Get Me Off This Crazy Thing

The coaching carousel as it relates to the ACC is starting to careen out of control. To wit...

---From seemingly out of nowhere, Jim Grobe appears headed for Arkansas. His name popped up in Razorback circles on Tuesday and the rest is supposedly history. Big loss for the ACC, huge get for the SEC if this plays out. Still...Arkansas?

---Speaking of Arkansas, Tommy Bowden deftly used them in order to secure yet another contract extension at Clemson. This might have been the least appealing result for Tiger faithful.

---Bobby Bowden has reportedly agreed to a one-year extension on his contract that ends next month. FSU OC Jimbo Fisher, who's name has popped up for various head coaching vacancies, will reportedly get a raise into the upper six-figures and will be named as Bobby's successor, whenever the Old Man decides to hang it up...which looks to be sooner rather than later.

---Georgia Tech and Paul Johnson need to poop or get off the pot. It appears that the job is Johnson's if he wants it, if he turns down a bigger payday at SMU of all places. Interim coach and DC Jon Tenuta appears to be the backup choice for the Jackets, with Georgia Southern's Chris Hatcher possibly still in the mix.

---Chan Gailey (ugh), Paul Johnson, Steve Logan, Skip Holtz, and David Cutcliffe are the prominent names involved with the Duke job. Whether Logan, Holtz and Cutcliffe are just parlaying the Devils' interest into a raise at their current gigs is anyone's guess. Grambling's Rod Broadway is being mentioned as a candidate as well.

---And if Grobe does in fact leave the Demon Deacons, Paul Johnson probably has yet another decision to make.


Michigan or Nebraska, I'd understand. But Arkansas? That's Nutty.

'Noles Roll

So naturally since I picked UCLA to beat Florida State in a low-scoring defensive Emerald Bowl, the Seminoles and Bruins combined for 864 yards of offense and 71 points in FSU's 44-27 victory. Please, for the love of God, never never never never friggin never wager so much as a nickel beer on anything I write in this online testament to my idiocy.

That said, congrats to Bobby Bowden and the Seminoles for pulling this 2006 season out of it's near fatal nosedive and turning in a nice smooth landing on the shores of San Francisco Bay.


That's 30 straight dadgum winning seasons, if you're counting

ENCORE - Coach Bowden, It's Time

This is a re-posting of my entry from Oct. 6, 2006, shortly after FSU's inexplicable 4th loss in 7 games to a Chuck Amato coached team. Needless to say, it is time for another viewing after Wake Forest just went into Tallahassee and crushed Florida State 30-0, the first-ever home shutout in Bobby Bowden's 31 seasons with the Seminoles.

COACH BOWDEN, IT'S TIME

I have been a Florida State fan since the mid-1980s, and graduated from FSU in 1995. My college years were exactly in the middle of the Seminoles' 14-year Dynasty from 1987-2000. So yes, I've come to expect a certain level of performance out of my beloved Seminoles and from Bobby Bowden.

NC State's 24-20 victory over the Seminoles last night flipped that proverbial switch in my head. The problem with the last several years of Florida State football has not been Jeff Bowden, Chris Rix, terrible offensive lines, injuries, etc. The problem has been, and is, Bobby Bowden.

Bobby Bowden is 4-6 in his last 10 football games. And two of the four wins were Troy and Rice.

Bobby Bowden is like our elderly Grandpa who cannot and will not accept that age is getting the better of him. Even though he has blown through stop signs, pulled out in front of speeding traffic, and run over the neighbor's dog, he cannot and will not give up the car keys because those are literally the keys to his freedom, to a life. The FSU football program is Bobby Bowden's set of car keys.

For the last several years, Bowden's excuses for the increasing amount of losses have come down to a few predictable sound bites:

1- The players didn't execute
2- Other teams always get pumped up for FSU
3- We have too many injuries

I'm sure the coaching staff appreciates that their supervisor doesn't criticize them in public. That's admirable. What's not admirable is constantly pointing fingers at players for not executing. The policy needs to be total: either no one gets criticized in public (coaches and players), or everyone is fair game to get criticized in public. Singling out 18-22 year old players but shielding 40-50-and 60-something coaches is bizarre. But the reason that Bowden does this is simple: he cannot face the fact that he made a disastrous decision in promoting his son Jeff to offensive coordinator. Bobby stated in his book The Bowden Way that he won't fire a coach for performance because that means he will have to admit to himself that he made a mistake in hiring him. He is already predisposed to give an assistant coach all the time and opportunity in the world. When that assistant coach is also his son, and combined with the natural course of aging, the rationalizations for the disaster that is the FSU offense kick into high gear, and the abject refusal to make a change is intensified.

The player development on the offensive side of the ball since 2001 at Florida State has been non-existent. While the Noles still churn out high draft picks on defense, there is a dearth of development on the offensive side. But, Coach Bowden does not see a systemic problem. It's all about making the blocks, completing the passes, and not turning the ball over. If only it were that simple.

As an aside, consider this about Bowden and his obsessive defense of Jeff: one of Bobby's grandsons and his former son-in-law were killed in a car accident just a few days before the season opener in 2004. This loss devastated him to his core. Family is more important than ever to him. Keep that in mind if you really think he will demote or fire his own flesh and blood.

But, with Coach Bowden's abject refusal to make any change whatsoever and his stubborn decision to stay on as head coach, each loss will bring about more and more criticism of the son he only wishes to help. Each loss will bring more and more of the questions that now make him bristle. Each loss will ding his legacy a bit more.

Yes, Coach Bowden would love to retire as the winningest 1-A coach of all time. If he leaves after this year, Joe Paterno will likely pass him next season. Oh well. It would be much worse if Paterno passes Bowden while Bobby is still coaching.

For Coach Bowden's sake primarily, I truly hope he chooses to retire at the end of this season. And when I say for his sake primarily, I mean it--this may be the last season where he has the chance to go out on his own terms. The Noles are not going to magically get back into the Top 10 at status quo, and there are only so many 4 and 5-loss seasons that can be brushed aside. If Bobby were to make such an announcement soon, whatever happens this season (and in retrospect the last 5 years)gets glossed over. A 6-6 record? Oh well, but at least he knew when to leave. Tributes, farewells and tears will flow his way for all that he's done not just for Florida State but for all of college football.

Retirement will not be as boring as he thinks. He has a loving wife, 20+ grandkids, speaking engagements out the wazoo and plenty of golf to play. Mark Richt, Tommy Bowden and Chuck Amato will buzz his phone every week for advice and insight.

Bobby, we love ya, but it's time to hand over the keys. Thank you for all you've done.

Time gets the best of everyone

Coach Bowden, It's Time

I have been a Florida State fan since the mid-1980s, and graduated from FSU in 1995. My college years were exactly in the middle of the Seminoles' 14-year Dynasty from 1987-2000. So yes, I've come to expect a certain level of performance out of my beloved Seminoles and from Bobby Bowden.

NC State's 24-20 victory over the Seminoles last night flipped that proverbial switch in my head. The problem with the last several years of Florida State football has not been Jeff Bowden, Chris Rix, terrible offensive lines, injuries, etc. The problem has been, and is, Bobby Bowden.

Bobby Bowden is 4-6 in his last 10 football games. And two of the four wins were Troy and Rice.

Bobby Bowden is like our elderly Grandpa who cannot and will not accept that age is getting the better of him. Even though he has blown through stop signs, pulled out in front of speeding traffic, and run over the neighbor's dog, he cannot and will not give up the car keys because those are literally the keys to his freedom, to a life. The FSU football program is Bobby Bowden's set of car keys.

For the last several years, Bowden's excuses for the increasing amount of losses have come down to a few predictable sound bites:

1- The players didn't execute
2- Other teams always get pumped up for FSU
3- We have too many injuries

I'm sure the coaching staff appreciates that their supervisor doesn't criticize them in public. That's admirable. What's not admirable is constantly pointing fingers at players for not executing. The policy needs to be total: either no one gets criticized in public (coaches and players), or everyone is fair game to get criticized in public. Singling out 18-22 year old players but shielding 40-50-and 60-something coaches is bizarre. But the reason that Bowden does this is simple: he cannot face the fact that he made a disastrous decision in promoting his son Jeff to offensive coordinator. Bobby stated in his book The Bowden Way that he won't fire a coach for performance because that means he will have to admit to himself that he made a mistake in hiring him. He is already predisposed to give an assistant coach all the time and opportunity in the world. When that assistant coach is also his son, and combined with the natural course of aging, the rationalizations for the disaster that is the FSU offense kick into high gear, and the abject refusal to make a change is intensified.

The player development on the offensive side of the ball since 2001 at Florida State has been non-existent. While the Noles still churn out high draft picks on defense, there is a dearth of development on the offensive side. But, Coach Bowden does not see a systemic problem. It's all about making the blocks, completing the passes, and not turning the ball over. If only it were that simple.

As an aside, consider this about Bowden and his obsessive defense of Jeff: one of Bobby's grandsons and his former son-in-law were killed in a car accident just a few days before the season opener in 2004. This loss devastated him to his core. Family is more important than ever to him. Keep that in mind if you really think he will demote or fire his own flesh and blood.

But, with Coach Bowden's abject refusal to make any change whatsoever and his stubborn decision to stay on as head coach, each loss will bring about more and more criticism of the son he only wishes to help. Each loss will bring more and more of the questions that now make him bristle. Each loss will ding his legacy a bit more.

Yes, Coach Bowden would love to retire as the winningest 1-A coach of all time. If he leaves after this year, Joe Paterno will likely pass him next season. Oh well. It would be much worse if Paterno passes Bowden while Bobby is still coaching.

For Coach Bowden's sake primarily, I truly hope he chooses to retire at the end of this season. And when I say for his sake primarily, I mean it--this may be the last season where he has the chance to go out on his own terms. The Noles are not going to magically get back into the Top 10 at status quo, and there are only so many 4 and 5-loss seasons that can be brushed aside. If Bobby were to make such an announcement soon, whatever happens this season (and in retrospect the last 5 years)gets glossed over. A 6-6 record? Oh well, but at least he knew when to leave. Tributes, farewells and tears will flow his way for all that he's done not just for Florida State but for all of college football.

Retirement will not be as boring as he thinks. He has a loving wife, 20+ grandkids, speaking engagements out the wazoo and plenty of golf to play. Mark Richt, Tommy Bowden and Chuck Amato will buzz his phone every week for advice and insight.

Bobby, we love ya, but it's time to hand over the keys. Thank you for all you've done.

Time gets the best of everyone

Allow Me Some Time To Grieve

A weekend recap will be coming in the next day or so, but for the time being I am mourning the Death of ACC Football. These past three weeks ain't no fluke, folks.

And as a Seminole alum and fan, I will be doing some double-duty grieving as it has finally become apparent that Bobby Bowden's coaching career is flatlining. I love the man, but it's time he stop taking care of his incompetent son on the taxpayer dole, and it's time for him to enjoy his remaining years with Ann and the grandkids.