Alabama football head coaches’ gameday outfits, from Bear Bryant to Kalen DeBoer – AL.com

Take a look at how fashion on the Alabama sidelines has evolved over the years. #RollTide pic.twitter.com/M3H6Tethyw
College football coaches are already under enough scrutiny, but now we are playing fashion police about what Alabama head coaches wear on gamedays.
Alabama fans have already sounded off about first-year head coach Kalen DeBoer’s choice to go with a more casual look on the sideline.
Roaming the sideline throughout the years inside Bryant-Denny Stadium, Crimson Tide coaches have worn plaid jackets, white dress shirts, neckties, sweatshirts, polos, vests, turtlenecks, all forms of khakis and, yes, houndstooth hats.
DeBoer has gone a little more casual, and let’s just say people have had opinions.
So we wanted to take a look back at every gameday fit from Alabama head coach since Bear Bryant. Who had the best sideline outfit on Saturdays? Take a look below, then vote in our poll.
RELATED: Nick Saban’s Alabama football gameday polos ranked
Paul "Bear" Bryant's gameday outfits included plaid and houndstooth hats, plaid sports jackets, a necktie and sometimes a parka if it was cold enough. (Alabama Media Group)AL.com
The Bear is a fashion icon, plain and simple. Houndstooth has its own area code in Alabama, and the pattern has permeated for decades since the legendary coach retired from coaching in Tuscaloosa. Of course, he swapped between houndstooth and plaid when he wore a fedora. But you’d also find Bryant in a sports jacket (also often plaid), necktie and slacks. On occasion, he would wear a baseball cap with a classic script “A” on it. And you’ve also seen him in a large parka when temperatures called for it, making for an iconic alternative look during the 1983 Liberty Bowl, the Bear’s final game as Tide head coach.
RELATED: All 14 SEC team uniforms ranked
Ray Perkins' gameday outfit typically included a white dress shirt, necktie, slacks and white sneakers. (Alabama Media Group)AL.com
Bryant’s successor might get our pick for sharpest-dressed Bama coach. Always sporting a long-sleeved white dress shirt, necktie, dark slacks and white sneakers, Perkins looked perfectly tailored, even with the clunky headset atop his well-coifed noggin, which curiously enough was not covered with a baseball cap.
READ: See how Alabama football uniforms have changed throughout the years
Bill Curry's gameday outfits included crimson or white sweaters with block lettering and dark slacks. But he would change it up with an Alabama polo at times. (Alabama Media Group)AL.com
He only coached three seasons in Tuscaloosa, but the Georgia native made a statement on the sideline, particularly with his crimson or white sweaters with block lettering reading “ALABAMA” atop dark slacks. Curry would also often rock the crimson “U of A” cap popularized by the brand The Game. But Curry would spice it up, too, with a sharp white Alabama polo on occasion.
Gene Stallings gameday outfits usually included a short sleeve white dress shirt, necktie and slacks. He would also wear a sports jacket. (Alabama Media Group)AL.com
A winner of one national title while the Bama head coach, the beloved Stallings is one of the last great “old school” figures of college football. Deep-voiced and disciplined, he dressed the part, too, always wearing a coat and tie combo, complete with a short-sleeved white dress shirt and slacks. As a future Tide coach would often say years later, they don’t make ‘em like they used to.
Mike DuBose's gameday outfits usually included a white Alabama polo, light khakis, and a white Alabama hat with a script "A." (Alabama Media Group)AL.com
Stallings’ successor would wear what has become the traditional look for most coaches in college football to this day: The polo/khaki combo. DuBose would typically wear a white shirt with a script “A,” light khakis and a white baseball cap with a crimson script “A” on it. DuBose would sometimes even wear a heavy crimson coat in colder or rainy weather.
Dennis Franchione's gameday outfits included polos, vests, turtlenecks and dark slacks. (Alabama Media Group)AL.com
Previously the TCU coach, Franchione certainly brought some flair to the head coach outfit, mixing traditional polos with crimson or white vests, turtlenecks and, more often than not, black slacks. He would leave Tuscaloosa for Texas A&M after just two seasons, but we won’t soon forget the duds, coach.
Mike Price never coached a regular season game for Alabama, but when he led the Tide for an A-Day scrimmage, he wore a crimson raincoat and parachute pant combo, and a white hat with a script "A." (Alabama Media Group)AL.com
He never got to coach a regular season game in Tuscaloosa, but when he did lead Bama for one A-Day scrimmage, Mike Price wore a crimson raincoat and parachute pants combo, topped with a white baseball cap with a crimson script “A” on it.
Mike Shula's gameday outfits included an array of crimson and white polos, crimson sweatshirts, crimson vests and his signature crimson hat with a white script "A" and trim. (Alabama Media Group)AL.com
Often taken for granted are Shula’s coaching tenure and the variety on display in his gameday attire. He rocked an array of crimson and white polos, but his signature look included a crimson Nike sweatshirt with “Alabama” written across the front along with his standard crimson hat with the white script “A” and white trim. You’d even see him in a vest on occasion.
Joe Kines served as interim head coach for one game, the 2006 Independence Bowl, where he wore an outfit similar to his predecessor Mike Shula: Crimson sweatshirt over light khakis, with a crimson hat and white script "A" topper. (Alabama Media Group)AL.com
He only coached one game, the 2006 Independence Bowl, where he wore an outfit similar to his predecessor: Crimson Sweatshirt over light khakis, with a crimson baseball cat and white script “A” topper. We’ll never forget this man, perhaps not for his gameday clothing, but for a halftime interview for the history books.
Without fail, Nick Saban wore a crimson or white Alabama polo on atop light khakis and sneakers every game he coached for the Crimson Tide. he would wear a Nike pullover for colder games. (Alabama Media Group)AL.com
Without fail, the iconic coach and winner of six national titles in Tuscaloosa sported a short-sleeved collared Nike shirt featuring a variation of the trademarked script “A” and swoosh, atop his obligatory pleated khaki pants and white Nike sneakers. As temps fell, he would also wear a Nike pullover. Not to mention the multicolored blazers he would wear in ESPN appearances and during A-Day spring games. Worth noting: Saban was a fashion influencer. As soon as fans saw the latest season’s polo, they’d flock to stores to buy them so they would resemble the coach or someone on his coaching staff.
READ: The story behind Nick Saban’s ‘Tide’ pullover
Kalen DeBoer has gone with a more casual gameday look on the sideline, either wearing a thin, black Nike hoodie or a crimson T-shirt, along with a crimson hat with a white script "A." (The Associated Press)AP
The current head coach has dared to dress a little differently on gamedays, sporting a black hoodie in his first few games, followed by a much more casual T-shirt look for the Vanderbilt upset. He also wears a crimson baseball cap with a white script “A.” It’s the exact attire he’s worn throughout his head coaching career at past stops like Washington and Fresno State. If it worked in those places, why not in Tuscaloosa?
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