As you walk through the doors, you enter a circular room that, moving counterclockwise, starts in the late 1800s and ends with a tribute to current head coach Mike Shula. But staring you right in the eye immediately is "The Hall of Honor." This wall remembers every team Bear Bryant coached, starting in 1945 at Maryland and ending with his 1980 Alabama team. The original idea for the museum was Bryant's. That idea is captured in the "The Hall of Honor."

"He wanted all of his former players and coaches that helped him as he was approaching the 323 victory mark, which at the time would be the most victories by a head coach, he wanted all of his players and coaches to be honored in one place," the museum's Executive Director, Ken Gaddy, told us.

At this exhibit, there is a large bust of Bryant, without his famous houndstooth hat on. More on that later.

We walked to the left and saw a picture of the beginning of Alabama football - the 1892 team, known as the Cadets.

"The biggest player was 200 pounds on that team," Gaddy said.

The name "Crimson Tide" did not come until much later. In fact, it's not known exactly when the nickname came about.

"I don't know if there's any one particular answer," Gaddy said,"but they were playing a muddy-field game at Georgia Tech and an Atlanta sports writer coined the phrase 'The Crimson Tide' because of the rain and the mud."

A few feet to the right of the Cadets' team photo was a football from 1894. The old ball was in bad shape, torn up and no longer resembling anything usable. But it's in the museum because it is the football from the first ever Alabama-Auburn game.

Alabama won.

"We wouldn't have it out here if we didn't win."

Moving on, we saw photos that captured the glorious era of Head Coach Wallace Wade. Included in this exhibit are memories of Alabama's first National Championship and a poster that says "Alabama Shatters Myth of Western Football Supremacy" after a 1926 Rose Bowl victory over Washington. That victory gave Southeastern football relevance and respect.

Before Bryant coached at Alabama, he played under Frank Thomas. The museum showcases a great 1934 photo of Bryant and superstar receiver Don Hutson. Written above the two teammates is "Bama's Pass Snaggers."

"Coach Bryant liked to describe himself as 'The Other End,'" Gaddy told us. "He was a starter, a quality player, but Don Hutson ... was perhaps the star of that time."

In the back of the room was my personal favorite item - a nearly exact replica of Bryant's office. There was his original chair and desk. Next to the desk was a coat and hat hung up, as if they were waiting for the Bear to take them down. And on the right side of the office was a long, comfortable-looking couch.

"You can talk to any former player of Coach Bryant's," Gaddy said. "They always come to that couch. And they say that when they sat down, they sunk way down. They felt like their head was almost at the level of the desk."

Legend has it that Bryant, a big and imposing figure himself, would sit players on that couch. They would sink down into it and as Bryant would talk to them, he would appear as a towering, intimidating force. Anything to get an edge.

"I've had several of them that want to look and see if the legs were actually sawed off that couch."

They were not.

As Gaddy continued our tour, we came up to the Holy Grail of the Bryant Museum. There was the famous houndstooth hat. This one was probably a little pricier than the one Bryant wore. It was a waterford crystal replica, spinning around slowly so you could see it from all angles.

A thing of beauty.

You can't walk or drive around Tuscaloosa without hearing or seeing the legendary name every five minutes or so. Today we had the privilege of learning how special Bear Bryant was, is, and always will be to the Alabama community.

"I think Coach Bryant means a lot to Alabamians because (his success) was at a time when there was not a lot of positives in the state," Gaddy said.

This might not be the most inspiring season of Alabama football, but any time the local fans want something to hang their houndstooth hat on, there will always be Bear Bryant.

You can't take that away from the proud Crimson Tide fans.