- Joined
- May 13, 2002
- Posts
- 9,773
- Reaction score
- 5
http://www.postherald.com/ba042903.shtml
Scrutiny for Price
Off-field conduct called into question by Moore
By GREG WALLACE
BIRMINGHAM POST-HERALD
When University of Alabama officials searched for a new head football coach last December, personal character played a major role in their decision.
Ultimately, they settled on Washington State University head coach Mike Price, a decision that was lauded by many observers as a public relations coup.
Jacquelyn Martin/Post-Herald
Former Washington State football coach Mike Price gestures during the press conference where he was announced as the new coach at Alabama.
Price, 57, is media-friendly, funny and generally regarded as a solid football coach — as his 20 victories over his final two seasons at Washington State attest.
However, questions about Price's off-field conduct since taking the Crimson Tide job have caught the attention of Alabama athletics department leaders. According to the Tuscaloosa News, Price last weeked twice met with UA officials, including Athletic Director Mal Moore to discuss "issues related to Price's public representation of the Alabama athletic department."
The questions center on Price's activities while he was in Pensacola, Fla., two weeks ago for a pro-am golf tournament connected with the Champions Tour's Emerald Coast Classic.
Price had no comment on the matter Monday; calls to Moore's Tuscaloosa residence and to several University of Alabama Board of Trustees members were not returned.
Price told the Mobile Register Sunday that he would "make a statement at some time, but not now."
When Price was hired to replace Dennis Franchione in December, Moore spoke highly of him.
"We've got a couple of tough years ahead of us," Moore said at the time. "We needed to have someone that recognizes and understands that and will work through it as hard as they can. I think this guy will.
"I think he will bring a lot to this program and to our fans and to the people of this state. They'll love him."
Price is expected to be in Birmingham this afternoon, attending a pairings party connected with the Bruno's Memorial Classic. Price is scheduled to play in a Wednesday morning pro-am event at Greystone Golf and Country Club, home of this week's Bruno's Memorial Classic.
Whether the meeting with Moore could play a role in Price's contract negotiations is unclear. Price has not yet signed a proposed seven-year, $10 million deal, reportedly due to a conflict over the size and scope of a contract buyout. Price did not have a buyout in his Washington State contract.
If a problem is found that warrants dismissal, some say UA officials conceivably could dismiss Price without paying him a cent.
A long list of off-the-field distractions have rocked the Alabama program since it was placed on probation in 1995.
In 1999, former coach Mike DuBose denied and then admitted to an affair with his secretary, Deborah Gibson.
Gibson filed a sexual harassment suit against DuBose, which was reportedly settled for around $350,000. In turn, DuBose had two years removed from his contract and his salary frozen by the Board of Trustees, a move which was expected to cost him around $350,000 total.
After a rocky start to the 1999 season, the Crimson Tide made a shocking run to the 1999 SEC title, capped off by a 34-7 thrashing of Florida in the SEC Championship. DuBose's contract was extended — but a 3-8 season in 2000 and an impending NCAA investigation cost him his job.
That investigation ultimately chased his successor, Dennis Franchione, out of town.
Franchione reportedly was blindsided by the NCAA's wrath, which became public in February 2002. The NCAA handed Alabama a five-year probation, which included a two-year bowl ban and a 21-scholarship cut over three seasons.
A federal grand jury still is investigating those connected to a Memphis recruiting scandal, including disassociated UA booster Logan Young. Former Trezevant High School football coach Lynn Lang, who has said he received $150,000 from Young in exchange for star defensive lineman Albert Means' signature on an Alabama letter of intent, is expected to be sentenced soon for his involvement in the case.
Lang pleaded guilty to one count of racketeering in November; he and former assistant Milton Kirk are cooperating with the federal authorities' ongoing investigation.
The NCAA also is keeping its investigation open; more penalties could face the program if new violations are uncovered and corroborated.
Franchione recently told ESPN.com that he accepted the job at Texas A&M in December partially because of the ongoing Memphis investigation's continuing effect on recruiting and the program itself.
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Price learns how short his leash is at Alabama
Commentary by RAY MELICK
BIRMINGHAM POST-HERALD
The rumors about Alabama Coach Mike Price didn't just start last week. Or last month.
In fact, almost since the day Price moved to Tuscaloosa, the stories started circulating about his being seen in this club or that bar or this restaurant, being the life of the party.
According to sources close to the athletics department, University of Alabama Athletics Director Mal Moore had at least one meeting with Price, asking him to be more discreet — a meeting, so the story goes, that Price left in a very unhappy mood.
After all, Price was hired to coach football at the University of Alabama, right? And as long as his off-hours entertainment didn't interfere with his doing his job, what right did anyone have to tell him how to live?
Talk to people in Pullman. They say Price was a regular on the bar scene up there. Run the current Mike Price rumors by people in his last home town, and they're not surprised.
"But never in football season," said one Pullman resident who followed Price closely. "And up here, nobody really cared beyond that."
Down here, where football is 24 hours a day, 365 days a year, people do care.
That's what no coach who becomes Alabama's head football coach is ever ready for. Dennis Franchione wasn't. Mike DuBose, who should have known better, wasn't. Gene Stallings wasn't either (although he handled it better than any, almost relishing the attention). Bill Curry wasn't prepared.
It might not be fair. It might not be right. It may be an intrusion into what little privacy the head coach at a major Southern football institution might have.
But this is the way it is.
The contract Price is still trying to negotiate with the University of Alabama spells it out. Franchione's contract had what could be called a "morals' clause," the result of DuBose's indiscretion. Most coaching contracts carry some kind of wording that insist that the head coach provide "positive representation of the university and the university's athletics programs in private and public."
Ironic, isn't it, that since Price has yet to sign a contract, the school can dismiss him without reason at any time it chooses, owing him nothing.
The story is Price somehow crossed a line last week, at a party held in conjunction with the Emerald Coast Classic golf tournament in Pensacola, Fla.
Apparently the line he crossed surprised even other coaches, former coaches and administrators in attendance — and there were plenty of Southeastern Conference big shots there.
Did Price do anything wrong? Illegal? Immoral? I don't know. I don't know anyone who has been able to tell me for certain what happened.
But whatever happened, Mike Price got a very hard lesson in what it is like to be head coach at the University of Alabama.
Linda Knowles, who was the personal secretary for former Alabama coaches Paul Bryant and Gene Stallings, once told me, "No one has any idea what it's like until they sit in that (head coaches') chair. At Alabama, the head football coach is the example of what you want your children to grow up to be. Our state, in some ways, doesn't have a great past, and Alabama football has been a way for people to have some pride in their state. The head football coach at Alabama became your leader in the state, and it remains that way today, whether you like it or not."
There is no escape. And if you don't like it, then maybe you do what Franchione did — run.
Because in this state, everyone watches. They might be for you, they might be against you, but they know who you are, watch what you do, and always draw their own conclusions, which may be as far from right as Tuscaloosa is from Pullman, Wash.
It makes coaching in this state tougher than just about any college coaching job in the nation. And you can't understand what it's like until you try to live it.
Price chose to live in this fishbowl. He told me this spring that he cares what people think of him, but he's not going to let it affect how he does his job or how he lives his life.
What he didn't understand is that when you are the head football coach at the University of Alabama, the job is your life, and if you can't handle that ...
Maybe Franchione was a lot smarter than we thought.
Ray Melick's column today is a special edition. It usually appears each Monday, Wednesday and Saturday in the Birmingham Post-Herald. Rubin E. Grant's column will appear on Wednesday
Scrutiny for Price
Off-field conduct called into question by Moore
By GREG WALLACE
BIRMINGHAM POST-HERALD
When University of Alabama officials searched for a new head football coach last December, personal character played a major role in their decision.
Ultimately, they settled on Washington State University head coach Mike Price, a decision that was lauded by many observers as a public relations coup.
Jacquelyn Martin/Post-Herald
Former Washington State football coach Mike Price gestures during the press conference where he was announced as the new coach at Alabama.
Price, 57, is media-friendly, funny and generally regarded as a solid football coach — as his 20 victories over his final two seasons at Washington State attest.
However, questions about Price's off-field conduct since taking the Crimson Tide job have caught the attention of Alabama athletics department leaders. According to the Tuscaloosa News, Price last weeked twice met with UA officials, including Athletic Director Mal Moore to discuss "issues related to Price's public representation of the Alabama athletic department."
The questions center on Price's activities while he was in Pensacola, Fla., two weeks ago for a pro-am golf tournament connected with the Champions Tour's Emerald Coast Classic.
Price had no comment on the matter Monday; calls to Moore's Tuscaloosa residence and to several University of Alabama Board of Trustees members were not returned.
Price told the Mobile Register Sunday that he would "make a statement at some time, but not now."
When Price was hired to replace Dennis Franchione in December, Moore spoke highly of him.
"We've got a couple of tough years ahead of us," Moore said at the time. "We needed to have someone that recognizes and understands that and will work through it as hard as they can. I think this guy will.
"I think he will bring a lot to this program and to our fans and to the people of this state. They'll love him."
Price is expected to be in Birmingham this afternoon, attending a pairings party connected with the Bruno's Memorial Classic. Price is scheduled to play in a Wednesday morning pro-am event at Greystone Golf and Country Club, home of this week's Bruno's Memorial Classic.
Whether the meeting with Moore could play a role in Price's contract negotiations is unclear. Price has not yet signed a proposed seven-year, $10 million deal, reportedly due to a conflict over the size and scope of a contract buyout. Price did not have a buyout in his Washington State contract.
If a problem is found that warrants dismissal, some say UA officials conceivably could dismiss Price without paying him a cent.
A long list of off-the-field distractions have rocked the Alabama program since it was placed on probation in 1995.
In 1999, former coach Mike DuBose denied and then admitted to an affair with his secretary, Deborah Gibson.
Gibson filed a sexual harassment suit against DuBose, which was reportedly settled for around $350,000. In turn, DuBose had two years removed from his contract and his salary frozen by the Board of Trustees, a move which was expected to cost him around $350,000 total.
After a rocky start to the 1999 season, the Crimson Tide made a shocking run to the 1999 SEC title, capped off by a 34-7 thrashing of Florida in the SEC Championship. DuBose's contract was extended — but a 3-8 season in 2000 and an impending NCAA investigation cost him his job.
That investigation ultimately chased his successor, Dennis Franchione, out of town.
Franchione reportedly was blindsided by the NCAA's wrath, which became public in February 2002. The NCAA handed Alabama a five-year probation, which included a two-year bowl ban and a 21-scholarship cut over three seasons.
A federal grand jury still is investigating those connected to a Memphis recruiting scandal, including disassociated UA booster Logan Young. Former Trezevant High School football coach Lynn Lang, who has said he received $150,000 from Young in exchange for star defensive lineman Albert Means' signature on an Alabama letter of intent, is expected to be sentenced soon for his involvement in the case.
Lang pleaded guilty to one count of racketeering in November; he and former assistant Milton Kirk are cooperating with the federal authorities' ongoing investigation.
The NCAA also is keeping its investigation open; more penalties could face the program if new violations are uncovered and corroborated.
Franchione recently told ESPN.com that he accepted the job at Texas A&M in December partially because of the ongoing Memphis investigation's continuing effect on recruiting and the program itself.
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Price learns how short his leash is at Alabama
Commentary by RAY MELICK
BIRMINGHAM POST-HERALD
The rumors about Alabama Coach Mike Price didn't just start last week. Or last month.
In fact, almost since the day Price moved to Tuscaloosa, the stories started circulating about his being seen in this club or that bar or this restaurant, being the life of the party.
According to sources close to the athletics department, University of Alabama Athletics Director Mal Moore had at least one meeting with Price, asking him to be more discreet — a meeting, so the story goes, that Price left in a very unhappy mood.
After all, Price was hired to coach football at the University of Alabama, right? And as long as his off-hours entertainment didn't interfere with his doing his job, what right did anyone have to tell him how to live?
Talk to people in Pullman. They say Price was a regular on the bar scene up there. Run the current Mike Price rumors by people in his last home town, and they're not surprised.
"But never in football season," said one Pullman resident who followed Price closely. "And up here, nobody really cared beyond that."
Down here, where football is 24 hours a day, 365 days a year, people do care.
That's what no coach who becomes Alabama's head football coach is ever ready for. Dennis Franchione wasn't. Mike DuBose, who should have known better, wasn't. Gene Stallings wasn't either (although he handled it better than any, almost relishing the attention). Bill Curry wasn't prepared.
It might not be fair. It might not be right. It may be an intrusion into what little privacy the head coach at a major Southern football institution might have.
But this is the way it is.
The contract Price is still trying to negotiate with the University of Alabama spells it out. Franchione's contract had what could be called a "morals' clause," the result of DuBose's indiscretion. Most coaching contracts carry some kind of wording that insist that the head coach provide "positive representation of the university and the university's athletics programs in private and public."
Ironic, isn't it, that since Price has yet to sign a contract, the school can dismiss him without reason at any time it chooses, owing him nothing.
The story is Price somehow crossed a line last week, at a party held in conjunction with the Emerald Coast Classic golf tournament in Pensacola, Fla.
Apparently the line he crossed surprised even other coaches, former coaches and administrators in attendance — and there were plenty of Southeastern Conference big shots there.
Did Price do anything wrong? Illegal? Immoral? I don't know. I don't know anyone who has been able to tell me for certain what happened.
But whatever happened, Mike Price got a very hard lesson in what it is like to be head coach at the University of Alabama.
Linda Knowles, who was the personal secretary for former Alabama coaches Paul Bryant and Gene Stallings, once told me, "No one has any idea what it's like until they sit in that (head coaches') chair. At Alabama, the head football coach is the example of what you want your children to grow up to be. Our state, in some ways, doesn't have a great past, and Alabama football has been a way for people to have some pride in their state. The head football coach at Alabama became your leader in the state, and it remains that way today, whether you like it or not."
There is no escape. And if you don't like it, then maybe you do what Franchione did — run.
Because in this state, everyone watches. They might be for you, they might be against you, but they know who you are, watch what you do, and always draw their own conclusions, which may be as far from right as Tuscaloosa is from Pullman, Wash.
It makes coaching in this state tougher than just about any college coaching job in the nation. And you can't understand what it's like until you try to live it.
Price chose to live in this fishbowl. He told me this spring that he cares what people think of him, but he's not going to let it affect how he does his job or how he lives his life.
What he didn't understand is that when you are the head football coach at the University of Alabama, the job is your life, and if you can't handle that ...
Maybe Franchione was a lot smarter than we thought.
Ray Melick's column today is a special edition. It usually appears each Monday, Wednesday and Saturday in the Birmingham Post-Herald. Rubin E. Grant's column will appear on Wednesday
