Bill Clark shares his back issues a year after it led him to step down at UAB

LONG. YEAH, SO 83, I HEARD IT SQUATTING AND DIDN’T REALLY KNOW WHAT I’D DONE. I CRACKED THE PARS JOINT, WHICH IS WHAT HOLDS THE VERTEBRAE IN PLACE FROM HIGH SCHOOL STATE TITLES TO CONFERENCE USA TITLES. CLARK FOUGHT THROUGH THE PAIN PROGRESSIVELY WORSE, PROGRESSIVELY WORSE. PROBABLY ABOUT 2019. I HEAR THE WORD FUSION, YOU KNOW. I’M IGNORING IT. MY LEGS STARTING TO GO NUMB. I’M HAVING A HARD TIME STANDING IT REALLY BY THAT LAST YEAR IT WAS A CONSTANT PAIN, A CONSTANT PAIN THAT LEFT CLARK WITH NO CHOICE BUT TO STEP DOWN AS THE HEAD COACH OF UAB AND GET A SPINAL FUSION. ONE YEAR LATER. I’M SURE YOU FEEL LIKE A 25 YEAR OLD MALIK THAT BACK. IT’S CRAZY. I DON’T I DON’T EVEN IT’S LIKE, OKAY, SO THIS IS HOW YOU FEEL WHEN YOU FEEL GOOD. CLARK FEELS BRAND NEW LIVING ON A LAKE HERE IN ALABAMA. THE LAKE LIFE IS A PLACE CLARK DIDN’T EXPECT AT 55 YEARS OLD. YOU KNOW, I CAN STILL THINK BACK WHEN I WAS A HIGH SCHOOL COACH. I REMEMBER COACH SABAN CAME IN MY OFFICE AND SAID, HEY, COACH TURNBULL’S TELLING ME I NEED TO GET A LAKE HOUSE. HE JUST CAME FROM MICHIGAN STATE, GOT TO LSU, AND I STILL REMEMBER I’M AT PRATTVILLE WHEN I HAD A BUDDY, HAD A LAKE HOUSE, YOU KNOW, AND WE NEVER HAD ANYTHING LIKE THAT AND GET OUT ON HIS PONTOON BOAT. AND I’M LIKE, WOW. SO THIS IS WHAT THIS IS LIKE. MANY PEOPLE NOW ASK HIM DAILY, WHAT IS NEXT FOR BILL CLARK? SOME HEAD COACHES HAVE ASKED ME TO KIND OF BE AVAILABLE, SO I’M DOING SOME OF THAT, GOT SOME STUFF GOING AROUND BIRMINGHAM THAT I’M REALLY NOT AT LIBERTY TO TALK ABOUT, BUT ANYTHING THAT HELPS BIRMINGHAM AND SPORTS, I’M I WANT TO BE PART OF THAT. YOU KNOW. SO OBVIOUSLY WE GOT SOME THINGS GOING ON AROUND BIRMINGHAM THAT I MIGHT BE INVOLVED WITH. IT WOULD HAVE SPORTS AND ENTERTAINMENT VALUE. SO WE’RE JUST GOING TO SEE, YOU KNOW, I AM HAPPY RIGHT NOW. I’M KIND OF GETTING AN ITCH TO TO FIND THE NE