and Lou Holtz led their respective squads into the contest with undefeated records. Alabama once again got the best of Arkansas, defeating the Razorbacks 24-9.

Alabama and Arkansas would not meet again until the Razorbacks officially joined the SEC. In the first matchup as conference foes, Alabama traveled to Little Rock and dominated the Razorbacks 38-11.

It has been much of the same ever since. Alabama is currently on a 13-game winning streak over Arkansas and overall they own a 21-8 series advantage.

Alabama and Arkansas will meet again this Saturday inside of Bryant-Denny Stadium in Tuscaloosa, Alabama. The kickoff is set for 2:30 p.m. CT on CBS.

Stay tuned to Roll Tide Wire for all the latest on the Crimson Tide!

Contact/Follow us @RollTideWire on Twitter, and like our page on Facebook to follow ongoing coverage of Alabama news, notes, and opinion. You can also follow Stacey Blackwood on Twitter @Blackwood89.

Bear Bryant’s great-grandson played for Alabama vs. Miami and had a perfect completion percentage*

Paul Tyson got in the game for Alabama against Miami.

In case anyone was worried, Alabama football is still dominant as ever — at least after the first game of the season. The No. 1 Crimson Tide absolutely crushed No. 14 Miami on Saturday at Mercedes-Benz Stadium in Atlanta, winning 44-13.

Alabama starting quarterback Bryce Young — one of the early 2021 Heisman Trophy favorites — had a standout game and even set a program record for passing touchdowns (four) and yards (344) in a first game as a starter. So long after it was clear the Crimson Tide would comfortably win this game, Young took a seat in the fourth quarter.

And legendary Alabama coach Paul “Bear” Bryant’s great-grandson, backup quarterback Paul Tyson, came in and ended up with a perfect completion percentage.

Of course, that comes with a giant asterisk because the redshirt sophomore quarterback only attempted a single pass. But freshman wide receiver Agiye Hall caught it on third-and-9 and picked up 10 yards in the process, giving Tyson a perfect 1-for-1 stat line for his brief appearance in the game.

For Alabama fans, college football fans in general or people who enjoy sports history, Tyson getting on the field was pretty cool.

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“Nick Saban or Bear Bryant?” Jake Crain of The JBoy Show weighs in

Both coaches have incredible legacies…. but, who is better? Jake Crain, host of “The JBoy Show” podcast weighed in on his Monday show.

When you look at the history of Alabama Football, there is no doubt that tradition and success are at the forefront of its’ identity.

The two coaches that helped mold the championship personality are Paul “Bear” Bryant, and Nick Saban.

Both coaches have incredible legacies…. but, who is better? Jake Crain, host of “The JBoy Show” podcast weighed in on his Monday show.

Crain gives solid reasoning as to why each coach is worthy of being the best that Alabama has ever had, but leans towards Nick Saban as the better coach, for the sole reason that the era that Saban is coaching in now is more challenging than Bryant’s era in all aspects.

“From a dominant standpoint, Nick Saban has dominated in an era, that in my opinion, is the hardest to dominate,” Crain says.

“We know that Bama has dominated, but we know Georgia is right there, Florida is right there, Auburn has won a natty, LSU has won a natty,” says Crain. “Back then, that wasn’t happening like that. You were playing five or six SEC games. Last year, even though there was a pandemic, we played basically a whole SEC schedule.”

Crain did give props to Bryant, though. Saying that he agrees that he is worth all the accolades he has earned, as well as how he innovated the game. He mentioned some of the things Bryant did recruiting wise that would be insane to try in today’s game.

“(Bryant) would go put guys on swimming scholarships, and play them, just so that other teams couldn’t sign them,” says Crain. “Can you imagine if Nick Saban could do that? What he would be able to do if he could bend the rules like that?”

You can watch the entire segment here:

[youtube https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=F40OVBaKk5g]

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Every Alabama football player in the College Football Hall of Fame

Alabama is a source of history in college football, so it’s only fitting that the Crimson Tide is very well represented at the College …

Alabama is consistently the golden standard in college football. Not only is the program seemingly competing for a national title every year, but they are always sending new talent to the NFL. The Crimson Tide’s impact on the game throughout history has been great.

The College Football Hall of Fame in Atlanta is where players and coaches become permanently enshrined, where their legacies will forever be a part of the game, even when they are gone.

There are 21 inductees that were at one point members of the Crimson Tide, either as a player or a coach.