Best Price: $49.95Paul “Bear” Bryant is one of the most iconic names in all of collegiate sports.
The former University of Alabama football coach led the Crimson Tide to six national championships and 14 Southeastern Conference during a 25-year tenure in Tuscaloosa, Ala.
Bryant, who won a national championship playing defensive end for the Tide, helped establish Alabama as one of the top-5 all-time programs in the country. Alabama’s rich football tradition rivals that of the University of Michigan, Southern California and Notre Dame.
His trademark black and white hounds-tooth cap, which he wore on game days, can be seen throughout the state of Alabama in ball caps, jackets and women’s wear.
Game day employees and media relations workers don hounds-tooth patterns as well.
Bryant’s legacy has spawned a lengthy list of former players and assistant coaches who have gone on to coach in the NFL and in the college game.
Danny Ford, Howard Schnellenberger, and Gene Stallings won NCAA national titles as head coaches, while Neil Callaway, Joey Jones, Mike Riley, David Cutcliffe and Schnellenberger are currently active head coaches in the NCAA. Sylvester Croom, Jim Owens, Jackie Sherrill and Pat Dye were also NCAA coaches.
Bryant spent a total of 38 seasons as a head coach, posting 37 winning seasons in stops at Maryland and Kentucky before returning to his alma mater.
Bryant’s legacy is memorialized with a statue at the Walk of Champions plaza outside Bryant-Denny Stadium after leading teams to national titles. Three other coaches also have statues outside Bryant-Denny, including Wallace Wade, Frank Thomas and Gene Stallings.
There’s also a memorial outside of Legion Field in Birmingham, where the Tide played many of their games under Bryant.
Before he graduated high school in Arkansas, Bryant accepted a scholarship to play for the Crimson Tide. He left high school before he graduated and enrolled at a Tuscaloosa high school to complete his prep work, all while practicing with the Tide.
He starred opposite future NFL Hall of Fame defensive end Don Hutson, earning second team All-SEC in 1934, and third team in ’33 and ’35.
He was drafted in the fourth round of the ’36 NFL Draft by the Brooklyn Dodgers but never played a down of pro football.
Instead, he went right into coaching as an assistant at Union College in Tennessee. He then spent four seasons as an assistant at Alabama before moving on to Vanderbilt and Maryland.
Before Bryant went to Texas A&M, he joined the US Navy following the bombing of Pearl Harbor. He didn’t see combat action but helped save the lives of his crew after a ship accident. He reached the rank of Lieutenant Commander before returning to the coaching ranks.
Bryant proved his mettle as a head coach by winning a Southwest Conference title at Texas A&M, beating the University of Texas in ’55. He also served as athletic director at Texas A&M.
Bryant’s only Heisman Trophy winner, John David Crow, was at Texas A&M.
When asked why he came to Alabama in ’58, Bryant replied “Momma called, and when Momma calls, you just have to come runnin.” After winning a combined four games in the three years prior to Bryant’s arrival, the Tide went 5–4–1 in Bryant’s first season.
Alabama earned a bowl berth the following season, their first in six seasons. In just his third season in charge in Tuscaloosa, Bryant led the Tide to a national championship after beating Arkansas in the Sugar Bowl.
Bryant won back-to-back national titles in 64-65 with future NFL Hall of Fame quarterback Joe Namath leading his offense.
Bryant also won back-to-back national titles in 78-79.
Bryant announced his retirement as head football coach at Alabama effective with the end of the ’82 season. His last regular-season game was a 23–22 loss to Auburn University and his last post-season game was a 21–15 victory over Illinois in the Liberty Bowl.
Bryant died just four weeks after his last game after suffering a massive heart attack. He was 69 at the time of his death.
Alabama Crimson Tide- A College Football Dynasty
Alabama is arguably the best college football program in history. With a bunch of national titles & also a bunch of wins how can you argue? Also, a long lists of storied & amazing coaches on top of that. This college football giant is an empire. From the early years to the present you can’t ignore a true powerhouse.
Bear Bryant coached the Crimson Tide from 1958-1982. During his tenure Bryant won 6 national titles. His coaching record over those years was a whopping 232-46-9. Paul “Bear” Bryant is probably the greatest coach in Alabama history. The team’s stadium(Bryant-Denny) is named after him. The most dominant time for coach Bryant was between 1970-1979.During this time Bryant won 8 conference titles & 3 national championships. He also brought 13 conference titles & 11 bowl victories. Out of the 25 season spent at Alabama Bear Bryant lead the school to 24 bowl games. That’s pretty darn good.The final game Bryant coached came in the 1982 Liberty Bowl. His final game was another victory too by defeating the Illinois 21-15. Once he retired from college football, sadly enough, coach Bryant passed away 4 weeks later of a heart attack.
From 1993-1976 Ray Perkins showed his coaching abilities. He compiled a 32-15-1 record during his 4 years of coaching at Alabama. Bill Curry followed up with three winning seasons from 1987-1989. His overall record stands at 26-10 for his time spent as Alabama. There could have possibly been more wins if it not had been for disagreements with the Alabama athletics department. This lead to his departure after only 3 seasons.
Gene Stallings was the man called on during this time-frame. He went 62-25 during his reign at Alabama. He took the team to 6 straight bowl games under his tenure including an SEC title in 1992. All this sounds good but the program was placed on probation following an incident in 1993 involving one of his players. This lead to the football program being forced to give up 8 wins from the 1993 season. This coach still proved of his worth during his 6 seasons & Alabama.
This was a whirlwind type time for the Alabama football program. A total of 3(4 if you count Mike Price short tenure) coaches in a span of 10 years. This may not seem like a big deal in today’s times but this is Alabama we’re talking about here. From Mike DuBose to Dennis Franchione to Mike Shula. A quick jump between these coaches over this time period. DuBose had early success but failed later on. Franchione has great success but left for another football program. Shula also had solid notable success but struggled in his final campaign before being fired. What an absolute fabulous coaching job in this short time period by Nick Sabin. Already garnering a national championship(2010). Winning 2 SEC football titles as well. All of this coming from one of the best current college football coaches. You’d have to say more winning is in the future of Alabama football with this guy at the controls.
Check out this Alabama Christmas Ornament and these Alabama Blanket
