Bowden Facing The Heat at Florida State

Florida State mascot Chief Osceola always plants a flaming spear at midfield before every home game at Bobby Bowden Field at Doak S. Campbell Stadium.

This pregame ritual was synonomous with the dominance Florida State once possessed at home and on the road in the late 1980's and 1990's.  Today's it is done but the impact is not the same for the Seminoles of the 2000's.

Following Florida State’s seven-point loss at Boston College over the weekend the sole architect of this once proud program is facing the pressure.

Bobby Bowden’s team is currently 2-3 and 0-2 in the Atlantic Coast Conference in his 34th season at the helm.  Many disgruntled fans ranging from current students, alumni, boosters and board of trustees’ members are growing more frustrated and beginning to ask with a louder voice for Bowden to step down after this season ends.

More than ever before, the turmoil in Tallahassee has Seminole nation against each on the issue of when Bowden should surrender his control of the team.  On the popular Florida State “Rivals” message board “Warchant” some are calling on fans to wear black this Saturday against No. 22 Georgia Tech as a silent protest while others are calling for fans to wear white in support of Bowden.     

On Sunday chairman of the board Jim Smith said in the Tallahassee Democrat that Bowden should step-down at the end of the year.

"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," Smith said. " ... 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.

"I think the record will show that the Seminole Nation has been more than patient. 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."

Wednesday Florida State President T.K. Wetherell gave his support to the legendary head coach.  Bowden will not be forced out at the end of the season but Wetherell did say that the transition from Bowden to Fisher would eventually take place.
 
"Two years ago coach Bowden and I, and others, stood together and announced that we were beginning a period of transition for the football program," Wetherell said in a news release. "That plan is in place and will produce results, given the opportunity and support."

Head coach in-waiting Jimbo Fisher was hired in 2007 as the offensive coordinator and quarterbacks coach.  In December of ’07 he was named the eventual successor to take over for Bowden, whose contract expires after the 2010 season.  The boiling point is that if Fisher is not named head coach of the Seminoles by January of 2011 the school will owe him $5 million.

Bowden became the head coach of Florida State in 1976, to date his only losing season in Tallahassee.   The argument for many is that Florida State=Bobby Bowden.  Florida State would not be in the upper echelon of college football for much of the 1980’s and 1990’s without its C.E.O, the man that built the company from the ground up.

For 14 straight years the Seminoles finished in the Top 5 from 1987 through 2000.  In that span of excellence Florida State won titles in 1993 and 1999.  Since 2001 though the ‘Noles have fallen on hard times.  In those eight seasons they finished six times, the highest, 11th, coming in 2003. 

There was a lot of criticism when Bowden kept son Jeff, as the offensive coordinator following the departure of Mark Richt, who was hired as the Georgia Bulldogs head coach.  The younger Bowden held the position from 2001-2006 but the offense struggled during his tenure upsetting the Florida State faithful.

Bowden’s record since 2001 is 69-39 a 63% winning percentage. His record are as follows: 8-4 (2001), 9-5 (2002), 10-3 (2003), 9-3 (2004), 8-5 (2005), 7-6 (2006), 7-6 (2007), 9-4 (2008).

There is reason for the 79-year old Alabama native to step down from his post with his team’s recent struggles.  Bowden stands as the second winningest coach in major football history with a record of 384-126-4.  But the team is no longer a national power.

It is sad to see a head coach build a program from the ground up only to see it start to crumble from the inside out.  Bowden is skeptical he can turn things around but it may be falling on deaf ears. 

With a year left, the Bobby Bowden era looks to be coming to an end at Florida State fast and not with him riding off into the sunset.  The flaming spear that once lit brightly is barely flickering after 34-years.