But fans expect Bama to win bowl games. Not lose to Mississippi State.
Did you see the Shula fall? It was hilarious. But I can barely remember the game preceding it. (now that might have something to do with having 8 children running around me at the time. but i watched the video of the fall several times. espn sure thought it was funny.)
Stuff like that happens when you've fielded a very young team.
That's what Shula had to deal with this year.
They were going to contend for the SEC West next year, and certainly they still may, but it's very likely that there will be two or three more years of 6-6 or 7-5 upcoming for the program as the new coach gets his players and his system installed.
That's just the average. Some coaches, like JIm Tressel, win a NC in two years (but it was with John Cooper's players mainly) and others, like Bill Callahan at Nebraska, bring such a philosophy change that just having the right players is a process of a couple years.