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Sadly, it's time for Bowden to retire
Mike Bianchi
SPORTS COMMENTARY
October 24, 2007
Forgive me, Lord, for what I am about to say.
This is not something I ever wanted to have to write about because of what this wonderful man has meant to college football.
It's sad and depressing to even broach the topic because he is the classiest, funniest and most congenial coach I've ever had the pleasure of covering.
But I'm starting to think it might be time.
Time for the great Bobby Bowden to step down as coach of the Florida State Seminoles.
And, believe me, this has nothing to do with the "For Sale" sign placed in Bobby's yard by some rube fan Saturday night. And it has nothing to do with Florida State blowing the game and losing to Miami Saturday afternoon.
No, this is more about a program that has now been mediocre for most of this decade. A program that since 2000 has averaged nearly five losses a season and is in danger this year of finishing with a losing record for the first time since Bobby's inaugural year in 1976.
Any college football fan with an ounce of decency doesn't want to see Bobby go out like this. Wouldn't you love to see him turn it around this season and at least give us the slightest affirmation he is building momentum for next year? Sadly, there is no such evidence. The Seminoles are 4-3 with road games left against highly ranked Boston College, Virginia Tech and Florida. There's a chance they could be double-digit underdogs in each of those games.
Here's how far the program has fallen: The Seminoles play Duke on Saturday, and would anybody out there really be all that surprised if they lost?
Another sign it may be time for Bobby to go: Because the Gators all say they want him to stay.
You search desperately for signs that Bobby's program is moving in the right direction, but there just aren't any. The Seminoles' quarterback situation is a mess, they can't run the ball, they can't block and their defense is melting at the end of games.
The only hope for better days seems to be that Bowden just hired a bunch of new assistant coaches this season. But isn't this, in itself, a troubling sign? When the entire direction of your program seems to be contingent on the assistant coaches, what does that say about the clout and influence of the head coach?
Don't get me wrong, I'm not calling for Bobby's firing. That's not going to happen, nor should it. You just don't fire a man I consider the greatest coach in major college football history. Yes, greater than Alabama's Bear Bryant. Greater than Penn State's Joe Paterno.
I've written before and I'll reiterate it now: Bowden has meant more to Florida State than any coach has ever meant to any school. Alabama won numerous national titles before the Bear ever arrived. Before Paterno took over at Penn State, his predecessor -- the legendary Rip Engle -- put together a powerhouse and never had a losing season. But before Bowden, Florida State football was an embarrassing quagmire of Cigar Bowl bids, chicken wire scandals and high-level discussions about shutting down the program.
Bobby's backers will tell you that because of Bowden's icon status, he should be given preferential treatment for his past glory. Agreed. But the thing is, he's already been given preferential treatment. Any other coach at a high-profile program in this state would have already been run off.
Larry Coker was fired at Miami with a 60-15 overall record just four years after playing for the national title. Ron Zook was given only 2 1/2 seasons of mediocrity before Florida jettisoned him. Bobby has had six, seven, eight years to get his team back to elite status, but the Seminoles seem to be getting worse -- not better.
What complicates the situation is this fierce fogey free-for-all between Bowden, 77, and Paterno, 80, to see who can outlast the other and become the winningest coach of all-time. Even though JoePa has had four losing seasons in the last eight years and his program remains middle-of-the-pack in the Big Ten, he continues to coach and has somehow pulled to within one win of Bobby on the all-time list.
I've got a great idea: Call it a tie and let the two legends go out together as the co-winningest coaches of all-time. Then both of their programs will be free of the guilt and obligation and can finally start moving forward.
FSU fans deserve better than four-, five- and six-loss seasons. Unlike the more centrally located University of Florida, FSU is a long haul from every major metropolitan area in this state. It takes a huge investment in time and money for FSU fans to give their booster contribution, buy their tickets, make the eight-hour round trip from Orlando and pay the jacked-up hotel rates in Tallahassee on football weekends.
If the losing continues, will thousands of fans continue to pay millions of dollars for an inferior product? Doubtful.
The Seminoles cannot and will not unceremoniously dump the creator of their program, but school president T.K. Wetherell, a Bowden confidante, can at least give Bobby a nudge toward retirement.
It's a move that must be done tactfully and tastefully.
But sooner or later, it must be done.
Mike Bianchi can be reached at
mbianchi@orlandosentinel.com.
Copyright © 2007, Orlando Sentinel
