Bobby Bowden Steps Down

Bobby Bowden retired as coach of Florida State football yesterday and with it swirls controversy. Bowden is 73-42 this decade in football. I am sure there is not a football school in North Carolina would jump to be 73-42 in the last nine years except for Appalachian State. That is not the case at Florida State.

Bowden has drowned in his own success. The people at Florida State will not accept 6-6 or 7-5 every year. They expect more even if it is not realistic. Even Bowden himself wanted one more year because he thought next year might be like it use to be.

Notre Dame has fired their last three coaches because they think they should win the National championship every year. Those three coaches won 58 % of their games. Talk about living on the past.

Carolina fired one of their own in basket ball because he didn’t win enough. State was glad to see Herb Sendek leave winning 59% of his games and look what they got 55% wins the next three years

My first job back when I was 14 years old was selling doughnuts in the bakery back home. My dad and I sat at our kitchen table the night before the great adventure was to begin. He told me something that night which I have tried my best to carry in life. He said “The best security in a job is insecurity.” As long as you keep thinking what I can do to keep this job, you will do good work”.

You know he was right. Bobby Bowden is living off his past. He thinks he has security and is no longer giving the job his best effort. There is one other problem with my statement. He is 80 years old. He may think he is giving it his all and he may be for an 80 year old man. Florida States thinking is that is not good enough any more.

When I heard Bowden say I want one more year. I lost a little of that respect you have in a man. It is now what I want and not what is good for the University. His thinking has become to secure in his job. He is more important than the University.

Here is the sad part of all this. Statistics show that people die within 18 months after they are forced to retire. Does any body remember that “Bear” Bryant, he wasn’t forced to retire but died 28 days after his last game.

You know Dean Smith did it the right way. The day he decided he wasn’t excited any more he quit. No formal announcement. No year long good bye tour. He just said it’s time for me to go. I think Bowden could have done that about five years ago. Bowden and Florida State had a dream to be the winningest coach in college football history. Joe Paterno messed that plan up by not dieing and keeps on winning.

Florida State will now go through three coaches in 15 years because of expectations.

Sports, since it really doesn’t mean anything in life we can all expect perfection. Every time there is a game played one side loses. It is ok to have a loser as long as it is not us.

Every time I send a check to the Wolfpack Club I think that gives me the right to express my opinion about what’s going on up there. It really doesn’t. It just gives the right to sit in a seat when I get there.

Whether it is a coach or a fan, we have all blown athletics out of proportion. The sun will rise up tomorrow whether we beat Carolina or not.

Bobby Bowden was good for college football. Just look at the ACC. Nine of the twelve members play in stadiums that seat 55,000 or more. Before Florida State joined the ACC only Clemson could say that. Bobby Bowden brought football to ACC country.