Alabama's hiring of Mike Shula reeked of desperation.

Coach Dennis Franchione had abandoned the Tide months earlier in favor of the Texas A&M job. His replacement, Mike Price, had embarrassed the Tide in favor of questionable social activities.

When Price was fired in May of 2003, the Tide's coaching search resembled a Hail Mary pass. It threw deep and hoped to get lucky.

Maybe it did.

I didn't think so at the time. In fact, I thought it was one of the worst hires in SEC history.

Even Florida's hiring of Ron Zook looked better on paper. At least, Zook had experience as a college recruiter.

Shula's only experience with college recruiting was as a high school quarterback. He signed with Alabama and started for three seasons.

A lot of players start for three seasons at Alabama. But the Tide didn't consider them as headcoaching candidates.

Aside from having played quarterback at Alabama, what else did Don Shula's son have going for him?

Answer: He had good looks and good genes.

If you were looking for looks, Brad Pitt was more qualified. He could act like a college football coach.

If you wanted to hire the son of a famous coach, you could have gone after one of Bobby Bowden's boys. There are plenty to choose from, and they've all got college coaching experience.

Instead, the Tide chose Shula, a quarterbacks coach with the Miami Dolphins. It could have done that well by calling 911 and saying, "Send a coach to Bryant-Denny Stadium as fast as possible; this is an emergency."

The job Shula accepted would have been daunting for an established college coach. Alabama was on NCAA probation. The upcoming season was only a few months away. Whomever Alabama hired was set up for failure.

Shula hasn't failed. He not only has far exceeded the expectations of critics, he probably has surprised those who hired him.

His first team was 4-9, his second was 6-6, and his third is 7-0 after a 6-3 victory over Tennessee on Saturday afternoon. He accomplished that improvement under the worst of circumstances.

He didn't have a spring practice with his first team. He lost his starting backfield, including star quarterback Brodie Croyle, to injuries in his second season.

Nonetheless, when Shula's teams lost, they didn't lose as badly as you might have expected. In his second game, the Tide lost by only seven points to Oklahoma, which later played LSU for the national championship. An aberration? Maybe. But last year, Alabama lost to unbeaten Auburn by eight points and to SEC East champion UT by four.

Veteran Alabama players linebacker DeMeco Ryans and Ramzee Robinson were asked last week about Shula's role in the team's success. Each one talked about how he was unshaken during the worst of times, about how he didn't get down on the players or himself.

The adversity has worked for Shula in another way. He took over the program when expectations were at low ebb and he was able to learn on the job. Judging by the program's improvement, he has learned quickly.

Most of the key players on this team were recruited by other coaches. So it's too early to tell how Shula will fare long-term. But when he was hired, I didn't think there would be a "long term."

No matter what happens the rest of the season, Shula has distinguished himself by leading the Tide through one of the darkest periods in its history.