Bobby Bowden & Other Coaching Elite Past Prime? No.

Great coaches don't come around every day. Coaches who can consistently recruit, overcome obstacles, build a program and keep it in good standing is something to cherish. Understanding this fact, why is there all the fuss about getting rid of Bobby Bowden, one of the best if not the best college football coach of all time? Throughout the 1980s – 1990s there were three coaches who had such long tenure with their respective schools that there was some debate on who was going to outlast the longest. Through the 2000 season, Penn State's Joe Paterno had the longest tenure with one school with 34 years. Brigham Young's Lavell Edwards was next with 28 years & Florida State's Bobby Bowden had 34 years coaching but only 24 consecutive with FSU. After the 2000 season BYU's Lavell Edwards retired & this past decade has received many accolades for his accomplishments including being honored with the Stadium being renamed to Lavelle Edwards Stadium. Whereas, Joe Paterno and Bobby Bowden have seemingly had to convince people, or remind them, that the job is theirs to keep or let go.

That being said, before Lavelle Edwards retired, he too had to meet the grumblings of fans that he was too old, past his prime, didn't understand today's game, was getting out recruited, and could no longer compete. When he finally did retire, fans, alumni, boosters and everyone alike felt like
this was going to be a new beginning, a chance for BYU to compete on the National level year in a year out. So how are you going to replace a guy that's been there for 30 years? BYU went with an offensive coordinator from the NFL, Gary Crowton and right out of the box he guided the team a 12-2 record, their best in 4 years. Fans felt they had received confirmation that it was time for Lavelle Edwards to go. However, that team was full of seniors, a future NFL quarterback, running back and middle linebacker. The following season BYU fell to 5-7, which ended the current longest steak without a losing season at that time. He followed that with two more losing seasons & finally got the boot. Oh, how the fans longed for Lavelle Edwards. There was even talk amongst fans about convincing him to un-retire! Lavelle Edwards has stated that he didn't retire because of any other reason than "it was time", but there was talk for years before he retired of a need to push him out the door.

Interestingly enough, the long standing record of consecutive winning seasons broken by Gary Crowton was previously held by Penn State until the 2000 season, in which the Nittany Lions went 5-7. This is what great coaching is: winning. Lavelle Edwards had 1 losing season his entire career and it was in his second season in 1973. Bobby Bowden has had 1 losing season, in his 1^st year in 1976 & previous to the 2000 season Joe Paterno NEVER had a losing season, the worst season he ever had was a 5-5 record in his 1^st season in 1966! With all of the talk about Bobby Bowden to retire, some have stated, as they did with Lavelle Edwards, that he is too old, past his prime, doesn't understand today's game, getting out recruited and can no longer compete. When comparing Bobby Bowden to Joe Paterno many have said, "Well, Joe Paterno's winning so it's not the same situation." Wow! How soon we forget! Just a few years ago, these same things being said about Bobby Bowden were being said about Joe Paterno, but frankly for better reasons. He wasn't winning, and there were signs of decline. As stated, JoPa never had a losing season until 2000, then followed that with three more losing seasons. Even back then I still thought that JoPa should be able to retire when he wanted to, not because someone forced him out. As it turns out he has gone on to two top-10 finishes and has his team ranked in the top 10 again. Consider the win/loss records the past few years from FSU and PSU…

YEAR        FSU        PSU

2001        8-4        5-7

2002        9-5        9-4

2003        10-3        3-9

2004        9-3        4-7

2005        8-5        9-4

2006        7-6        9-4

2007        7-6        9-4

2008        9-4        11-2

Seriously, have fans lost their minds, or in this case impatient trustees? Over the same period Bobby Bowden's slump was two back to back 7-6 seasons, not 3 losing seasons, two of which were back to back. Now let's take a look back to Lavelle Edwards last few seasons.

YEAR    JoPaterno    BoBowden    LaEdwards

1995    9-3        10-2        7-4

You're currently logged into Facebook

Do you want to share your Bleacher Report activity on Facebook?