2004 Alabama Crimson Tide football team
Name Position Seasons at Alabama Alma Mater
Mike Shula Head coach 2 Alabama ( 1987 )
Chris Ball Secondary 2 Missouri Western State ( 1986 )
Bob Connelly Offensive line 2 Texas A & M-Commerce ( 1994 )
Charlie Harbison Wide receivers 2 Gardner-Webb ( 1995 )
Joe Kines Defensive Coordinator 2 Jacksonville State ( 1967 )
David Rader Offensive Coordinator 2 Tulsa ( 1980 )
Paul Randolph Defensive line 2 Tennessee-Martin ( 1990 )
Dave Ungerer Special teams , Tight ends 2 Southern Connecticut State ( 1980 )
Sparky Woods Running backs 2 Carson-Newman ( 1976 )
Buddy Wyatt Defensive line 2 TCU ( 1989 )
Coaching staff
The 2004 Alabama Crimson Tide football team represented the University of Alabama during the 2004 NCAA Division I-A football season. This was the team's 72nd season in the SEC. The Crimson Tide were led by head coach Mike Shula who was entering his second season as head coach. They began their season with trying to improve from a 4-9 (2-6) record from the 2003 season. The 2004 squad finished the season with a record of 6-6 following a loss to Minnesota in the Music City Bowl. The team began the 2004 season at 3-0 with blowout victories over , Mississippi, and . The Tide's starting quarterback Brodie Croyle was injured during the Western Carolina game and lost for the season. Without him, the team struggled to find consistent offense against SEC opponents Arkansas and South Carolina. The team rebounded to have multiple blowouts victories in three of the next four games, only losing to rival Tennessee. The season ended on a three-game slide, losing to rivals LSU and Auburn, also losing in the Music City Bowl to Minnesota. This season also marks the first time since 1958 in which Alabama was absent from the rankings every week. Alabama opened the 2004 season by defeating the Utah State Aggies 48-17.