Tale of Two Tommy's: Why Bowden and Tuberville Will Coach Again

This season has been a serious disappointment for both football programs at Auburn and Clemson.  Neither team has gotten anywhere close to the level of play they were supposed to get to, much less what they wanted to achieve.  

Both of their seasons have been headlined by the dismissal of their respective head coaches.  

Tommy Bowden stepped down as Clemson's head coach in the middle of the season, setting up what should have been a horrendous finish to the season.  The Tigers of Clemson University have rallied since then though to finish 7-5 with a chance to beat the Nebraska Cornhuskers in the Gator Bowl.  

The Auburn Tigers, however, have not been so fortunate.  

Finishing a disappointing game away from becoming bowl-eligible, the 5-7 Tigers now have to face the unenviable task of finding a new head coach.  

Clemson was fortunate enough to find their next head honcho in the interim coach, who went an impressive 4-2 during his proving period.

This trial period, along with his previous six years at Clemson, made the decision to hire Dabo Swinney full-time that much easier.  He was given a five-year deal last week.

Auburn is in a much tighter position.  Following an absolutely crushing loss to rival Alabama, their unpleasant season was capped off with the, whether voluntary or involuntary, leaving of coach Tommy Tuberville.  

Both of these coaches, especially Bowden, have been in what some would argue season-long hot seats in recent years.  Tuberville, however, had one thing Bowden did not: a championship.  

Forget the debacle that was the "shared title" a few years ago.  The point is, Tuberville produced a championship-caliber team and did something with them.  

In his entire nine-plus-year tenure here at Clemson, Bowden failed to even get into the ACC Championship Game.

Despite both of these coaches having a past of unfortunate seasons, there is no doubt that both of these men will step back onto the gridiron in a head coaching position.  

Just because they could not QUITE get over the hump most years, they are fine coaches who know how to put a program together.  

As previously stated, Tuberville produced a couple of SEC Championship teams and even a National Championship team.  Anyone who can take a team to the SEC Championship, especially in the SEC West, knows what he is doing in the game of football.  

Just because Bowden never brought home a championship doesn't mean he isn't a championship-caliber coach.  Football runs in his blood.  Football is what he does.  The man probably doesn't know how to do much else.  

But, that doesn't matter when you are as good at coaching college football as this man is.  

Both of these men have exemplified what a football program needs in a head coach. Both are upstanding gentlemen on and off the field.  Both coaches have stood the test of time and deserve another shot with a college football program.  

With their knowledge and experience, both Bowden and Tuberville will coach again in the realm of college football.