Tide Tidbits - December 25, 2008

Tide players spend Christmas at home
The Alabama Crimson Tide gets the best of both worlds: Christmas at home with family and a nice bowl trip. The Tide players got to head home for two or three days before gathering in New Orleans on Dec. 27 to resume practices in New Orleans for the Sugar Bowl. It’s a big improvement from last season when Alabama had to gather for practice on Christmas day in Shreveport, La., for the Independence Bowl. “You have to enjoy anything you’re given but traveling on Christmas Day to a bowl game was probably the worst Christmas present I’ve gotten,” Tide linebacker Cory Reamer said.

Details make the difference for Tech coach Derek Dooley
Dooley, the son of legendary Georgia coach Vince Dooley, spent five seasons at LSU under Nick Saban and another two with the Miami Dolphins with the current Alabama coach. Moffitt said another Dooley trait allowed him to survive long enough to be Saban’s longest tenured assistant when he accepted the Tech job. “His mental toughness and the ability to see long term (helped him). Some people couldn’t deal with that,” Moffitt said. “We had our own little support group. He had grown up where coaching was the norm and he knew that was part of the job. He would take the beatings and keep on ticking. He deserves everything good that comes his way.”

All eyes on new guys in leading the teams
One new Southeastern Conference football coach has won barely one-fifth of his games as a head man. Another managed a 25 percent clip. Still, a third has never been a head coach, and two others are closer to age 30 than 40. The powerhouse football league didn’t go for splashy names like other recent hires Bobby Petrino, Nick Saban and Urban Meyer in its latest sideline shopping spree. This time it’s Gene Chizik, Lane Kiffin and Dan Mullen. It’s hard to imagine any of them drawing 92,000 fans to a spring game like Alabama’s Saban did in his first year.

Roll Tide!