- 3 months ago
Bear Bryant and Bobby Dodd are two of the greatest coaches that college football has ever seen. Importantly for us, these legends also shared admiration for one another, which blossomed into a friendship that endured through many years.
"Wait, but this is beef? Why is that lucky?" Well, if you'd let me finish, I'd tell you.
Those good vibes lasted until they were forced to share the SEC. As the Alabama vs. Georgia Tech clashes became more contentious, and things took an abrupt turn in the coaches’ personal relationship, which impacted both on and off the field. From the teams ending their annual matchup to Tech leaving the conference to the coaches not speaking for years and years, this beef left quite a mark.
"Wait, but this is beef? Why is that lucky?" Well, if you'd let me finish, I'd tell you.
Those good vibes lasted until they were forced to share the SEC. As the Alabama vs. Georgia Tech clashes became more contentious, and things took an abrupt turn in the coaches’ personal relationship, which impacted both on and off the field. From the teams ending their annual matchup to Tech leaving the conference to the coaches not speaking for years and years, this beef left quite a mark.
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SportsTranscript
00:00You can't talk about college football without mentioning Bear Bryant and Bobby Dodd.
00:05The two legendary coaches helped mold the game into what it is today, dominating the
00:09sport in the South as they led the University of Alabama and Georgia Tech respectively.
00:14Amidst fierce competition, they built a special bond through mutual respect for their greatness.
00:19But when an intense on-field incident tested their friendship, the two went from idols
00:24to rivals, sparking a nearly decade-long beef.
00:30To understand how two dudes who spoke glowingly about one another for 30 years suddenly stopped
00:34talking, it's essential to know how their differing coaching philosophies influence their relationship.
00:41Bear was a coach who led by fear.
00:44To give you the perfect example of his fierce nature, man's real name ain't even Bear.
00:50His mama named him Paul, but he earned the nickname after wrestling a bear at a carnival for $1.
00:56He had the bear pinned and could have earned a dollar every minute, but adjusted for inflation,
01:01a dollar equals like 18 bucks?
01:04So the guy essentially put his life on the line for an extra protein bowl at Chipotle.
01:10Bear took that moniker and slung bodies around as an all-conference lineman for the University
01:14of Alabama, where on one occasion he played through a partially broken leg.
01:20After graduating, he got his start in coaching as an assistant in his alma mater, but had to
01:25put football aside to serve in World War II.
01:28Postwar, once he got his shot as a head coach, Bear transformed every program he touched with
01:34a no-nonsense, disciplined approach.
01:37If things didn't go to his liking, he let it be known.
01:41He left several schools over disagreements with athletic directors.
01:45When he moved to Texas A&M, he was also appointed to AD, so those types of beefs stopped, but
01:51he still carried his hard-nosed approach and instilled it in his team from the jump.
01:56During the Aggies' first training camp, Bear made his squad practice in grueling 100-degree
02:01weather, banning water.
02:04Nearly 75% of the team quit in 10 days.
02:08Different times, for sure, but Bear got away with his brutal process because he knew how
02:12to win.
02:13And he did a lot of it.
02:16He led A&M to his first conference championship victory in 15 years, and only left the program
02:21because he had the opportunity to return to the Tide.
02:24As coach in AD, Bear fully formed his legacy at Bama, racking up multiple championships, still
02:30leading with an iron fist.
02:32But when he initially returned to his alma mater, Bear joined the Southeastern Conference, which
02:37had been dominated by Bobby Dodd's Georgia Tech Yellow Jackets.
02:41Bobby was a coach who led by praise and care.
02:44As a multi-sport athlete at the University of Tennessee, Dodd dominated the gridiron.
02:49Behind center, Dodd had an incredible gift to read defenses and command the field, which
02:55journalists compared to the great Pooley Hubert.
02:59If I'm keeping it real, this is the 1920s we're talking about, so I'm not very familiar
03:04with Pooley's game.
03:06I just wanted to say that old-timey name.
03:08Pooley.
03:09Anyway, Bobby's incredible feel and high IQ for the game translated perfectly into coaching
03:15when he got his first gig as an assistant at Tech, serving under championship winning
03:19coach William Alexander for 14 years.
03:23Under Alexander, Dodd learned the importance of treating athletes with kindness and implemented
03:28that same philosophy when he took over as head coach.
03:31Unlike the peers of his era who believed grinding players into dust through tough practices equaled
03:36success, his mindset revolved around player health and development.
03:41Believing that hyping his players up, rather than belittling them when they made mistakes
03:45was more impactful.
03:47Dodd did things like host light practice sessions where his team played volleyball in sweats instead
03:52of gearing up in equipment.
03:54Other coaches turned their noses up at his style, but Bear knew Bobby was the only dude
03:59that could get away with such a thing.
04:02Because like Bear, Bobby was a winner.
04:05After being the only coach in history to win six straight major bowl games, adding two SEC
04:10titles along the way, Bear jokingly took credit, saying he sparked Dodd's impressive streak
04:16after his Kentucky Wildcats fell to the Yellow Jackets in the 1951 matchup.
04:22Bear took the L, but said that game was the start of an excellent friendship between the two.
04:27When Bryant returned to the SEC, Dodd had little doubts his buddy would transform a struggling
04:33Alabama program into a contender.
04:35And he was right.
04:37Despite Bama being a heavy underdog with the two coaches to meet during the 58 season,
04:42Bear and the Crimson Tides stole a win on the road, spoiling Tech's homecoming.
04:47Bobby took the loss in stride and congratulated the Bama players and his pal Bear, pointing
04:52to the history they had together.
04:54But other than fiery battles on the field between their teams and friendly jabs in the press,
05:14signs of beef remained dormant.
05:16For three straight seasons, Bear's Crimson Tide packed up the Yellow Jackets, and as they
05:21entered the 61 matchup, journalists believe Dodd had to toughen up his Tech squad to have
05:26a real chance at finally getting a win in the series.
05:30Matching Bama's physicality was sound advice, but no one could have predicted what followed.
05:36In the fourth quarter of a testy 10-0 matchup, Bama's Darwin Holt caught Georgia Tech's
05:42Chick Granning with a nasty elbow and forearm to the face during a punt return.
05:46It's debatable whether the hit occurred pre or post-whistle, but Darwin hit Granning with
05:52an unnecessary force that depleted Granning, even though Bama's punt returner had already
05:57signaled for a fair catch.
06:00Granning had to be helped off the field and later hospitalized, where he was diagnosed
06:04with a laundry list of severe injuries.
06:07The yearly Bama Tech game had become known to be extremely rough, but the Yellow Jacket community
06:13had enough.
06:14Atlanta sports editor Furman Bisher stirred a media frenzy between the two towns, calling
06:19the hit deliberate and characteristic of Bama football under Bryant.
06:24It was a mess that Dodd wanted to avoid, purposely remaining vague to not start a war in the press,
06:29and his coach and AD of Tech said Bama would be hearing from him.
06:34Bair apologized to his old pal after the incident, but seemingly stuck to his guns.
06:40Despite fans and journalists calling for Bair to suspend Holt, Coach Bryan allowed the conference
06:44and media members to review the game tape and stated he wouldn't take any action against
06:49his player.
06:51For two dudes who bragged about their great friendship over the years, I'm sure they were
06:55just one rotary phone call away from putting the issue to rest.
06:58It was later reported that Coach Dodd's message to the Crimson Tide discussed the intentions
07:05of Texas varying ties with Alabama completely.
07:09Remember, both Bryan and Dodd served as AD for their respective program.
07:14So when Bobby wrote a letter to pull the plug on competition with Bama, it wasn't just some
07:18random dude on the other end reading it.
07:21Bair had to see the words of his friend and mentor wanting nothing to do with his program
07:26any longer.
07:27From that point, the two seemingly stopped talking and every public interaction between
07:32them felt forced and awkward as they had a contractual agreement to play each other through
07:371964.
07:39Entering the 62 season, SEC Commissioner Bernie Moore went as far as to warn coaches and officials
07:44to cut out the rough play, which was surely in response to the hospitalization of Grinning.
07:50During the 62 campaign when the two coaches squared off in Atlanta, Tech finally got his first
07:55win over Bryan's squad in a shocking upset, snapping a 27-game win streak for the Tide.
08:02Dodd called the victory the greatest he's ever been associated with.
08:06For Bair, despite seeing his dominant run and win snap, he seemed weirdly fine with the loss.
08:13Post-game, he dished out compliments to Dodd in their locker room, but Bobby in a way had
08:19to remind Bair they weren't boys like that any longer.
08:24On their post-game exchange, Bobby hit Bair with an offhanded comment saying that's the
08:28cleanest game he's ever seen, and Bair responded like an embarrassed toddler telling their parents
08:34they went to bed.
08:36The coach, famously known for his fierceness, looked down at his shoes and farted out a response,
08:41saying it sure was.
08:44The win was massive for Tech, but that game marked the near end of an era.
08:49Not just for the two schools, but for Tech and the conference all together.
08:53For years, Dodd had long opposed the SEC's 140 rule, which allowed member schools to over-recruit
09:00players then cut them come season time to meet the cap of scholarships.
09:04He thought it was extremely unethical to recruit a player simply to test them out and ultimately
09:09withdraw their scholarship if they weren't skilled enough.
09:12Dodd had already made enemies throughout the conference for various reasons, so when he
09:16and Tech President Edwin Harrison threatened to go independent, a January 1964 conference
09:22vote in favor of keeping the recruiting rule forced Tech out of the SEC.
09:27Alabama's vote in support of Dodd would have broken the tie, but with Bryant absent from
09:31the hearing, the Tide voted to keep the current cap on scholarships in the conference.
09:37With Tech out of the SEC, Bear and Bobby no longer competed on the field, but as ADs,
09:42their animosity toward each other was still very clear.
09:46By 1966, Dodd had fully transitioned into his role as Athletic Director, and after an impressive
09:52Yellow Jacket season, he was asked about the possibility of facing Bama if invited to a
09:57bowl game and said his program wouldn't dodge any smoke.
10:02Although, he didn't necessarily seem extremely thrilled by the idea.
10:07Things looked bleak between the legendary coaches and past friends, but in 1970, Bear extended
10:13an olive branch to his homie.
10:16Shockingly, Tech and Bama decided to re-up their athletic relations after a six-year hiatus.
10:22Dodd acknowledged that the two had their issues, but in a conversation sparked by Bryant, they
10:27both agreed to let things cool and at least get back to working together.
10:32Not friends, but colleagues.
10:35Journalists couldn't believe the two antagonists came to the table to get it done.
10:39And as years passed, Bobby saw a world in which Tech could rejoin the SEC, and his biggest
10:45supporter in the effort was Bear.
10:47The conference had since dropped the recruiting rule that Bobby disagreed with, and Bear hoped
10:52he could see the Yellow Jackets back in the conference before he called it quits.
10:56He felt that he had a hand in Dye wanting out in the first place, and made it his mission
11:00to get Tech back in, although other schools were still salty over Dodd's defection.
11:07While Bear's persuasive power was expected to bring in a vote of good faith, Tech was
11:11never allowed back in the SEC.
11:13But one happenstance interaction sparked that idea and changed the course of their relationship
11:18forever.
11:20As a scout for the Green Bay Packers, ESPN columnist and former Tech player under Dodd,
11:25Bill Curry, made a trip down to Tuscaloosa.
11:29While watching practice, Curry got called to the press box by Bear, where they exchanged
11:33pleasantries filled with awkward silence before Bear asked him if he had seen Dodd.
11:39Bear explained that the two were too old for beef, and Bill relayed that message to Bobby.
11:45Dodd agreed and dismissed Bear's idea that Tech would ever get back to the SEC, but felt
11:50they should let bygones be bygones and link up again.
11:54Thanks to that interaction, the two legends packed up their issues and got back to being
11:59boys.
12:00They remained close friends up until Bear died in 1983, and in the passing of the greatest
12:05coach in college football history, Bobby reflected on the relationship with his close friend.
12:10He dropped interesting tidbits about how he and Bear nearly coached together, offering him
12:16a lead assistant gig at Tech, but Bear had already accepted a job at the University of
12:20Maryland the same year.
12:22In his autobiography, Dodd's Luck, Bobby noted that during Tech's defection from the conference,
12:28Bear had agreed to vote alongside Bobby, but Alabama's president overruled that decision.
12:34And while their feud was very real, Bobby thought the granting incident that sparked their beef
12:39was a result of the media making a larger fuss than necessary.
12:43Philosophically, Bobby knew he and Bear were very different people with contrasting coaching
12:48styles, saying he would rather go to boot camp than play football for Bear, but understood
12:53there would never be another coach like him.
12:56Before his passing, Bryant spoke glowingly of Dodd in his autobiography, Bear, The Hard
13:01Life and Good Times of Alabama's Coach Bryant, saying throughout all the coaches he's faced
13:06in his career, he feared Dodd the most when he looked across the sideline.
13:11Dodd would later pass on five years later, marking another giant loss in college football.
13:17Despite their extremely different approaches, Bear and Bobby built a lasting relationship through
13:22their intense battles and their love of the game.
13:25But at a point, those differing outlooks on the sport after a fierce matchup forced them
13:30to hold a grudge against each other for nearly a decade.
13:33When they beefed, they beefed hard.
13:36But thanks to Bill Curry and the power of friendship prevailing, the two titans of the sport put their
13:41issues to the side before it was too late.
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