Wearing a blue jacket, the University of Kentucky color, Bill Curry choked back tears and told his Alabama football players he was quitting, apparently to become head coach where the pressure isn't so great.
His announcement Sunday night ended several days of speculation that intensified after he spent two days last week in Lexington, Ky., visiting with Wildcat Athletic Director C.M. Newton and looking at the Kentucky facilities.Curry arrived back in Lexington later Sunday and told WLEX-TV, "We're up here to meet with C.M. and other officials and hammer something out."
Alabama athletic director Hootie Ingram, on the job only a few months, had earlier relayed Curry's decision to reporters and said he hoped to have an Alabama staff in place within a week.
The Crimson Tide coaches, because of uncertainty over Curry's plans, had put recruiting virtually on hold for several days.
Ingram declined to say who he might have in mind to succeed the 46-year-old Curry, whose 1989 team went 10-2 and shared the Southeastern Conference title with Tennessee and archrival Auburn.
However, several names have popped up in recent speculation.
Among them are Louisville's Howard Schnellenberger, an assistant to the late Bear Bryant at Alabama; Richard Williamson, a former Alabama player now on former Alabama coach Ray Perkins' staff with the Tampa Bay Bucs and Jimmy Fuller, offensive line coach at Alabama under Perkins and Curry and a player under Bryant.
Schnellenberger said Sunday night that he wouldn't be interested in the job.
Ingram said that Curry, whose record was 26-10, "did a great job under difficult circumstances."
But Crimson Tide fans were unhappy Curry was hired almost exactly three years ago, because he had no Alabama ties and because in seven seasons at Georgia Tech he had never defeated Auburn. He also failed to beat Auburn at Alabama.
Curry, SEC Coach of the Year, recently was offered a three-year extension of his Alabama contract, which had two years to go, but left it lying on the table while he talked to Newton.
Then Curry pondered whether to remain at Alabama, where he had been subjected to a brick thrown through his office window after one loss, and to some hate mail and harsh criticism.