I NEED BAMA FOOTBALL NOW!!!!!!!
--------------------------------------------------------------------------- http://www.tcpalm.com/tcp/college_sports/article/0,1651,TCP_1055_3103326,00.html Comings and goings of Iron Bowl coaches By SCOTT ADAMSON August 11, 2004 When Alabama's Mike DuBose era came to an unceremonious end against Auburn in 2000, it left the coach with a 2-2 career record against the Auburn Tigers - losing both his inaugural and final contests against the Tigers. Dennis Franchione was victorious in his first "uncivil war" and lost the last. Tommy Tuberville's first Iron Bowl was a 28-17 loss, and since then the Tiger boss is 3-2 in the battle for braggin' rights. For some reason - don't know whether it's the cough syrup or just boredom - I started thinking about how coaches have fared in their first and last Iron Bowls. Mike Shula, of course, started off with a 28-23 setback, but a coach coming up short in both his debut and farewell Alabama-Auburn showdowns is nothing unusual. History shows that coaches about to leave - or be fired - are 2-11 in their last Alabama-Auburn game. As for those making their debuts in the series, Auburn coaches sport a 6-6-1 mark in their initial contests against their arch rivals, while Bama bosses are 4-10. Six of the last seven head coaches at the Capstone came away losers in their first encounter with Auburn (I'm not including Mike Price and his 0-0 record), while the same number of AU coaches are 1-4 in their debuts. Since July is here and pining for college football has officially begun, let's relive some famous Iron Bowl comings and goings, shall we? Terry Bowden's final Iron Bowl came in 1997, and a bungled call by the Tide - one that led to a fumble - allowed the Tigers to kick a late field goal and escape with an 18-17 victory at Jordan-Hare Stadium. AU finished the season 10-3 and played for the SEC crown, so there was no reason to think Bowden wouldn't be back in 1998 to try and up his record to 4-2 against Bama. However Bowden and company started off the following season 1-5, and the coach quit prior to the Tigers' game with Louisiana Tech. Bill Oliver took over from there, and his one and only Iron Bowl as head coach ended with a 31-17 loss at Legion Field. Gene Stallings announced his retirement after Alabama's 24-23 victory over Auburn in 1996, helping the tall Texan exit the series a winner. While prowling the sidelines for seven Alabama-Auburn tilts, Stallings finished with a 5-2 worksheet against his school's biggest rival, including a 16-7 win in his first season in 1990. Pat Dye's last Iron Bowl came in 1992. Not only were the Tigers in the midst of a .500 season, the cloud of an NCAA investigation hovered over the program. But all that paled in comparison to the opposition. Alabama was undefeated going into the game, won it 17-0, and went on to claim the school's 12th national championship with a 34-13 rout of Miami in the Sugar Bowl. For his career Dye was 6-6 against Alabama, including a four-year winning streak from 1986 through 1989. Following form, he was a loser in both his first and last Alabama-Auburn contests. Another odd farewell came in 1989, when Bill Curry brought his undefeated and No. 2-ranked Tide to Jordan-Hare Stadium for the first time in history. Alabama had already wrapped up a share of the SEC crown, and a win would set up a title showdown with Miami in the Sugar Bowl. But the Tigers used their talents - and stadium - to full advantage, overcoming a halftime deficit and going on to log an historic 30-20 win over Bama. Curry, who was winless against AU while at Alabama and Georgia Tech, decided to leave Tuscaloosa at the end of the year and accept a job at Kentucky. While guiding the Wildcats, he still never beat the Tigers. Ray Perkins opted to leave Alabama to accept a big money offer from the NFL's Tampa Bay Buccaneers in 1986. His final season in Tuscaloosa was a solid 10-3 campaign, but Auburn was able to pull out a 21-17 win over the Tide to give Perkins a 2-2 mark in the Iron Bowl - and yes, he lost the first and last ones he coached. Paul "Bear" Bryant capped off his historic career with a 23-22 loss to Auburn, but in 25 years at Tuscaloosa he got the better of his rival, winning 19 of 25 games, including nine straight from 1973 to 1981. Bryant's last Iron Bowl loss happened to be Dye's first Iron Bowl win, and Bryant came up short in his first one, 14-8 in 1958. Doug Barfield's brief head coaching career at AU left him winless in the series, and his final loss was a 34-18 setback to the Tide. Ralph "Shug" Jordan's career-ending battle with Bryant came in 1975, with Alabama taking a 28-0 victory. In a half-century on The Plains, Jordan was 9-16 in the Iron Bowl and 0-1 in his 1951 debut. J. B. "Ears" Whitworth had the lowest winning percentage of any Alabama coach, and wound up 0-3 against Auburn. His 40-0 loss in 1957 was his last, and it came against the only Auburn team to capture a national title. Rounding out modern era coaches is Auburn's Earl Brown, who was on the sidelines for the renewal of the series in 1948 - a 55-0 loss to Red Drew's Crimson Tide. In three seasons Brown was 1-2 against the Tide, with his final Iron Bowl ending in a 34-0 Alabama conquest. Now that your knowledge of the series has increased dramatically, keep this in mind: It's only 142 days until the 2004 Iron Bowl. (Contact Scott Adamson of the Birmingham Post-Herald in Alabama at http://www.postherald.com.) 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