Alabama Football: The Crimson Tide look to repeat in 2018
Alabama football has been dominant throughout the Nick Saban era. The Crimson Tide will look to repeat as National Champions in 2018.
The Alabama football program boasts sixteen national championships in their illustrious history, whether the NCAA agrees with all of them or not. Paul “Bear” Bryant guided the Tide from 1958-1982. Over those two-plus decades of football, Alabama dominated the college football world, playing in a bowl game in all but Bear’s first season in Tuscaloosa, AL. Bryant won 232 football games at Alabama including six national championships.
After the Bear era, the Tide were led by Bama alumnus Ray Perkins. Coach Perkins had been the head football coach of the NFL’s New York Giants before becoming the successor to Bryant. Perkins had some success with the Tide but left to coach the Tampa Bay Buccaneers after a losing season. Perkins gave way to Bill Curry. Curry came to Tuscaloosa by way of Georgia Tech and posted a successful 26-10 record but left for the Kentucky Wildcats after a contract dispute.
The Crimson Tide administration turned to another former NFL coach in Gene Stallings. Stallings had failed with the St. Louis turned Phoenix Cardinals. However, at Alabama he found success by year two and finished with a 70-16-1 record and the 1992 National Championship in a big win over the Miami Hurricanes.
Under Stallings the Tide were put on probation and his tenure gave way to the dark years for Alabama under Mike Dubose, Dennis Franchione, and Mike Shula. The Tide once again turned to a failed NFL head coach to take over the program.
In 2007, the Crimson Tide were taken over by the Nick Saban era, and Coach Saban hasn’t looked back since. Alabama struggled with a 7-6 season in 2007 but Saban has guided the Tide to double-digit win seasons the following ten years including winning five National Championships in two systems (the BCS and College Football Playoff).
Alabama walks into the 2018 season with new coordinators on offense and defense after winning the College Football Playoff National Championship game in overtime.