In perhaps an all-time low for a program that still can't shake the shadow of Bear Bryant, the University of Alabama has fired new football coach Mike Price for not living his "personal and professional life in a manner consistent with university policies." Specifically, Price allegedly spent lots of money at a topless bar during a trip to Florida for a golf pro-am, and allegedly the next day allowed an unnamed woman to order about $1000 of room service from his room.

Price came from Washington State (Oklahoma's opponent in the 2003 Rose Bowl) after Dennis Franchione, who swore he would stay at Alabama most of his career, bolted to take the Texas A&M job without even telling his players "goodbye." That was a particularly cowardly move since he'd spent most of the past two years convincing those same players not to transfer away from 'Bama even though the school was on probation for the misconduct of the previous coach, Mike DuBose.

Stewart Mandel explains why this is a low point for the Tide, noting that the university tolerates a lot more misconduct from "Bear's boys" than it does from "outsiders" like Price, who was fired over the objections of the team for offenses that, in most schools, would barely register on the news. Alabama's motto seems to be that a coach must be perfect, tied to Bear Bryant, or gone. With Bryant now dead 20 years, that leaves the school few options. Good luck to Alabama on their expected descent to mediocrity for the 2003 season.