First up, that Shula is turning Alabama into another Tennessee/Miami/tOSU because Juwan Simpson wasn't suspended for the opener (and, subsequently, that Tomma Tubbaveeel would never stand for such a thing). To this I say, "eat me." Juwan Simpson was arrested in the offseason for possession of marijuana, receiving stolen property, and carrying handgun without a license. In later weeks the stolen property charge would be dropped due to lack of evidence (and after it was confirmed that Simpson took the property in question, the handgun, to the Northport Police Department after purchasing it to make sure it wasn't stolen), and Simpson would enter a drug program that would involve mandatory drug testing and, when completed, would have the drug charge wiped from his record. Simpson could have fought the drug charge. He had passed a drug test shortly before the arrest and immediately afterwards, but instead he chose to do what was best for his team and ultimately himself by doing what it took to get the charges dropped no matter how innocent he felt he was. Besides handling the arrest and consequences in a mature manner, Simpson has had no record of being a troublemaker on or off the field, is an All-SEC academic selection, and has completed one degree while working on a second. If this isn't the kind of guy that deserves a second shot, then I don't know who is. Further, Shula has displayed a strong sense of discipline throughout his tenure at Alabama. Off the top of my head, some memorable and potentially costly suspensions/expulsions over the past few years:
-For the Tide's trip to the Cotton Bowl last season, both leading WR DJ Hall and nickelback Simeon Castille were suspended (Hall for unspecified reasons and Castille for grades). With an offense lacking production and a defense going up against the pass happiest and most productive offense we'd seen all season, leaving your #1 wideout and the starting nickelback who'd made plays all season long (especially in shutting down the Florida offense) on the sidelines shows plenty of integrity.
-DJ Hall continued his suspension for this year's opener leaving only one experienced receiver on the field.
-During the 2005 season after the win at Ole Miss, second string QB JP Wilson was arrested on DUI charges. He was suspended the next week against Tennessee, one of the biggest rivalry games for Bama. That might not sound like much, but with a pourous O-Line and an injury prone Croyle under center benching your second string QB and forcing yourself to potentially rely on third string Marc Guillon to win the game was a big deal.
-During the 2003 season, after both starter Brodie Croyle and second string QB Spencer Pennington were taken out of the game with shoulder seperations, Shula kicked third string QB Brandon Avalos off the team after only one start when he was busted at a party with Marijuana (and also after a history of poor decision making), forcing Croyle to finish out the season in considerable pain.
There are plenty of other punishments that have been given out, but these are just the ones I can think of off the top of my head. Add any you can think of in the comments below.