Mike DuBose

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Mike DuBose

Michael DuBose (born January 5, 1953, in Opp, Covington County) is a defensive line coach for the University of Memphis and former head coach for the University of Alabama Crimson Tide and the Millsaps College Majors.

Playing career

DuBose earned four varsity letters as an athlete at Opp High School and was recruited by Bear Bryant to play at Alabama. He was a defensive lineman on the 1972, 1973, and 1974 squads, and starred on the 1973 national championship team with John and Charley Hannah and Sylvester Croom.

DuBose earned the right to wear #54, previously worn by his idol, Lee Roy Jordan, during that junior season. He had 20 tackles and forced a critical fumble in the Tide's game against Tennessee that year. For his career he amassed 129 tackles, eight forced fumbles and six fumble recoveries. He returned to the team as a graduate assistant coach in 1975 before accepting an assistant coaching job at Fairhope High School in Baldwin County. He left the University with a bachelor's degree in physical education and a master's in industrial arts.

Early coaching career

After two seasons at Fairhope, DuBose left for the athletic director and football coaching vacancy at Prattville High School outside Montgomery. In 1980 he was hired as a defensive line coach for the University of Tennessee at Chattanooga. He was invited to take the same job at the University of Southern Mississippi, but planned to hold out for an opening with Alabama. Bryant suggested that he take the USM job for a year and wait for a call the following year. He joined the staff that coached the Golden Eagles to a historic 1982 win over Alabama, breaking the Tide's 57-game home winning streak. Bryant retired after that season and was succeeded by Ray Perkins, who invited DuBose to join the staff as a defensive line coach. After four years he followed Perkins to the Tampa Bay Buccaneers. Gene Stallings brought him back to Tuscaloosa in 1990, where he helped coach the 1992 Alabama Crimson Tide football team whose defense embarrassed the Miami Hurricanes in the Sugar Bowl, winning Alabama a 12th national championship.

Alabama

When Stallings retired in December 1996, DuBose was named as his replacement. Beset by scholarship reductions, the 1997 team lost seven of their last nine games, including upsets by Kentucky and Louisiana Tech. A late fumble in the 1997 Iron Bowl gave Auburn the victory. The team's 4-7 record was the worst outing since 1957, the year before Bryant took over the program. DuBose fired four of his assistants, including Bruce Arians and Woody McCorvey.

In 1998 Alabama improved to 7-5, including a comeback victory over LSU in Baton Rouge and a victory in the 1998 Iron Bowl (the last one played at Legion Field). Alabama earned an invitation to the inaugural Music City Bowl in Nashville, Tennessee, but the Tide was routed by Virginia Tech 38-7. Prior to the 1999 season, a rumor surfaced that DuBose was romantically involved with his secretary, Deborah Gibson. He reached a settlement with the University that curtailed his contract in order to avoid a trial. The 1999 team suffered another embarrassing loss to Louisiana Tech. The University fired athletic director Bob Bockrath, but kept DuBose as coach despite an outcry from fans. In October, the Tide pulled off an overtime upset of the Florida Gators and rose to a top-ten ranking. The Tide dominated the fourth quarter of the 1999 Iron Bowl to earn its first victory at Jordan-Hare Stadium and defeated the Gators again 34-7 for the Southeastern Conference championship in Atlanta. DuBose's contract was extended by two years before the 2000 Orange Bowl, which Michigan won 35-34 after Alabama missed an extra point kick in overtime. DuBose was named SEC Coach of the Year.

The 2000 Alabama Crimson Tide football team was expected to build on the successes of the previous year. It began the season ranked #3 but stumbled out of the blocks with a 35-24 loss to UCLA. After losing to Southern Miss in the third game of the season, DuBose offered his resignation to athletic director Mal Moore. The uneven performance of the Tide brought it to a 3-3 record before a stunning loss to Central Florida at Bryant-Denny Stadium. The following Tuesday, the announcement came that DuBose would not return. The Tide went on to lose to LSU, Mississippi State before suffering a 9-0 shutout to Auburn in the 2000 Iron Bowl, the first played in Tuscaloosa since 1901. He was succeeded by Dennis Franchione.

DuBose's shaky legacy at Alabama was further eroded when the NCAA began investigating the recruitment of defensive lineman Albert Means. The head coach was not personally implicated in the NCAA's findings, but the program was penalized by the loss of 21 scholarships over three years, a two year bowl ban, and five years' probation.

Later coaching career

In 2002, DuBose was hired as head coach for 6A Northview High School in Dothan (Houston County). His squad went 0-10 and DuBose left to take the head coaching job at 2A Luverne High School in Crenshaw County. Over the next two years he led the Tigers to a 20-7 record and to the Super Six, where they finished as runners-up in the 2003 2A championship at Legion Field.

In 2005 DuBose was hired as the defensive coordinator for the Division III Millsaps College Majors in Jackson, Mississippi. He succeeded former Auburn lineman David Saunders as head coach the following year. DuBose found success in his first season, going undefeated in Southern Collegiate Athletic Conference play before losing in the first round of the Division III playoffs. He was named the SCAC's coach of the year. The Majors nearly repeated as conference champions in 2007, losing its head-to-head matchup with Trinity College on the final play of the game — a 60-yard desperation touchdown which included 15 lateral passes, now enshrined in college football history as "The Mississippi Miracle" (video)

DuBose's 2008 Majors team went undefeated in the regular season and recaptured the SCAC championship, reaching #3 in Division III before losing a second-round playoff game to Washington and Jefferson. DuBose was again named coach of the year. In 2009 the Majors lost their opener in double overtime but recovered to finish with a 7-3 record after defeating Birmingham-Southern at home, claiming a share of the SCAC title.

After the season, DuBose accepted a job as defensive line coach for the Division I Memphis Tigers. In his first year the Tigers when 1-11 with no wins in Conference USA.

DuBose is married to the former Polly Ann Martin and has two children, Julie Ann and Mike, Jr.

Preceded by:
Gene Stallings
University of Alabama Head Football Coach
1997–2000
Succeeded by:
Dennis Franchione

References

External links