Mike DuBose Mike DuBose ( born January 5 , 1953 ) is a former University of Alabama football player and a former defensive line coach for the Memphis Tigers . DuBose came to Memphis from Millsaps College , where he was the Majors ' head coach from 2006 to 2009 . He resurrected the school ' s struggling football program by winning outright or sharing a conference title in each of his four seasons there . DuBose is best known for his four year stint as the head football coach at his alma mater , the University of Alabama , where he led the Crimson Tide to an SEC championship in 1999 . Prior to coaching , DuBose played for Alabama under legendary coach Paul " Bear " Bryant , where he was a teammate of other noted players such as John and Charley Hannah and Sylvester Croom and was a part of the Crimson Tide ' s 1973 national championship team . Playing career . DuBose was born in Opp , Alabama . He earned four varsity letters as an athlete at Opp High School , before going to the University of Alabama Crimson Tide where he played on the defensive line under head coach Bear Bryant from 1972 to 1974 . The highlight of DuBose ' s career was a performance against the Tennessee Volunteers in which he caused a fumble and had twenty tackles and was named SEC Defensive Lineman of the Week . His career totals included 129 total tackles , eight forced fumbles , and six fumble recoveries . Early coaching career . DuBose ' s coaching career began as a graduate assistant with the Crimson Tide in 1975 . High school coaching career . DuBose was an assistant coach in 1976 and 1977 at Fairhope High School in Alabama . In 1978 and 1979 , he was the head coach as well as athletic director of Prattville High School in Prattville , Alabama . Assistant coaching in college / pros . DuBose began his collegiate coaching career as a defensive line coach at the University of Tennessee at Chattanooga in 1980 . After two years at UTC , he was offered a job on the staff at Southern Mississippi . DuBose wanted to reject the job offer in hopes of working for Bear Bryant at Alabama , but Bryant told DuBose to go for one year and he ' d get a call for a new job the following year ( see Ivan Maisel , " War In Dixie " ) . DuBose went to USM and was the defensive line coach . He was on the opposite sideline of the game that ended Alabama ' s then college record 57 - game home unbeaten streak in November 1982 . Two months later , Bryant died , and DuBose was invited to Alabama as a defensive line coach on the staff of new coach Ray Perkins . He coached the defensive line for four years and followed Perkins to the Tampa Bay Buccaneers for three years , 1987 – 1989 . He returned to Alabama as the defensive line coach under Gene Stallings from 1990 to 1996 , including the Crimson Tide ' s national championship season in 1992 . University of Alabama . On December 9 , 1996 , sixteen days after Stallings announced his retirement , DuBose was named as head coach of Alabama . Slow start . In 1997 , DuBose ' s first season at Alabama , the Crimson Tide won its first two games . However , they soon began feeling the strain of the loss of 30 scholarships as a result of NCAA violations from the Stallings era . They lost seven of the last nine games including their first loss to Kentucky since 1922 , blowout losses at the hands of Tennessee and LSU , and a shocking loss to Louisiana Tech . The 1997 Iron Bowl presented DuBose an opportunity to salvage at least a piece of a lost season , but Alabama lost in a heartbreaker after the Crimson Tide led the game 17 – 15 with less than a minute to go . Faced with a third and a long one and the prospect of having to punt the ball to Auburn if they did not convert , leaving Auburn an opportunity to get into field goal range , the Tide ran a screen pass resulting in a fumble and Auburn recovery that led to the game - winning field goal for the Tigers . Much controversy surrounded the apparent fact that DuBose not only didn ' t call the play , but didn ' t know what play was being run . DuBose reacted by firing four assistants including the ones who called the play , Bruce Arians and Woody McCorvey . The Tide finished with the school ' s worst record since 1957 , the year before Bryant arrived . The following year , 1998 , DuBose led the team to a 7 – 5 record and a berth in the inaugural Music City Bowl against Virginia Tech . The Tide lost with a poor performance on a day with even worse weather , 38 – 7 , and DuBose went back to the drawing board . After pulling off a shocking comeback over LSU in Tiger Stadium , and defeating Auburn in Legion Field , which coincidentally was the last time the Iron Bowl would ever be played at the location , many felt that DuBose was beginning to grow into the job and was on the right path to being a successful head coach . Unfortunately for DuBose and Tide fans , the Music City Bowl showed things were not going as smoothly as hoped . Alleged harassment . In May 1999 , rumor leaked out on the internet that DuBose was accused of having an affair with Deborah Gibson , his secretary . DuBose flatly denied the charges , but three months later reached an out - of - court settlement that paid over $ 300 , 000 out of his own pocket , removed the final two years of his contract ( leaving him without a job after the upcoming 1999 season unless either an extension was granted or a new contract was reached ) , and gave the administration the chance to fire him at any time they desired . SEC champions . After a 2 - 0 start , Louisiana Tech stunned Alabama again , scoring a touchdown on the last play from scrimmage , a 29 - yard pass by Brian Stallworth , who replaced an injured Tim Rattay on the previous play , to complete a shocking upset . Calls for DuBose ' s head reached a fevered pitch , and the administration responded by firing Athletic Director Bob Bockrath . Many Alabama fans and graduates were openly upset when the following week had passed and DuBose was still the head coach . Rumors persisted that DuBose would be fired in the off week of October 9 , 1999 , right after the Tide was expected to be routed by the Florida Gators . However , Alabama suddenly took off behind All - American tailback Shaun Alexander and Outland Trophy winner Chris Samuels , who played left tackle . DuBose pulled the team together and beat Arkansas , then stunned Florida in a 40 - 39 overtime thriller that ended Florida ' s five - year home winning streak and put Alabama back in the top ten . They went the rest of the regular season losing only to Tennessee , 21 - 7 , and earned the right to meet Florida again for the SEC Championship after a dominating fourth quarter in Jordan - Hare Stadium to beat Auburn . Coincidentally , the win over Auburn marked the first time since 1992 that either Alabama or Auburn had won the Iron Bowl in consecutive years , and it was first time Alabama had ever beaten Auburn in Jordan - Hare Stadium . On December 4 , 1999 , Alabama and Florida played a rematch at the Georgia Dome in Atlanta . Florida was expected to return the favor of Alabama ' s October win . The Gators scored in five plays to start the game but never scored the rest of the night . The game was close , 15 - 7 Alabama , until the early fourth quarter when a broken play ran by Freddie Milons , a wide receiver lined up at quarterback , bolted for a 77 - yard touchdown after reversing his field . Two plays later , defensive lineman Reggie Grimes tipped , intercepted , and scored a touchdown on a pass from Jesse Palmer . The final score was Alabama 34 , Florida 7 . After the game , the two years removed from DuBose ' s contract after the Gibson settlement were restored . This angered some Alabama fans and alumni , some of whom believed he should have been fired in the first place . Alabama then faced Michigan in the Orange Bowl where the Tide lost 35 - 34 on a missed PAT in the first overtime . Alabama ended the year ranked 8th in both major polls , its first top - 10 finish in five years . For the Tide ' s 10 – 3 performance , DuBose was named SEC Coach of the Year . The 2000 debacle and firing / resignation . Alabama came into the 2000 regular season with very high expectations . The Tide was ranked third in the country in the pre - season polls , and many thought that Alabama was , as a result of the previous year ' s success and highly - rated recruiting classes , about to re - establish itself as one of the nation ' s elite programs . The Crimson Tide opened the 2000 season in Los Angeles against UCLA and the national title hopes were quickly shattered as Alabama lost in a stunning upset , 35 - 24 . After a lackluster win against Vanderbilt the following week , the Tide played a miserable game against Southern Mississippi and lost , 21 – 0 . DuBose offered his resignation to Athletic Director Mal Moore after the game , but Moore refused it . After a controversial loss to Arkansas - where two disputed calls kept alive the Razorbacks ' game - winning drive - the Tide rebounded to beat South Carolina and Ole Miss to raise its record to 3 - 3 . As it turned out , the 45 - 7 thumping of Ole Miss was the last game DuBose would win . Things reached a nadir on October 28 , 2000 , when the Tide lost to underdog Central Florida at home , 40 - 38 . On the Tuesday after the game , the announcement was made that DuBose would be gone at the end of the year . The 2000 season ended disastrously as Alabama lost a close contest to LSU in Tiger Stadium , thus ending the 31 - year winning streak over the Bayou Bengals in their home stadium , was dominated in Starkville by Mississippi State , and was shut out 9 - 0 by Auburn in the Iron Bowl on a miserable day in which Tuscaloosa had sleet and snow in the first installment of the rivalry played on the Alabama campus since 1901 . Years later , DuBose said that he never talked with Stallings after becoming Alabama ' s coach , a decision he still regrets . After a long coaching search in which Butch Davis , Frank Beamer , Tommy Bowden , and others were considered for the job , Alabama Athletics Director Mal Moore hired Dennis Franchione to replace DuBose . Unfortunately for Alabama , the effects of the DuBose era would not dissipate so quickly . The NCAA would , shortly thereafter , begin investigating the recruitment of Albert Means , a star defensive lineman recruited out of Memphis , Tennessee . Although DuBose was not implicated in any wrongdoing , Alabama was nevertheless hammered for the violations that occurred on his watch , which included a loss of 21 scholarships over three years , a two - year bowl ban , and five years of probation . After Alabama . After a brief respite from coaching , DuBose was hired as head coach of the Northview High School football program in Dothan , Alabama . During his only year there in 2002 , the team had an 0 - 10 record . After leaving Northview , DuBose was named head coach of the Luverne High School football program in Luverne , Alabama in 2003 . During his two seasons at Luverne , 2003 and 2004 , he led the Tigers to a 20 - 7 record and the 2003 state runner - up in the 2 - A classification . In the 2 - A state championship game at Legion Field , the Tigers lost a heartbreaker to Randolph County , who was led to victory on the heels of Ezekiel Knight ' s 31 - yard touchdown run , and 77 - yard punt return for a touchdown . Weeks later , Knight would sign a letter of intent to play for Alabama . Millsaps . In 2005 , DuBose became the defensive coordinator for the Millsaps College Majors . In his first season at Millsaps , the team struggled to a 2 - 7 record . After the 2005 season , DuBose became the Majors ' head coach . 2006 . In his first season as head coach , Millsaps shocked the SCAC by finishing undefeated in conference play and earning the conference ' s automatic playoff bid for the first time since 1975 . DuBose was named the SCAC ' s 2006 coach of the year for engineering the Majors ' remarkable turn - around . Sophomore quarterback Juan Joseph was named the league ' s offensive player of the year and Senior wide receiver Chris Jackson was honored as the league ' s special teams player of the year ( and a first team All - American ) for his role as the team ' s return specialist . In all , 20 Majors were named to the All - SCAC first team , second team and honorable mention lists . 2007 . In 2007 , DuBose ' s Majors repeated as conference champions , this time sharing the title with Trinity . However , because Trinity defeated Millsaps head - to - head , with the Tigers winning on the game ' s legendary final play , " The Mississippi Miracle , " it was they , not Millsaps , who received the automatic playoff bid reserved for the SCAC champions . Despite the Majors finishing with the program ' s best win - loss record since 1996 , they failed to receive an at - large bid into the playoffs . As in 2006 , the Majors ' success on the field was reflected in the 2007 all - conference superlatives . Junior Quarterback Juan Joseph was the SCAC ' s offensive player of the year for the second consecutive season , Senior defensive tackle Casey Younger was the league ' s co - defensive player of the year and sophomore return specialist John Milazzo was the SCAC ' s special teams player of the year . In all , 19 Majors were named to the All - SCAC first team , second team and honorable mention lists . 2008 . The 2008 season was DuBose ' s best at Millsaps . His veteran squad finished the season 11 - 1 after an undefeated regular season and captured a third consecutive SCAC crown . Prior to the team ' s season - ending playoff loss to Washington & Jefferson , the 2008 Majors won every game they played by 17 or more points , with just one team completing a game within 20 points of Millsaps . The team climbed to their highest national ranking ever , # 3 , before finishing the season ranked # 12 . Once again , DuBose was named the conference ' s coach of the year and Senior Quarterback Juan Joseph was the SCAC ' s offensive player of the year for the third consecutive season . Sophomore Wide Receiver and return specialist Michael Galatas was named the conference ' s special teams player of the year and freshman Running Back Shane Bowser was the SCAC ' s co - newcomer of the year . In all , 20 Majors were named to the All - SCAC first team , second team and honorable mention lists . 2009 . In 2009 , Millsaps again earned a share of the SCAC championship , giving DuBose and the Majors four conferences titles in as many years . Junior return specialist Michael Galatas was named the SCAC ' s Special Teams Player of the Year for the second consecutive season , the fourth consecutive season the award went to a Millsaps player , and junior linebacker Will Hawkins was the conference ' s Defensive Player of the Year , and a first team All - American . A total of 20 Majors were voted to the all - conference first , second and honorable mention teams . In December , DuBose announced he was leaving Millsaps to join new Memphis coach Larry Porter ' s staff . DuBose ' s tenure ended with 33 victories in four seasons , prior to which the Majors won just 37 games in the 10 years , and DuBose ' s four conference championships came after the Majors had won only two since joining the SCAC in 1989 . Through 43 games , DuBose ' s teams scored more than 37 points per game and allowed just over 17 points per game . DuBose ' s . 767 winning percentage is the highest of any coach in the school ' s history and only Harper Davis , who led Millsaps football for a quarter century from 1964 to 1988 , won more games as the Majors ' head coach . Personal life . DuBose is married to the former Polly Martin of Opp , Alabama . They have two children , a son and a daughter .