The former Crimson Tide quarterback and Bucs assistant replaces Mike Price 123 days before the opener.
By Compiled from Times wires
Published May 9, 2003
TUSCALOOSA, Ala. - Mike Shula became the Alabama football coach Thursday, athletic director Mal Moore announced.
Shula will be officially introduced today as Alabama's fourth coach in the past four years.
The former Crimson Tide quarterback replaces Mike Price, who was fired Saturday for off-the-field behavior before coaching his first game. Price replaced Dennis Franchione, who left for Texas A&M in December, two years after replacing Mike DuBose.
Shula has spent 15 years as an NFL assistant.
He left his position as Dolphins quarterbacks coach, where he has been for the past three seasons, to accept a six-year, $5.4-million contract. The deal also includes an incentive package of $600,000 a season, according to the South Florida Sun-Sentinel.
Shula will have a seventh year added to the contract through an incentive tied to the number of victories in a season, the Sun-Sentinel reported.
He has no experience as a head coach or on a college staff but had two huge factors in his favor: impeccable bloodlines and ties to the Crimson Tide.
"It was that mix of enthusiasm, experience and ties to the University of Alabama that made Mike the perfect fit for this job," Moore said in a statement. "We talked with Mike Wednesday night, and he was able to reach a decision quickly."
Mike Shula gets a chance to find out, too.
He couldn't have picked a much tougher test. Not only is Alabama one year into a five-year NCAA probation, but he has only 123 days to prepare for the season opener against South Florida and three weeks of practice in August to install a new system.
"I am obviously excited about this job," Shula said in a statement released by the school. "There is a bright future ahead for Alabama."
Shula was a three-year starter and two-time All-SEC pick at quarterback for the Crimson Tide from 1984-86. Then he began to climb the NFL coaching ladder, including a stint as the Bucs offensive coordinator.
"I actually hunt with a bunch of guys who played with him," Crimson Tide quarterback Brodie Croyle said. "They've been telling me all week about him. I grew up around Alabama football, so I know who he is and what he did and what he has done since he left Alabama."
Price, meanwhile, said he is ready to go to court to try to restore his reputation.
In a two-page statement released Thursday, Price said he and his attorney are "aggressively investigating" the accusations that led to his dismissal.
"I have lost my job and financial security," Price said. "I have only my reputation left. We will pursue any and all legal action necessary against these false statements."
He lost his job when reports surfaced he spent hundreds of dollars at a Pensacola topless bar and a woman ordered about $1,000 in food and charged it to his hotel bill.
Price called reports about the behavior that led to his firing "absurd and ridiculous."
