It was Nov. 11, 1979, a chilly, damp Saturday night in Death Valley, and the final horn had just sounded from a scoreboard that read "Alabama 3, LSU 0." Paul "Bear" Bryant and his state troopers marched toward midfield. The man in the houndstooth hat extended his hand to greet his former player and protégé Charlie McLendon.
"Cholly Mac, I'm so sorry," the Bear said. "You've done a great job."
McClendon, a dead Tiger walking, was going to be fired at season's end and everyone knew it, including mentor Bryant, against whom LSU had just lost its eighth straight.