'Coach Stagg is the Babe Ruth of college football. To me, he is on a pedestal. You can't compare what he did years ago with football of today.' -- Alabama Coach Bear Bryant, who is nine victories away from breaking Amos Alonzo Stagg's career record of 314.
Bear Bryant says all the hoopla over his chase of Amos Alonzo Stagg's record of 314 career victories 'bores the hell out of me.'
The gravel-voiced Bryant, practically a god in these parts, is only nine victories away from a record once considered untouchable.
But just as Hank Aaron shattered Babe Ruth's all-time home run standard, Bryant is expected to eclipse Stagg's record this season. It will take nine victories to do it, but less than nine wins is a subpar year for the Bear and his Alabama Crimson Tide.
Bryant found himself and his red-clad football machine overshadowed last year by neighboring Vince Dooley and his Georgia Bulldogs. Herschel Walker took most of the Southern football ink, but even the rising sophomore won't be able to compete with Bear's quest for the record book.
It took Stagg 57 years to win 314 games. Bryant is knocking on his door in his 37th season. To be fair, however, it must be noted that Stagg's teams didn't get a chance to play 12 games a year as Bryant's do.
The 67-year-old coaching legend in the houndstooth hat is characteristically low-key about what he almost surely will accomplish.
'Everybody has been talking about this record except me,' Bryant growled during an interview in his memento-filled Tuscaloosa office. 'I'm tired of talking about it. The more that people talk about it, the more it helps the other teams beat us.'
Talk hasn't helped Bryant's opponents much in the past. During his career at Maryland, Kentucky, Texas A&M and Alabama, the Bear has compiled an amazing 306-79-15 record.
'All this talk about Bryant closing in on this record or that record bores the hell out of me,' said the Bear. 'We aren't playing to set records. We are just playing to win games. That's what matters.
'Players go out there and win the games, not coaches. They're not out there playing for me, Paul Bryant. They play for their parents, their sweethearts and the University of Alabama.'
Even though Bryant won't discuss the record that could come as early as Oct. 31 against Mississippi State, he did reflect on the coach his name might replace as the winningest of all time.
'Coach Stagg is the Babe Ruth of college football,' he said. 'To me, he is on a pedestal. You can't compare what he did years ago with football of today.'
Things were different when Stagg trotted his University of the Pacific team onto the gridiron, said Bryant.
'In those days, he didn't have a large staff. I've heard his wife scouted games for him and both of them mended uniforms,' he said. 'I believe whatever records he had shouldn't be considered broken. It was a completely different game back then.'
Bryant, one of 11 children raised on a small Arkansas farm, played in the first football game he ever saw. Legend has it that he talked a local shoemaker into putting cleats on his only pair of high-top black shoes.
He earned his distinctive nickname in 1931 at age 12 when he wrestled a carnival bear. The bruin won.
Bryant's colorful career faced a crisis in 1969 and 1970. He lost 10 games during those two years, an unpardonable sin by Alabama standards. There was even some talk about replacing Bryant, but the craggy-faced coach was able to change with the times and regain his winning formula.
'I spent too much time in my (coaching) tower,' Bryant recalled. 'I had become too dependent on my assistants and too many of my better assistants had been lured away by head coaching jobs. I decided it was time for me to return to the field.'
It wasn't the only decision he made. During the period, Alabama began recruiting black athletes. In 1971, Bryant went 11-0.
Over the years, Bryant said the game hasn't changed as much as the young men who play it.
'There have been some changes in offense and defense trends over the years, but not all that much has changed,' he said. 'What it takes to win hasn't changed.
'I do think, percentage-wise, that there are fewer players that have the burning desire to play football. I'm not critical of the players who don't. I think, possibly because of television, that they are more knowledgeable and have more interests.'
Bryant said the 1981 version of the Crimson Tide is 'real young, especially on offense,' but that's the typical Bear smokescreen. Alabama doesn't have a Herschel Walker, but the Tide is stocked with quality athletes.
'It's too early to tell,' said Bryant of the prospects for a big year. 'Hell, I still have some players in summer school and I don't know if they will be eligible.
Bryant's age has been the subject of much debate, in, of all places, the Alabama Legislature. Last spring state lawmakers overwhelmingly approved a bill earmarked for Bryant allowing him to keep his job past the mandatory retirement age of 70.
The measure was signed into law by Gov. Fob James, a star halfback for cross-state rival Auburn in the 1950s.
But the law drew the wrath of the Alabama Teacher Retirement Systems Board, which says it will fight the measure in court.
The board contended it wasn't fair to give Bryant special privileges.
Bryant broke his silence, saying the issue had become 'increasingly embarrassing to me.'
'I was unaware that the bill was being introduced in the Legislature last spring and had absolutely nothing to do with it subsequently being passed,' he said.
Bryant said he wants no special treatment. 'I would like to ask that the entire matter be dropped,' he said.
The law still stands, but Bryant came up with another solution to the problem that bypasses the statute.
'If and when I reach retirement age and I still feel like I am capable of coaching and if the university wants me to continue, I would certainly do it for free,' he said.
'Let me try to get ready for the upcoming season and then worry about coaching past the 1983 season when the time arrives. I don't know if I'll be around after that.'
'I think Coach Bryant ought to coach until he's 125,' said one state lawmaker.
'The man is America's folk hero,' said another. 'He's special to the state.'
