Jackson Free Press

Whatever class and mystique the Alabama football program still had left over from the Bear Bryant era left Tuscaloosa with Gene Stallings. The Crimson Tide program hit a new low this week. Since 1987, Alabama had awarded the Sylvester Croom Commitment To Excellence Award at the end of spring practice. But this year Tide coach Mike Shula changed the name of the award to the Bart Starr Award. His explanation? He didn't think it was appropriate to have an Alabama football award named for a man who's now head football coach at Mississippi State. Even worse, Croom didn't know about the change until a Clarion-Ledger reporter told him about it on the practice field on Tuesday. Clarion-Ledger columnist Rick Cleveland wondered whether Shula resents Croom. Bama was heavily criticized when it chose Shula over Croom for head coach in 2003. The Birmingham News' Kevin Scarbinsky was even more blunt: "Given the way Paul Bryant felt about him, if the Bear were alive, Croom might have his name on more than an award. It also might be on the head coach's office door." Alabama didn't have the guts or vision to hire the right man as coach in 2003; thank goodness State did.