I wasn’t all that surprised when I heard the news yesterday. I was extremely disappointed when I did, however.

Part of me can’t blame him for going. I mean, he’s going to a school that’s offering him 1 1/2 times the amount we’re offering him, has comparable athletic facilities with the promise of upgrades on the way, a fan base as rabid as ours, and doesn’t have the dark specter of probation and the possibility of more sanctions looming over its head. In those respects, it’s almost a no-brainer move.

But the Bama fan in me is miffed for a couple of reasons.

One, probation or not, sanctions or not, this is still the head coaching position at the University of Alabama. And biased though I may be, I think that it is one of the top five coaching positions in the country in terms of prestige, at least when you count those schools that actually get a new coach every now and then (so Penn State and Florida State don’t apply). Texas A&M, good a school as that is, isn’t in that group. Also, this year’s Iron Bowl notwithstanding, this is still the most prestigious program in the state (and some would say the SEC, although recent years have proven it difficult to back that claim up) – A&M has always played second fiddle to Texas in this regard. They’ve made up for it in several ways – mostly through traditions – but the fact of the matter remains: Texas A&M is and always will be the “little brother”. Even if the Longhorns haven’t won a national title since 1970, the Aggies haven’t won one since ’39. In this regard, the move can’t even be considered a lateral one. The only reason that I don’t doubt that he’ll win, and win often, there is because the state is so talent-laden and he’s already shown that he can recruit the state well from what he did at TCU and even with Shaud Williams at Alabama.

But the other one, the one that really makes me mad, the one that everyone else has harped upon and will continue to do so for who knows how long, is the loyalty factor. Let’s face it: when you don’t lose a man even after the opportunity is given to all of them to go to any bowl-eligible program in the country without losing any eligibility of their own, you know that you’ve got a group of kids who really love their school and their team. He said it, and they bought into it full-time. The results, for the most part this year, were wonderful – a 10-3 year, a top-15 ranking and the best record in the SEC West. Except for Auburn, it was just about the most any reasonable Crimson Tide fan could have hoped for. Obviously, loyalty to their team and their teammates went a long way in accomplishing all those wins.

And then the coach doesn’t practice what he preaches (“LOYALTY” is on the title logo of his web site, for crying out loud!). He leaves for greener pastures instead of toughing it out. That says a lot to me about what he thinks loyalty is: a buzzword that comes in handy when his neck is on the line (think about it; if we’d have lost some of our best players and finished, oh, 4-9 this year, that looks awfully bad for the ol’ coach, and he’s not going to get all those schools whispering sweet nothings in his ear, is he?), but doesn’t hold a lot of water when it comes to his own well-being.

Say what you will about hiring someone with ties to the program. Obviously, it can be hit or miss: look at what happened with the coach before this one; but one thing can be said for certain. If Mike Dubose had been in Franchione’s shoes, having had a year where success came out of dire circumstances, you can bet your bottom dollar that he wouldn’t have even thought about leaving for another school. Why? Because he loved Alabama. And that’s something doesn’t apply normally to someone outside of the program. It can happen, but it’s much more difficult to find someone like that.

So just a few thoughts to sum up:

• First, I’m really glad that I didn’t end up going to Texas A&M for graduate school. Now that would have made for an awkward situation.
• Second, despite what I’ve said above, I really do understand why he did what he did. But it makes all of his words ring hollow to me, and I wonder whether or not his new players will buy into what he has to tell them.
• Third, I’ve never been much of a Texas fan. Actually, until now I rooted for A&M against them. But not anymore. Not while he’s there, anyway.
• Fourth, now I think we all know how Ole Miss felt when Tuberville left for Auburn. A&M fans will counter with the thought that now we know how they felt when Bear left them for Bama. It was a completely different situation, though…Bama was his alma mater. “Mama called.” Loyalty to the program, remember?
• Fifth, I don’t know exactly who we’re looking at as our next head coach, but I hope that it’s someone who takes a long-term view of improving the program and who has a commitment to match. Whether it’s someone within the University or not, that needs to be a big factor in the decision.
• And last, and certainly not least, Roll Tide.