One former Alabama head coach has apparently dodged a bullet, at least in the figurative sense.
According to multiple media outlets, Mike Dubose accidentally shot himself in the upper torso Monday afternoon while on family-owned property in Covington County, AL. DuBose initially drove himself to the emergency room after the incident, but then was taken to a different, unspecified medical facility by helicopter for further treatment.
The latest update on DuBose’s condition is that he sustained non-life-threatening injuries as a result of being struck by a bullet from a .38 caliber handgun. While initial reports had DuBose suffering the injuries while hunting, it was later clarified the incident happened as the coach was cutting grass*.
From WAAO-FM:
DuBose played his college football at Alabama under the legendary Bear Bryant in the mid-seventies, then took over as the head coach of his alma mater in 1997. Saddled with steep scholarship restrictions stemming from the Gene Stallings era, the Crimson Tide went just 4-7 in DuBose’s first season in Tuscaloosa before, two years later, playing in and winning the 1999 SEC championship game. The Tide then plummeted to 3-8 the following season in 2000, the last year for DuBose in what turned out to be a 24-23 record during his four seasons at the helm.
Because of the highly-scrutinized recruitment of Albert Means on DuBose’s watch -- the coach was cleared in an investigation that targeted a rogue booster -- UA was hammered by the NCAA with sanctions that included the stripping of 21 scholarships over a three-year period, a two-year bowl ban and five years worth of probation.
After his stint at Alabama ended in 2000, DuBose coached at the FBS level just one more time -- as the defensive line coach at Memphis from 2010-11.
(*As a resident of the Great State of West Virginia, I can attest to the value of being strapped whilst cutting grass/brush hogging/doing anything in non-residential areas that involves high grass/weeds.)