Alabama football coaching history: Exploring the names behind the success of the Crimson Tide

The Alabama Crimson Tide has been a part of the college football scene since 1892.

Over the years, fans in Tuscaloosa have had various eras under different coaches who led the program to glory and success. There have been 28 coaches for Alabama, including the most recent hiring of Kalen DeBoer, who replaced the retired Nick Saban.

Many Alabama fans know the way Saban changed the fortunes of the program during his 17-year stint. On that note, let's take a look at the football coaching history of the Crimson Tide, right from its inception in 1892, along with the coaches who went on to win national titles.

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Alabama football coaching history

E.B. Beaumont (1892)

The first-ever coach of the Crimson Tide football during their inaugural season was E.B Beaumont.

He was a University of Pennsylvania alumnus who spent one season in Tuscaloosa before being fired. His knowledge of the game of football was limited, which is why he was fired, according to the University of Alabama's Yearbook.

Beaumont expired on Oct. 20, 1934.

Eli Abbott (1893-95, 1902)

Beaumont was replaced by Abbott in 1893. He attended the University of Alabama and played tackle during their inaugural season in 1892.

Abbott served as the Crimson Tide from 1893 to 1895. He also served for one more season in 1902 and compiled an overall 7-13 record. He expired on Feb. 13, 1943.

The next few years saw different coaches take on the job but did not achieve anything major. Here's a list of the coaches from 1896 to 1922 until the era of Wallace Wade, who led the Crimson Tide to their first National Championship in 1925.

Name	Seasons	Record
Otto Wagonhurst	1896	2-1-0
Allen McCants	1897	1-0-0
W.A. Martin	1899	3-1-0
Malcolm Griffin	1900	2-3-0
M.S. Harvey	1901	2-1-2
W.B. Blount	1903-04	10-7-0
Jack Leavenworth	1905	6-4-0
J.W.H Pollard	1906-09	21-4-5
Guy Lowman	1910	4-4-0
D.V. Graves	1911-14	21-12-3
Thomas Kelley	1915-1917	17-7-1
Xen Scott	1919-22	29-9-3

Wallace Wade (1923-30)

Wade was the first coach of the Crimson Tide who led the program to national recognition and success.

After serving as an assistant for Vanderbilt, Wade was hired as the coach in Tuscaloosa in 1923. He spent seven years, during which he won three national championships with the Crimson Tide as members of the Southern Conference.

Wade led Alabama to their first national championship in 1925 with a 10-0 unbeaten record.

Alabama beat Washington 20-19 in the Rose Bowl to be crowned the national champions. The next season, Wade once again led them to an unbeaten campaign, where they emerged as national champions after a 7-7 tie with Stanford in the Rose Bowl game.

Wade won his third natty in 1930, after which he joined the Duke Blue Devils as their coach in 1931. He was inducted into the College Football Hall Of Fame in 1955. Wade expired on Oct. 6, 1986.

Frank Thomas (1931-46)

Wallace Wade was replaced by Frank Thomas in 1931. Under him, the Crimson Tide transitioned from the Southern Conference to the SEC in 1933. Thomas also enjoyed success with Alabama in the SEC during his 15-year stint.

Under Thomas, Crimson won national championships in 1934, 1941 and 1945. However, Alabama was recognized as the national champion in 1941 by the Houlgate System, while the Minnesota Golden Gophers were the consensus national champions.

He also won the SEC Coach of the Year in 1945 after leading his team to an unbeaten 10-0 campaign. During his stint in Tuscaloosa, Thomas compiled an impressive record of 115-24-7. He was inducted into the College Football Hall of Fame in 1951. Thomas expired on May 10, 1954.

Harold Drew (1947-54)

Drew was an assistant coach under Thomas from 1931 to 1945. He, however, missed three seasons from 1942 to 1944 after enlisting in the Navy for World War II.

Drew returned to spend one year as the coach of Ole Miss in 1946 before replacing Thomas in Alabama in 1947.

Drew went on to compile a record of 54-28-7 in Tuscaloosa. While he was unsuccessful in leading the Crimson Tide to a natty, he won the SEC Coach of the Year in 1952 before breathing his last on October 20, 1979.

Jennings B. Whitworth (1955-57)

Jennings B. Whitworth took over as the next coach of the Crimson Tide in 1955. However, he did not have a successful tenure, unlike his predecessors.

Under Whitworth, Alabama recorded their last winless season, during his debut campaign in 1955. The Crimson Tide went 0-10 and endured a 14-game losing streak, which got snapped against Mississippi State in the 1956 season.

Whitworth went on to compile a 4-24-4 record in Tuscaloosa before being replaced by the legendary Bear Bryant in 1958.

Bear Bryant (1958-82)

The era of Bear Bryant in Tuscaloosa was a time that would change the fortunes of the Crimson Tide in the long run.

He spent 25 years as the coach of the Crimson Tide and is considered to be one of the greatest football coaches of all time.

Under Bryant, Alabama won six national championships (1961, 1964, 1965, 1973, 1978, 1979) and 13 conference titles.

He made the Crimson Tide one of the most powerful teams in college football and helped establish themselves as a dominant force in the SEC conference. Bryant went on to compile an impressive 232-46-9 record in Tuscaloosa.

He expired on Jan. 26, 1983 and was inducted into the College Football Hall of Fame in 1986.

Bryant was succeeded by Ray Perkins for four seasons (1983-86) followed by Bill Curry for three seasons (1988-89). During this stint, Alabama won just one conference title, in 1989, under Curry.

Gene Stallings (1990-96)

Stallings was originally a defensive assistant under Bryant from 1958 to 1964. After various coaching gigs including in the NFL, Stallings returned to Alabama as the coach in 1990. He spent seven seasons in Tuscaloosa and led the Crimson Tide to the national championship in 1992.

Stallings compiled a 62-25-0 record with the Tide, after which, Alabama had a quiet few years of a national championship drought.

The next coaches after Stallings were Mike DuBose (1997-2000), Dennis Franchione (2001-02), Mike Price (2003), Mike Shula (2003-06) and Joe Kines (2006) after which began the era of Nick Saban.

Nick Saban (2007-2023)

Nick Saban is considered one of the best college football coaches who helped shape the Crimson Tide into what they are known in the modern era. After Bear Bryant, Saban is the only coach to lead Alabama to six national championships.

He made the playoffs for the 2023 season, but the team lost to Michigan in the Rose Bowl semifinal, denying Saban potentially another national championship.

Saban subsequently announced his decision to retire last week after 17 years in Tuscaloosa.

Saban has been replaced by former Washington coach Kalen DeBoer, who led the Huskies to a Pac-12 championship and a natty final against Michigan in 2023.

It will be interesting to see if he's successful in continuing the rich history and tradition of success with the Crimson Tide.

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