TUSCALOOSA, Ala. -- More than a dozen former players lined the walls. Bart Starr and Paul Bryant Jr. were at the front.

For a day, at least, Alabama's football family set aside its troubles to embrace former quarterback Mike Shula as the Crimson Tide's third head coach in six months.

The son of Pro Football Hall of Fame coach Don Shula wanted to talk about national championships, not NCAA probation; the program's bright future, not its gloomy recent history.

"I felt like I had some unfinished business here," the longtime NFL assistant said, referring to his inability to win a Southeastern Conference or national championship as a player.

"That's why I'm here."

Shula also is here because Alabama twice was burned by rare forays outside the "family." Mike Price was fired without coaching a single game after reports surfaced of a night at a topless bar. His predecessor, Dennis Franchione, abruptly left for Texas A&M after two seasons.

"He's not going to sleep one moment until he has everything in place," promised former Tide running back Bobby Humphrey, a Shula teammate. ``He's just that type of guy."

The task at hand isn't easy.

The 37-year-old Shula has spent 15 years as an NFL assistant, including the past three as the Miami Dolphins' quarterbacks coach. But he has no experience as a head coach or on a college staff.

And now he has fewer than three months before the team reports for preseason practices. The season opener against South Florida is four months away. Plus, the team is in the second year of a five-year NCAA probation.

Shula, who agreed to a six-year deal worth $900,000 annually, will be the SEC's youngest coach.

His hiring was criticized Friday by the Rev. Jesse Jackson. He said the school should have hired Green Bay Packers assistant Sylvester Croom, who is black.

"The SEC maintains a culture of excluding blacks beyond the playing field," Jackson said. "White players, beyond the playing field, can expect to become coaches, athletic directors and college presidents. Blacks have no life beyond the playing field."

Shula already had to deal with his father's considerable shadow. Now he'll pace the sidelines where another coaching great, Bear Bryant, won five AP national championships.

"I plan to give this thing the best shot I've ever given anything in my life," Shula said.

He met with the team Thursday night, promising the seniors he wasn't only thinking about the program's stability but also trying to send them out on a high note.

He also urged the players to look ahead not behind.

"We can't dwell on the past," Shula told them. "There's nothing we can do about it. Let's go forward and let's do it together. I'm going to lean on you, and you need to lean on me."

Shula is Alabama's youngest coach since Frank Thomas was hired in 1931 at 33.

Former Tide teammate and roommate Curt Jarvis said he has no doubt Shula is equipped for the job.

"You're looking at a guy who was charting plays in the Super Bowl when he was 12 years old," Jarvis said. "What do you expect?"

Shula said he had made no decisions on his coaching staff. Price had hired his sons Eric and Aaron as assistants -- and both said they want to remain on the staff.

"We'd love it if we could stay here," said Eric Price, the offensive coordinator and quarterbacks coach.

Shula, a two-time All-SEC performer, is probably best remembered in the state for his game-winning touchdown pass to Al Bell in the final moments of a 20-16 victory over Georgia on Sept. 2, 1985.

"I've got memories here," he said. "I can't wait to make more memories."