The Beginning of the End: Forcing Out Coaching Legend Bobby Bowden

TAMPA—I hate rainy games. Have I ever mentioned that? It seems to bring out the worst in fans, players, and coaches alike. I just dad-gum hate 'em. I'll bet Coach Bowden's getting there too.

Well, it's official. Florida State is 2-3, and Bobby Bowden might be out the door. Yep, there it is. The Seminoles are off to their worst start since 1983. The 'Noles just lost another "must win" in Beantown.

So the coaching staff in Tallahassee is on the hot seat, even if the chair is still soaked...

Florida State needs to fire someone, huh? Well, who did you have in mind?

One guess.

Keep asking for it, Seminole Nation, and FSU will soon find themselves without the one man who built Florida State from nothing. Nothing. (No disrespect to coaches Veller or Peterson, of course.)

Entering his 33rd season at FSU, Bobby Bowden's teams from the '80s and '90s put up cartoon-like numbers, showcased two Heisman Trophy Winners, another Heisman Finalist, won two National Titles, made five championship appearances in eight seasons, strung together 14 straight top-five finishes, 27 straight bowl appearances, and a winning record in every season since 1977 (Bobby's second year in Tallahassee).

That was a mouthful.

The only mouthful that might be bigger, is saying Bobby Bowden is the reason that Florida State is struggling, and that the man should be fired.

Come on, folks—let's get real.

In Bobby Bowden's quest to become one of the winningest Head Coaches of all time, rather than celebrating the man's 30+ years of accomplishments, the topic on the tip of everyone's tongue, year-in and year-out, has become "when will Bobby step down?"

The 2009 version surfaced following this Saturday's close loss on the road at Boston College, FSU's third loss to an underdog opponent.

Boston College. What can you say about a team like Boston College? The heart on display this past Saturday was hard to compete with.

Senior Linebacker Mark Herzlich has been battling a very rare bone cancer called Ewing's sarcoma, and to commemorate his battle, while raising money and awareness for the deadly disease, the game was dedicated to his fight.

Yeah. How's that for inspiration?

As if to place a ceiling on FSU's fading hopes, in as many weeks, FSU faced yet another rain-soaked challenge that now seems to be a growing omen. Perhaps this just might not be FSU's week, month, or, well—entire season!

Breaking down the inconsistencies, there were several moments where FSU looked doomed to falter in the pivotal ACC contest. After allowing Boston College to break the game open in the first half, the skies managed to clear, and FSU came out more poised in the second half.

Christian Ponder managed to extend FSU the length of the field, hooking up with receivers Owens and Reed on several long strikes downfield, and before long, the once struggling offense put FSU back within striking distance at 21-13.

Then, as quickly as FSU managed to knot the game at 21 apiece, the Eagles answered.

A lot of questions still swirl around how this game got away from FSU. Maybe the Seminoles' four-and-out series from inside the five yard line would be the drive that sealed it.

Or maybe it was the missed field goal by Dustin Hopkins that would have put FSU in front. Maybe it was Greg Reid's dropped sure-pick six that did the trick.

One thing is for certain. It could be blamed on any number of things. None of which were Bobby.

Sure, FSU has become the launchpad for budding programs in need of a signature win. Miami's Randy Shannon on the hot seat? Not anymore.

USF's Jim Leavitt begging for the opportunity to catapult past a member of the big three? Check.

Boston College wants to be sure first year Head Coach Spaziani was the right choice to replace Coach Jags? No problem.

Solution—fire Bobby Bowden? 

Before we go and make a political statement like that, maybe we should be asking some more pertinent questions where larger holes loom: Questions like—who will replace Mickey Andrews when he retires this year? Is Jimbo Fisher really the guy that can make our offense potent again? Why does the season seem to be slipping away after all of the season's promising signs?

What happened to the FSU team that beat BYU? Will FSU be able to overcome the present obstacles and get back to an ACC Championship Game? Is FSU ever going to be relevant again? 

Judging by recent events, we may never get a straight answer to many of these questions, because determining whether the most influential man in FSU Athletics history will be standing on the sidelines next year, is more important than all of the preparation that went into this season, or playing the seven games FSU still has remaining.

People—wake up. We're focusing on the wrong goals.

FSU has arguably the most difficult schedule in the country, with 11 of 12 opponents all bowl teams from just a season ago; not to mention a season finale in Gainesville against the reigning National Champions.

So—instead of preparing for another tough test in Georgia Tech, people all want to know if this is this Coach Bowden's last year. Who cares?!

He is not the team on the field. Not even close. Sure, his $2 million salary might prove important when budgeting a future coach for the Seminoles defense, or special teams, but there are other fish that need to be cleaned before the likes of Bobby, and none of them are named "James."

Can someone please tell me how a former NCAA Head Coach like Chuck Amato can leave his dogs out in the back yard without food or water for two whole seasons, which is apparent in their conditioning, as ball after ball goes sailing into the secondary?

Has he landed one recruit in his time back at FSU? Has he done anything at all?

Heck, at least FSU's offense is scoring points. OL Coach Rick Trickett gets gushing compliments if you ask me. How he managed to turn a bunch of sub-par recruits into an even semi-decent line is lost on people, because maybe they're not the All-Americans they were expected to be. Well, that's just not realistic.

Again—firing or retiring Bobby is not the answer, not the big answer we're all searching for anyways. Bobby staying, may present the dilemma of 'one too many roosters in the hen house,' but aside from that, Jimbo is driving this wagon now, at least offensively.

The one cog keeping him from controlling the defense isn't even Bobby at all, it's the original Head Coach-in-waiting, Defensive Coordinator, Mr. Mickey Andrews.

Andrews has already confirmed this will be his last season with FSU, and there have been rumors that the Defensive/Linebackers Coach of East Carolina, Greg Hudson, might be a candidate to replace him.

Regardless of who does fill Andrews' shoes, that candidate will likely be a welcome addition, especially with the gaping holes at Linebacker coaching. Coach "Chest," or should I say "Empty Chest" has been full of nothing but hot air for the last two seasons.

With any fortune, the Pirates' Defensive guru might be what FSU needs to reclaim some buried treasures in South Florida.

If Amato leaves when Mickey does (which in all likelihood, he should), then you can bet Jimbo will be the only decision maker on the field in 2010, whether Bobby's around or not.

Then FSU fans can really start to watch the Seminoles gear up to their potential, without all of the distractions. 

So Boston College upset FSU. FSU is still FSU, and FSU is still capable of playing up to par with any team in the country. Is this not the same team that beat BYU on the road just three weeks ago?

Never mind the fact that FSU had several questionable calls against them, that could have easily resulted in possession changes or points on the board: namely, a pass interference call late in the fourth quarter where Safety Jamie Robinson wasn't within five yards of the infraction in question. 

Forget the fact that the very next play resulted in the go-ahead touchdown for Boston College. 

None of this is important.

Bobby's head on a lance is more important to critics right now. Why? Because they're not paying attention. They have to blame someone, and he's the easiest target.

Does he have some responsibility? Sure. But we can all agree that his time at the helm, as the leader of this team, really passed a season or two ago, and the loophole of "coach-in-waiting" given to Jimbo Fisher, was a win-win for everyone.

Coach Fisher has been able to go out and recruit his army, free from recruiting rules that forbid Head Coaches from visiting players during certain periods of the recruiting season, and meanwhile Bobby can continue to collect wins (when FSU actually gets them of course).

At this point, you can't even say that pushing out a living legend would change much, if anything at all. The fall from grace began years ago, and Bobby's staying has done nothing to create a detriment to the program. 

Some may say the game has passed Bobby Bowden by. Some may argue that the coaches he surrounds himself with, from family, to friends, are not equipped to coach such an elite program. Some would suggest he fell off somewhere around 2001 to 2003.

Sound about right?

What if I told you that the 23rd best winning percentage of 120 Division-One programs since 2001, belonged to FSU?

What if I told you that was good enough for eight spots ahead of the guy who happens to hold the record for all-time D-I FBS wins—Mr. Joe Paterno?

And what if I told you that same Coach got a three-year contract extension last year, being two years Bobby's senior, after finishing a season with only four wins versus teams with a winning record? (Bobby had five.)

Well, perhaps if Bobby talked to FSU Athletic Director Randy Spetman and could convince him to schedule the likes of Charleston Southern, Citadel, FIU, and Troy more often, then perhaps FSU could finish with a 10-win season and get pulverized in the Orange Bowl next year, because, hey—it got JoePa a contract extension.

To circle back to my point...This week should be no different, regardless of the eye-gouging stat that FSU is 2-3 for the first time in 25+ years. So what? That's why there's a 12-game season. Let's get back to the facts.

This past Saturday, Boston College played like a winning team, a defending ACC Atlantic Champ. So I will say congratulations to you Boston College, I am happy for you. 

I think that there is plenty of room to continue to be optimistic still, and nothing is nearly over. FSU was never looking at an elite status or a National Championship.

Scratch the first five out of the record books, because if FSU can win the rest of these ACC games, they still have a very legitimate shot at winning their division, and challenging the Coastal Champ for a spot in Miami.

If fate has anything to do with it, we can hope that the remainder of the season will be sunny, and dry.

Like I said—I hate rainy games. Of course, it does get rid of all the fair weather fans, and that's okay by me.