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Newsome will return to Alabama
06/29/03
Ozzie Newsome became a Hall of Fame tight end in Cleveland and won a Super Bowl as general manager in Baltimore.
But when he says, "We have some work to do" and "We have a lot to be proud of," he's not talking about the Browns or the Ravens.
Even after 25 years as a pro football legend, Newsome is still an Alabamian at heart. More specifically, he is as emotionally tied as ever to his alma mater and the Crimson Tide football program.
Before too long, Newsome's lifetime passion for Alabama may no longer be a long-distance love affair.
"There will come a time when I'll be ready to leave pro football, maybe after we win two more Super Bowls," said Newsome, who was in Mobile last week to accept an award at the United States Sports Academy while vacationing in the hometown of his wife.
"At some point, I will walk away from the NFL and go back to work in an official capacity at the University of Alabama."
On the scale of good news for Crimson Tide fans, this revelation should fall somewhere between "Tennessee is being investigated by the NCAA" and "Ed McMahon is asking directions to your house."
Newsome is not only smart, he is well-connected in the sports and business worlds, equally comfortable in the White House or a white trailer, able to communicate with athletes as well as the people who control the money, and he is one of Bear's Boys.
The only way he could be a better fit in Tuscaloosa these days is if he had a couple of years of eligibility remaining.
Newsome would have made a great coach at Alabama, except that he has long since given up the idea of coaching.
"I'm not even going to coach my 11-year-old son's team," he laughs.
What Newsome is perfectly suited to become is Alabama's next director of athletics.
Although his friendship of almost 30 years with Mal Moore won't allow him to discuss that position specifically, it's hard to imagine a Super Bowl champion general manager in any less of a position.
It's just as hard to imagine anyone more perfectly qualified for a job.
Newsome admits he has been contacted about returning to Alabama in some capacity.
"No, Mama didn't call," Newsome answers before the question can be asked. "But a lot of other people have called, and that's flattering. Alabama is one of the top jobs in the country.
"But nobody should read into that that I'm ready to leave the NFL right now. We've got more Super Bowls to win. But I would think that in the next four or five years I'll be ready."
Maybe by then, the story of Newsome's hiring won't be that Alabama has hired the first black athletics director in SEC history.
One of the other 11 SEC universities will have a chance to break down the color barrier between now and then.
Even if Newsome is the first top-ranking black administrator in an SEC athletic program, his race should be buried deep in the story. Because even though Newsome is a respected member of the NFL Workplace Diversity Committee, he would seem to be the last person to encourage a university or NFL team to hire based on race.
In fact, while Jesse Jackson was in Alabama protesting the university's hiring procedures, Newsome was in close contact with Moore providing whatever information he could on the candidates.
"Our enemies at Alabama are in Starkville and Knoxville and Baton Rouge and definitely in Auburn," Newsome said. "Our enemies are not each other in Tuscaloosa. As a family, we can do anything."
The point is, Alabama doesn't need a black man as athletics director. What it needs is Ozzie Newsome.
(Randy Kennedy's column appears every Sunday in the Mobile Register. Contact him at rkennedy@mobileregister.com or 251-219-5689.)
Newsome will return to Alabama
06/29/03
Ozzie Newsome became a Hall of Fame tight end in Cleveland and won a Super Bowl as general manager in Baltimore.
But when he says, "We have some work to do" and "We have a lot to be proud of," he's not talking about the Browns or the Ravens.
Even after 25 years as a pro football legend, Newsome is still an Alabamian at heart. More specifically, he is as emotionally tied as ever to his alma mater and the Crimson Tide football program.
Before too long, Newsome's lifetime passion for Alabama may no longer be a long-distance love affair.
"There will come a time when I'll be ready to leave pro football, maybe after we win two more Super Bowls," said Newsome, who was in Mobile last week to accept an award at the United States Sports Academy while vacationing in the hometown of his wife.
"At some point, I will walk away from the NFL and go back to work in an official capacity at the University of Alabama."
On the scale of good news for Crimson Tide fans, this revelation should fall somewhere between "Tennessee is being investigated by the NCAA" and "Ed McMahon is asking directions to your house."
Newsome is not only smart, he is well-connected in the sports and business worlds, equally comfortable in the White House or a white trailer, able to communicate with athletes as well as the people who control the money, and he is one of Bear's Boys.
The only way he could be a better fit in Tuscaloosa these days is if he had a couple of years of eligibility remaining.
Newsome would have made a great coach at Alabama, except that he has long since given up the idea of coaching.
"I'm not even going to coach my 11-year-old son's team," he laughs.
What Newsome is perfectly suited to become is Alabama's next director of athletics.
Although his friendship of almost 30 years with Mal Moore won't allow him to discuss that position specifically, it's hard to imagine a Super Bowl champion general manager in any less of a position.
It's just as hard to imagine anyone more perfectly qualified for a job.
Newsome admits he has been contacted about returning to Alabama in some capacity.
"No, Mama didn't call," Newsome answers before the question can be asked. "But a lot of other people have called, and that's flattering. Alabama is one of the top jobs in the country.
"But nobody should read into that that I'm ready to leave the NFL right now. We've got more Super Bowls to win. But I would think that in the next four or five years I'll be ready."
Maybe by then, the story of Newsome's hiring won't be that Alabama has hired the first black athletics director in SEC history.
One of the other 11 SEC universities will have a chance to break down the color barrier between now and then.
Even if Newsome is the first top-ranking black administrator in an SEC athletic program, his race should be buried deep in the story. Because even though Newsome is a respected member of the NFL Workplace Diversity Committee, he would seem to be the last person to encourage a university or NFL team to hire based on race.
In fact, while Jesse Jackson was in Alabama protesting the university's hiring procedures, Newsome was in close contact with Moore providing whatever information he could on the candidates.
"Our enemies at Alabama are in Starkville and Knoxville and Baton Rouge and definitely in Auburn," Newsome said. "Our enemies are not each other in Tuscaloosa. As a family, we can do anything."
The point is, Alabama doesn't need a black man as athletics director. What it needs is Ozzie Newsome.
(Randy Kennedy's column appears every Sunday in the Mobile Register. Contact him at rkennedy@mobileregister.com or 251-219-5689.)