Why It Can't be boom or bust for greg Byrne
GEORGE SOMERVILLE
THE TOUCHDOWN’s SEC CORRESPONDENT
Within minutes of the press release from Greg Byrne’s office of Alabama Football Head Coach, Kalen Debtor’s contract extension the response was loud. Why, fans wanted to know was the contract being extended now?
DeBoer is 20-8 as Alabama Head Coach but his overall coaching record is 124-20 which paints a very different picture of his time in Tuscaloosa. Meaning some Crimson Tide fans are unsure of this latest move by Greg Byrne.
The Finebaum Effect
You may have been confused by the protesting voices emanating from fans in Tuscaloosa yesterday. Very soon after Alabama Athletic Director, Greg Byrne announced the extended and increased contract for Crimson Tide Head Football Coach, Kalen DeBoer the switchboard at the Paul Finebaum Show lit up like a Christmas tree. And not in a good way. But why so?
Ok, so the view of fans on the self proclaimed “Mouth of the South’s” show, isn’t perhaps where we should first search for a balanced perspective. It is however an immediate and unfiltered perspective from a section of the fanbase.
Truth is DeBoer has yet to convince a portion of the good folks of Tuscaloosa. Let’s be honest they are a hard bunch to please and in the words of Arch Villain, Brian Kelly – he who vacated the LSU hot seat less than a year ago, “you are spoiled”. Which rings true in this scenario. There is legitimately a generation of Alabama fans who don’t know what the “L” column is for on the stats board. They were so used to seeing a zero in the Loss column that losing to Vanderbilt literally has them losing their minds. Which sets the scene.
Preserving the dynasty
Sporting Dynasties
Sporting dynasties are not as easy to come across as some might make you believe. The term “G.O.AT.” is to my mind woefully overused. In college football there are few dynasties although some schools loudly stake a claim to anyone who is willing to entertain them.
Was the period under Pete Carroll while at the USC Trojans a dynasty? Almost certainly Texas fans will tell you the Darrell K Royal years were but will also say Mack Brown’s time in Austin was.
SEC Fans will protest that the Florida Gators have no place proclaiming their dynasty although two periods under Spurrier and Meyer might have you think otherwise. Notre Dame under Knute Rockne was. But as I suggest it is subjective.
Alabama, however does hold claim to arguably the greatest dynasty in college football as they have Bear Bryant and Nick Saban’s tenures locked in the history books.
When I started to research what I might call a sporting dynasty I looked across to soccer to find a dynasty which delivered a lot – akin to the New England Patriots but one which when it it ended has found it very difficult to repeat. Which is why Greg Byrne didn’t jump for Lane Kiffin or whoever the next hottest name was at that time.
Much to Alabama fans chagrin, the motto in Tuscaloosa just now is “steady as it goes”. Byrne is steadying the ship to continue the dynasty and Alabama fans hate that dominance isn’t immediate.
Red Devils rise under Fergie
When Sir Alex Ferguson retired from life as Manchester United Manager he had overseen a return to the pinnacle of soccer that Manchester United fans sought for decades. Not since Matt Busby’s “Babes” had Manchester United dominated English football. When Ferguson was poached from his seat in the frozen North of Aberdeen he was already a proven winner. He had taken a provincial team in Scotland of all places to European champions and had broken a hundred years of dominance by the Old Firm, Rangers and Celtic. People scoffed and still do at football in Scotland but it’s a tough place to play and an even tougher place to win. Many managers have swaggered North with the expectation that it will be easy but quickly return with their tails between their legs.
Fergie transformed Manchester United, although not immediately. This is where the parallels with DeBoer become clearer. Manchester United Chairman, Martin Edwards had a vision for the Red Devils and Ferguson was his man for the revitalisation of the club. However it was no overnight success and Ferguson was reportedly on the brink of the sack had he not won the F.A. Cup in that infamous final against Brighton. The margins in sports are razor thin as Kalen DeBoer is only too aware of. But the moral of this story is that Manchester United stuck with their man.
Failure is not an option
United won the replay game to win the F.A. Cup and the rest they say is history. But there is also a bleak warning which is what Greg Byrne is desperately trying to avoid. Manchester United did not and still have not found a successor for Ferguson who could recreate his Midas touch. In much the same way that the New England Patriots are still spiralling to rekindle those Belichick/ Brady years.
Under Ferguson the Red Devils won 38 major trophies including two Champions League titles during his 26 years at the club. In the 13 seasons since Fergie retired United have won 5 trophies. It is a struggle to even qualify for the Champions League these days.
Those bemoaning DeBoer’s performance in the College Football Playoff should be careful what they wish for.
It Just means more
Ah but soccer isn’t college football, this is the SEC! Yes it is. Which makes the comparison a good one.
The SEC is the hardest conference in football to win. The challenge to win the Premier League is monumental.
Money is now a major player in college athletics. Alabama have to contend with Schools who have boosters (I think we call them investors these days) with deeper pockets than those in Tuscaloosa. The English Premier League is the richest soccer league in the world.
Competition is fierce in both scenarios. The fans are passionate in both also. The clamour to behead, sorry sack a sports coach these days – football, soccer or any sport is quick and loud. You don’t even need to be a losing coach now to get fired. You just don’t have to live up to expectations. Imagine any of us being told by our bosses that we were out after not living up to expectations.
Manchester United have gone from Manager to Manager, nowadays we call them Coaches. Each one with a better CV or fresh take than the one before. None so far have worked and for a while the Red Devils languished in the lower half of the Premier League. One season relegation threatened. Fan protests and demonstrations have followed. While Greg Byrne might wake up today to criticism this is nothing compared to a 4-8 Alabama team as the next head coach tries to rebuild not a dynasty but a broken and fragile football program. Greg Byrne knows this and has way more respect for the Alabama fan base than he gets credit for.
Roll Tide Roll
The good ol’/ bad ol’ days
Which brings me back to Tuscaloosa. As I said previously there is a generation of fans who do not know what it’s like to lose ball games. And herein lies the problem. But there are still, thankfully a generation of fans who remember the period which followed Bear Bryant’s departure from T-Town. Arguably, and I’m sure someone will want to debate with me, Alabama did not replace Bryant until Nick Saban decided to leave Miami. And what of the years in between? Yup, with some exceptions those were not Alabama’s winningest seasons. Sure, success came for Coach Stallings but Roll Tide fans also had to endure Ray Perkins, Mike Dubose and Mike Shula.
Think of this. Southern Call fans still don’t believe they have the right man at the helm in Lincoln Reilly and Reilly was the hottest ticket in town just a few years ago. NFL and College athletics wanted him. Texas look to have finally solved the post Mack Brown problem but will Sarkisian still be in Austin in years to come? The rumours of a move to the NFL won’t go away. But since Brown left they have had some dark days under Charlie Strong and Tom Herman before Sark arrived. LSU fans are adamant that they have the right man in Kiffin. Time will tell but his will be the biggest test to Byrne’s strategy should Kiffin deliver a National Championship before DeBoer because patience is in short supply in Tuscaloosa.
time to build for the future
Think of it this way. Another 9-3 season will, by many, be seen as another average and sub-optimal season for Alabama. Of course much will depend on the Tide’s run in the College Football Playoff. The Rose Bowl shellacking is still raw in the minds of all Crimson Tide fans. But an appearance in the College Football Playoff’s for the second straight season with a rookie quarterback will be seen, internally anyways, as a strong building block for success over the next three years. Something that DeBoer can build upon to bring National Championship success back to T-Town. Putting the Indiana defeat down to an outlier – we still don’t know what the Indiana effect will be, DeBoer appears to have the measure of Kirby Smart. Outside of Cignetti, DeBoer’s track record against ranked teams stands up against anyone in college football these days.
If the mantra is slow and steady then progress is being made in the right direction. There has been no losing season, no “off a cliff “performances”. Alabama under Kalen DeBoer are sure and steady. Boring? Well, Alabama fans long for the “good ol’ murderball days” under Saban which weren’t always pretty and not a whole lot of fun for everyone else.
extend to protect
What the contract extension does is keep the football program stable. DeBoer is a steady hand on the tiller. He is calm and on the exterior exudes a quiet confidence. Sure, he’s no Kiffin but few are and Ole Miss fans couldn’t give a hoot for their erstwhile Head Coach these days. The Kiffin jumping ship debacle which dominated the end of last season is exactly the kind of situation that Greg Byrne wants and needs to avoid. But DeBoer is also no Saban. Which brings us to the money.
golden handcuffs
The loudest complaint I heard from Alabama fans on Finebaum was about the money DeBoer is being paid. “More than Saban” was the headline and I can understand why. At his peak Saban was being paid a touch over $11m per year. At the same time, Kirby Smart at Georgia was being paid more. But Saban left Tuscaloosa three years ago and times have changed dramatically. Even during that short interim period the sport has changed almost out of all recognition.
But here’s the rub. If reports are accurate both Michigan and Penn State pursued DeBoer aggressively during the postseason. Despite this DeBoer stayed in Tuscaloosa and really that’s all Alabama fans need to dwell upon. Some, perhaps even many would have said “don’t let the door hit you on the way out” but that is so incredibly short sighted. Who would be next? Legitimately who should the next Head Coach of Alabama be if Kalen Deboer’s time in Tuscaloosa isn’t good enough. From the middle of last season until the end of it six SEC Head Coaches found themselves out of work and that level of turnover just isn’t sustainable in todays game.
Which brings me back to Manchester United. Or the New England Patriots. USC Trojans, Texas Longhorns, Notre Dame, Michigan…..I could go on. None of these teams look close to bringing back the glory days.
With DeBoer, Greg Byrne believes the Dynasty can continue but he needs a short hiatus to regroup and for everyone to take some collective breaths to build his vision of the program.
Careful what you wish for
So that’s why the contract extension and why the salary raise. It sends the right message to DeBoer. It tells DeBoer that Alabama is not going to look to jettison him at the first sign of trouble. It’s a signal of intent and a commitment that Byrne, DeBoer and Alabama Athletics are all in this together….for the long run.
Of course Byrne isn’t the first Athletic Director to double down. Scott Woodward and others knows this to their cost. But in the current climate, with college athletics changing on a near daily basis calm amidst the storm is the best place for Byrne to be. Because Chairmen and owners of multi billion dollar sports teams have already run this race and lost. The one thing Greg Byrne does not want is Alabama to return to the days of Ray Perkins, Mike Dubose or Mike Shula. You only have to look across the state to near neighbours Auburn to see that a revolving door of Head Coaches isn’t the right answer.
So Alabama fans rejoice this news and accept that your football program is doing what it needs to climb back to the top of the mountain. Keep the faith and Roll Tide!
GEORGE SOMERVILLE
COLLEGE FOOTBALL WRITER
GEORGE IS A LONG STANDING FANATIC OF LIFE AND FOOTBALL IN THE DEEP SOUTH AND WRITES HIS WEEKLY COLUMN CALLED “IT’S ONLY SEC” FOR THE TOUCHDOWN. HE IS ALSO CO-HOST AND ONE THIRD OF THE COLLEGE CHAPS PODCAST, THE UK’S FIRST PODCAST DEDICATED TO THE COLLEGE GAME.