1990s Alabama Flashback

By Matt Zeigler

1990s Alabama Flashback: The Stallings Era, explores the Crimson Tide’s return to the top of college football in the early 1990s. As a disciple of the legendary Paul “Bear” Bryant as both a player and coach, Gene Stallings’ discipline, tenacity and football savvy was exactly what the Tide needed to win the 1992 National Championship. In addition to recounting every game that Stallings’ coached from 1990-96, the author also chronicles Alabama’s All-Century Team; which included some of the greatest football players of all time.

• Language: English
• Publisher: Matt Zeigler
• Release date: Jan 25, 2016
• ISBN: 9781310244568

Matt Zeigler

Former Marine Matt Zeigler worked eight years as a writer and photojournalist in the newspaper industry before embarking on an author's path. During the 1990s he traveled extensively throughout the Southeast covering the greatest athletes of American sports. Zeigler, a 1993 graduate of Troy University, has also published College Football Schemes and Techniques; Wild Alabama; Wild Alabama: Winter Haven; Wild Alabama: The American Robin; Sports Shooter: A Photographer's Story; and 1990s NFL Flashback.

Book preview

The University of Alabama has fielded football teams for more than a century. Total dedication and a never ending drive for success has produced almost 900 victories and 16 National Championships. Alabama Football’s origin in 1892 immediately claimed the loyalty of the state.

It eventually became the pride of Southern society and then captured the admiration and respect of the nation. Alabama long ago outgrew itself as just a sports team. It became the most dominant factor in the state for uniting its citizens. It brings together diverse groups of people for a single cause more passionately than high school or pro sports, politics, education, or even religion.

However, in early January 1990 the Alabama football program was in turmoil. Despite the end of a successful 10-2 season, complete with a share of the Southeastern Conference Championship and a Top 10 finish in national polls, the Tide was low.

Head Coach Bill Curry had resigned to take over at Kentucky, even though he was a winner at Alabama. In three years Curry went 7-5, 9-3 and 10-2, but his winning record wasn’t enough for some ‘Bama faithful. The main reason Curry never totally fit in at Alabama was his status as a Georgia Tech alumnus and former head coach. Tech and UA went ‘way back’ as the saying goes. They were old rivals with a heated feud that boiled over in 1961 when an Alabama player broke the jaw of a Yellow Jacket with a vicious but clean hit.

Accusations of football brutality followed and ill feelings still survived into the mid 1980s when Curry was selected to replace Ray Perkins. As successor to the legendary Paul Bear Bryant, Perkins went 32-15-1 from ‘83-86; after Bryant had won 232 games and six National Championships from 1958-82. At Alabama, Maryland, Kentucky and Texas A&M Bryant won 323 games overall; the most victories ever when he retired.

Curry’s departure led to the hiring of Eugene Clifton Stallings on January 11, 1990. Gene ‘Bebes’ Stallings was a Texas native and Bryant disciple. He played for him at Texas A&M and was an assistant coach at UA with the Bear from 1958-64. He was head coach at A&M from ‘65-71, and then was an NFL assistant with the Dallas Cowboys (‘72-85), and head coach of the St. Louis/Phoenix Cardinals from ‘86-89.

Stallings’ overall losing record as a head coach was questioned by some, but he was highly qualified for the job. He was a thoroughly experienced coach and a man of high character and integrity. Stallings may have been from the ‘old school,’ but just like his mentor he knew how to motivate and get the best out of young, modern athletes. And he earned their love, admiration and respect along the way, just like Bryant. Stallings’ tenure with Bryant was a major factor in getting the Alabama job, but to remain at the helm he would have to be a big winner for the Crimson Tide.

As a player Stallings was an All-Southwest Conference end at Texas A&M, and a captain on its undefeated 9-0-1 conference champs of 1956. This came after enduring a brutal training camp in Junction, Texas, during Bryant’s first season at A&M in ’54. Junction featured long, tough practices in the blistering Texas heat with absolutely no mercy, or even water breaks. But the heat and lack of hydration was no match for a young Bear that was on the prowl. After enduring a 1-9 season in ‘54, the Aggies turned it around to 7-2 in 1955 before becoming conference champions in ‘56, and going 8-3 in ‘57.

After surviving not only Junction but Bryant’s only losing season as a head coach, Stallings knew how to handle adversity, a must in becoming a champion. Coaching is easy when you’re up by 35 points late in the fourth quarter. But when you’re down six with less than two minutes left, the head coach can be the difference between winning, or second-guessing a controversial fourth-down decision on Monday morning.

When his playing career was over Stallings served as a graduate assistant with Bryant at A&M for a season, and was on board full-time when Bryant returned to UA in 1958. Alabama won two National Championships in ‘61 and ‘64 before Stallings left to take over as head coach at A&M in ‘65. With the Vietnam War and various social revolutions rocking the nation, the mid-to late ‘60s were a tough time for any coach, much less a young head coach such as Stallings, who was in his early thirties. Despite the odds he did put together an 8-4 Southwest Conference championship team in 1967, capped with a 20-16 win over Alabama and his mentor in the Cotton Bowl.

After leaving A&M in ’71 Stallings’ move to the pro ranks as an assistant and came under the guidance of another football legend: Dallas Cowboys Head Coach Tom Landry. In addition to a balanced offensive attack, Landry developed defensive juggernauts. And his innovative ‘flex’ defense revolutionized the game. Stallings coached the secondary at Dallas and if it’s true that defense wins championships, Alabama had definitely hired a winner in Stallings. In addition to his success with the Cowboys, which included winning the ‘78 Super Bowl, as head coach of the Cardinals from ’86-89 his teams ranked near the top of the NFL in total defense.

With over 30 years of coaching experience before his arrival in T-Town, Stallings knew his football. He also knew football players. Talent alone doesn’t make players perform at a high level. It takes excellent coaching to not only strategize and teach players how to execute, but to motivate them to a higher level of performance. After getting the most out of rich pro athletes for two decades, Stallings was more than ready for the collegians.

Chapter 2 1990

Entering spring drills in 1990 there were plenty of All-SEC caliber players left over from the Curry regime for Stallings and staff to build upon. His assistants included former Bryant players Mike DuBose, Jim Fuller, Mal Moore and Bill Brother Oliver. Stallings also had a strong core of assistants from outside the ‘family,’ including Ellis Johnson, an alumnus of The Citadel, Larry Kirksey (Eastern Kentucky) and Woody McCorvey, an alumnus of Alabama State.

Senior Gary Hollingsworth had emerged from his backup role and developed into an All-SEC quarterback in ‘89. He threw for 2,379 yards and 14 touchdowns on the year, setting several UA records in the process. Tight end Lamonde Russell had pass-catching ability on par with the great Ozzie Newsome. Russell had led the Tide in ’89 with 51 receptions for 622 yards, earning All-SEC and second team All-American honors.

Lined-up behind Hollingsworth in the backfield were All-SEC tailback Siran Stacy and versatile fullback Kevin Turner. Stacy was a slasher