Bowden Being Forced Out?

[dencyguy]

From ESPN:

 

Slow start amplifies Bowden criticism

 

TALLAHASSEE, Fla. -- Florida State coach Bobby Bowden said Sunday he isn't planning on quitting anytime soon, but the chair of the university's board of trustees has seen enough of the man who transformed the program into a collegiate powerhouse.

 

"My hope is frankly that we'll go ahead, and if we have to, let the world know that this year will be the end of the Bowden era," chairman Jim Smith told the Tallahassee Democrat on Sunday. " ... I do appreciate what he's done for us, what he's done for the program, what he's done really for the state of Florida.

 

Interviewed by The Associated Press on Monday, Smith said the arrangement with Bowden as head coach and his successor, Jimbo Fisher, as offensive coordinator isn't working.

 

"We've got too many bosses out there," Smith said. "Jimbo is in a very, very tough situation where people assume he has a whole lot more authority than he really has. He's getting blamed for a lot of things that's just not his fault."

 

The Seminoles are 2-3 for the first time since Bowden's inaugural season at the school 33 years ago, and 0-2 in the Atlantic Coast Conference for the first time, prompting commentary about his future.

 

" ... I think the record will show that the Seminole Nation has been more than patient," Smith told the Democrat. "We have been in a decline not for a year or two or three but I think we're coming up on seven or eight. I think enough is enough."

 

Smith confirmed to the Democrat that Florida State president T.K. Wetherell and legal counsel Betty Steffens have been working with Fisher to finalize a contract for him as head coach.

 

"The president intends to announce we've negotiated a contract with coach Fisher," Smith said, according to the newspaper.

 

Fisher was deemed the head coach-in-waiting in 2007. If he does not succeed Bowden at the conclusion of the 2010 season, Florida State -- under the terms of its agreement with Fisher -- would have to pay him $5 million. FSU has begun working on the structure of a five-year pact that would settle how much Fisher is to be paid when he takes over, if not further define when, a person familiar with those discussions told ESPN's Joe Schad.

 

It is expected that the plan, when formalized, would also give Fisher the authority to make staff decisions as early as the end of this season -- such as choosing the replacement for retiring defensive coordinator Mickey Andrews.

 

First-year head coaches at similar schools have recently earned about $2 million per season. Florida State would like to see a smooth transition from Bowden to Fisher, but there are complicating factors to the coach-in-waiting scenario, one person familiar with the situation told Schad. Bowden is still believed to be leaning toward coaching next season, the person said.

 

After Saturday's 28-21 loss at Boston College, two Florida newspapers, including the hometown Democrat, also said Bowden, who turns 80 on Nov. 8, should call it a career at the end of this season.

 

"The love and admiration we all have for Bobby doesn't put fans in the seats, money in the coffers or national championships in the trophy case," Orlando Sentinel columnist Mike Bianchi wrote. "Bobby used to be able to do all those things, but clearly he cannot anymore."

 

Steve Ellis, the Democrat's beat writer who frequently doubles up with opinion pieces, wrote that Florida State must make a tough decision while Bowden's apparent successor, Fisher, calls the plays for the offense.

 

"It is time," Ellis wrote in Sunday's edition. "This should be Bowden's last season."

 

Smith said the university's arrangement with Fisher has resulted in division among the Florida State staff, an accusation Seminoles coaches have vehemently denied.

 

"I know coaches are sniping at each other and that's just terrible," Smith told the AP on Monday. "There are too many mixed signals."

 

Bowden's 384 wins are three fewer than Penn State coach Joe Paterno, the career leader in victories among major college coaches. Bowden has a contract that gives him the option to return in 2010 -- but no later, or the school will have to pay Fisher a $5 million bonus.

 

Bowden, known for his glib, affable personality, said Sunday that he'd make the decision on his future in conjunction with the university president when the time is right.

 

"We are the ones who will determine what we do and what kind of progress we make," Bowden said. "I will determine my situation. I won't let some guys' speculation tell me when to move."

 

Thousands of Florida State fans on Internet sites share the opinion of Ellis and Bianchi, that the strange two-headed coaching arrangement isn't resulting in wins.

 

And Florida State's season doesn't get any easier when No. 22 Georgia Tech comes calling Saturday night, in a game that will be televised nationally. Suddenly, avoiding the Seminoles' first losing season since 1976 could become the only goal left.

 

"We've still got a lot of games to play," Bowden said. "We've got to stay the course and try to get better in the areas we're getting beat."

 

Still, Bowden realizes that another loss in the league would make it nearly impossible to get back to the ACC title game for the first time since 2005.

 

"You simply can't give up," he said. "I refuse to."

[dencyguy]

As little respect as I have for FSU, and as little use as I have for Bowden and his "Aw shucks, boys will be boys" attitude--at least for stars, while backups get kicked off the team because "You've got to have rules," I disagree with this. I think Bowden is one of those guys who's earned the right to go out on his own terms, and forcing him out--especially if Fisher steps in and has a slow start--will be a huge black eye. On the other hand, given his penchant for playing fast and loose with the rules and the fact that he's still chasing Joe Paterno (who I've always respected), go ahead and fire the schmuck.

 

Dennis

[heckofajobbrownie]

BC was a program in total disarray heading into this year. They lose both DTs to the NFL, Herzlich goes down with cancer, and their QB gets kicked off the team and transfers. They didn't have a QB on the roster that had played a down of college football.

 

Oh, and did I mention that they had to fire their coach, had trouble filling the job, and lost some recruits in the process?

 

And they still beat FSU for the second straight year.

 

I'm not saying BC's a horrible team. They're not. But to lose to them this year, after all that, may have been Bobby's final straw.

 

 

[dencyguy]

Here's an odd detail from the latest ESPN story on the matter:

 

>>A succession plan for coach-in-waiting Jimbo Fisher to assume greater responsibility before next season has been discussed, though, according to the source.

 

If Bowden stays for the 2010 season, the source said, Florida State officials want a plan in place in which Fisher would have control over the Seminoles' football operations -- for example, recruiting, coaching and practice.<<

 

This would be a farce. This is in addition to the detail from the first story, in which he would oversee the hiring of the new defensive coordinator. If your offensive coordinator is completely running the team, then what's the point of having a head coach at all? And how big (or maybe enlarged would be the right term) would Bowden's cojones have to be to accept Fisher's wins on his career total? Well, probably about this big:

 

 

Dennis