Oh, Brother: Remembering the football coaching genius of Bill Oliver

They called him Brother. That's the first thing you remember about Bill Oliver. The nickname stuck to him like one of his pesky defensive backs on a slick receiver. He was a one-name big name in the one sport that always mattered most in this state.

His legacy has remained secure since his retirement in 1998. It will survive his death this week at the age of 85 as well.

If you were fortunate enough to watch him work or witness the fruits of his labor, you felt like you knew the man even if you never really got to know him. By word and deed, individual opinion and virtual acclamation, he may have been the greatest assistant football coach on either side of the Iron Bowl rivalry. His reputation was enhanced, when it wasn't questioned, because he worked on both sides of that perilous divide and what he did worked so often and so well.

His actual first name was never necessary. His surname was simply superfluous. If someone started to tell a football story around here over the last four or more decades and they introduced a character named Brother, that was all the identification you needed. ...

Read Kevin's full column in The Birmingham News.