Over the last couple of decades, more than a few people have suggested Auburn's athletics department has had excessive outside influence from board of trustees members and major boosters. However, according to former Alabama football coach Mike DuBose, the trademark for that method doesn't reside on the Plain.

    In some of his first public comments about his tenure at the Capstone, DuBose told syndicated radio host and columnist Paul Finebaum that nobody knew where the buck stopped in Tuscaloosa and that even the immortal Paul Bryant couldn't have thrived under the current system.

    Note to all concerned: 'Tis the way of the world this day and age.

    It is no secret DuBose wanted to make staff changes prior to his final, disastrous year at Alabama. He was told he couldn't. Some say the failure to allow him to hire and fire whom he chose was what contributed most to the football program landing on probation. Perhaps we will never know the answer to that question.

    But there is no cloak of secrecy about there being outside forces at work at Alabama, nor one of dozens of schools just like it. Does anybody honestly think athletics director Mal Moore would've stumbled onto Dennis Franchione if not for the suggestion of one Lee Roy Jordan? And when you think about the fix Coach Fran left the program in, could there have been a more ill fated hire?

    Many insiders say the influx of former players and boosters into the inner-workings of Alabama football began in 1986, when then-president Joab Thomas went against the will of the Crimson Tide family in hiring Bill Curry. Instead of a still-in-his-prime Bobby Bowden, who has told me on the record that he desperately wanted the job, Thomas, for some strange reason, turned to Curry.

    It was exactly at that point the movers and shakers in the Alabama program vowed not to let decisions be made by poorly informed presidents and athletics directors. Do it our way, they said, or we'll get your job, not to mention hire the guy we want. Whether that mindset has worked is questionable.

    And it's not just Alabama. Twelve months ago, Auburn was splintered to the core over Tommy Tuberville's status. Anyone who thinks trustee Bobby Lowder had no knowledge of William Walker and David Housel's infamous trip to Louisville on Lowder's plane is living in a dream world. The only difference in DuBose's tenure and Tuberville's ultimate fate is that Auburn went undefeated after Tubs fell out of favor with some of the folks that matter. DuBose went 3-8, and got fired.

    As the Opp native pointed out, no single person who actually toils on campus seems to be in charge. But it's nothing new. In fact, you have to go back to the days when the head football coach was often the athletics director too when one knew who to take to task. Remember Bryant's pledge that Alabama backers would never have to worry about firing him, because as A.D., he'd recognize when the program was slipping and do the job himself.

    Obviously, the days of the football coach serving in dual roles are long gone. Even if they weren't, Bryant, Pat Dye and Vince Dooley would've had a difficult time keeping the major contributors off their backs. And believe me, the contributor's status is indeed major. Check the price of a season ticket in the end zone, not to mention a luxury suite.

    And therefore, they will continue to have a say, maybe too much of one. But as DuBose confirmed the whispers of outside intervention at Alabama, it drove home the notion that their voice will continue to be of a booming nature. Simply, it's the way things are in today's college sports world, and they're not likely to change anytime soon.

    Phil Paramore's column appears Tuesday, Thursday and Saturday in The Dothan Eagle. He can be heard weekday mornings from 7 until 9 on AM 560 WOOF. He can be reached at www.woofradio.com.