By DAVID CLIMER
The Tennessean

Score one for Alabama in general and Robert Witt in particular. By firing a football coach Saturday, the Crimson Tide finally got with the program.

Specifically, it was Witt, the university president, who put his foot down and exhibited the kind of leadership that has been lacking in Tuscaloosa for so long.

From all indications, Witt ignored the advice of several influential supporters and money-bags contributors who wanted to give Mike Price a second chance. Instead of bowing to pressure from those whose power comes from big checks and name recognition, Witt stood his ground and made the right call.

For a change, it was not monkey business as usual at Alabama. Somebody in a leadership role finally acted the part.

This - not strippers, room service deliveries or cash-and-carry recruiting practices - has undermined Alabama football for the last several years. The Bama Bistro has had too many cooks in the kitchen, each with his own menu and own agenda. The more money you contributed, the louder your voice. And this leadership-by-committee approach is one of the reasons Dennis Franchione fled for Texas A&M last December.

Apparently, though, Witt has been keeping up with current events. In this era of reform, university presidents have been urged by the NCAA to reclaim control of their sports programs from boosters, trustees, even athletic directors. But you'd be surprised how few have heeded the call. They prefer to govern from a distance rather than dirty their hands in athletics.

Not so with Witt. Although he has been on the job in Tuscaloosa just two months, he recognized the need for Alabama to cut its losses by holding Price to a contract that he had not yet signed.

They say the devil is in the detail. If you're being paid a king's ransom to coach a college team - and Price was scheduled to make $10 million over the next seven years - the devil is in the fine print.

Although Price had not signed the deal, there was an agreement in principle. And Witt held him to it.

A standard coach's contract at Alabama includes a portion that says a coach can be fired for "participating in any conduct, committing any act, or becoming involved in any situation, occurrence, or activity that brings Employee into public disrepute, contempt, scandal, or ridicule that reflects unfavorably upon the reputation or the high moral or ethical standards of the University of Alabama."

I'll leave it up to you to decide which key word applies - disrepute, contempt, scandal or ridicule. All things considered, it seems like Price batted 4-for-4 on one road trip to the Florida Panhandle.

It comes with the turf in a college sports world where football coaches often make double - or more - than the university president and the athletic director who are listed above them on the organizational chart. If you're pulling down that kind of money, you're supposed to be held to a higher standard.

Plus, it's not like the school slipped one past Price by sticking what amounts to a morals clause into the contract. These days, coaches are mini-corporations that have agents and attorneys on retainer to dissect every last detail with a fine tooth comb.

Nor did Price jump into this fishbowl with his eyes closed. Two weeks after taking the job, he told a reporter: "I'll never be able to go out and let my hair down. Here, you always represent the program."

Well, Price let his hair down and, in the process, let the Alabama program down. He leaves Tuscaloosa both undefeated and winless.