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Tuesday, July 22, 2008
Will this year be it for Bobby Bowden?
The Atlanta Journal-Constitution
Greensboro, Ga.-I spent Monday just hanging out with the head coaches at the ACC preseason meetings. Here are some topics for this morning’s discussion.
1. Is this it for Bobby Bowden? There have been rumblings that with his successor, Jimbo Fisher, already in place, this year just might be it for Florida State coach Bobby Bowden, who turns 79 in November. Bowden said “no” when pressed on the question by the media.
“I’m still the head football coach and I’m not ready to get out,” said Bowden, who has 373 career victories, one more than Penn State’s Joe Paterno on the all-time list.
Many years ago Bowden told me (and a lot of others) that the only thing that would drive him out of coaching was poor health or losing. He said at the time that he couldn’t stand the idea of losing four or five games in a season. His last two teams have both gone 7-6.
“I’ve had to adjust my thinking of that,” he said.
Bowden concedes that if things don’t go well, or at least get better in 2008, the decision could be made for him. But nobody in Tallahassee, especially president T.K. Wetherell, wants that to happen.
My belief? Bowden believes that after a couple of good recruiting classes, 2008 will be the set-up year for a run at the ACC title in 2009. I can’t tell you how badly Bowden wants to go out with some kind of championship. He does not want to be remembered as limping to the end of his remarkable career.
But first he has to get through 2008 and for that, September is huge. Florida State will play its first three games without 20-plus players who were suspended in the academic cheating scandal. They’ll beat Western Carolina and Chattanooga with no problem. But on Sept. 20 Wake Forest comes to Doak Campbell Stadium, where the Deacons won 30-0 in 2006. Believe me when I tell you that this will be one of the biggest games in Bobby Bowden’s career.
2. Beamer to keep an open mind on quarterbacks: Virginia Tech received 58 of 65 votes from the media to win the ACC Coastal. Coach Frank Beamer was surprised at that margin because there are so many unanswered questions at Virginia Tech—like the quarterback position.
Beamer insists that both of his quarterbacks, Sean Glennon and Tyrod Taylor, are going to get an equal opportunity to win the starting job before the Hokies open the season on Aug. 30 against East Carolina in Charlotte.
“We needed both of them to win the ACC championship last season but I would like to get it down to one before we play East Carolina,” Beamer said.
You can tell from Beamer’s body language that he’s not really thrilled with the two-quarterback system. He certainly didn’t think it worked in the 24-21 loss to Kansas in the Orange Bowl.
“We just never got into a rhythm,” said Beamer, set to begin his 22nd season in Blacksburg. “It always felt like we were a play behind.”
I don’t know that Beamer will get his wish. If he can only play one quarterback, it would have to be Glennon, who is the most consistent of the two. But Taylor gives Virginia Tech a chance to make big plays. And with All-ACC running back Brandon Ore dismissed from the team, and with the next two backs both recovering from injuries in spring practice, I believe the Hokies will need two quarterbacks again to win the championship.
Keep your eye on this as we go through the season.
3. ACC plans to report on injuries: It’s not a rule so the coaches don’t have to follow it. And if the coaches don’t follow it, there will be no enforcement of it.
But several coaches told me that they have no problem with the new suggested guidelines from the league to report on injuries each Thursday during the season. Here is how it will work:
On Monday the school will announce if there are players who are having surgery and are known to be out for the season. Then there will be no discussion on injuries of any kind until after practice on Thursday, when the school’s medical staff will release information on players and there ability to play in Saturday’s game.
Each player will be listed in one of five categories: Definitely playing, probable, questionable, doubtful, and definitely out for the game.
“It’s not unlike the NFL and that seemed to work,” said Virginia coach Al Groh, the former head coach of the New York Jets.
“The coaches agreed that it would be a good idea to have some consistency in this area,” Wake Forest coach Jim Grobe said. “We’ll see how it works.
Here is the only problem that I see. Coaches like Grobe who have open practices will see this information get out early. Coaches who close practice will be able to control the information.
4. Tommy Bowden hopes the media is right: As expected, Clemson was the overwhelming pick by the media to win the Atlantic Division and to win the ACC championship. Clemson received 59 of 65 first place votes in the division and 51 votes to go to Tampa and win the championship game.
“The last couple of years ya’ll have picked us to finish second or third and that’s kind of where we have been,” Bowden said to a large group of reporters gathered around his table. “Hopefully ya’ll will be smart again.”
In case you are wondering, the media have picked Clemson to win the ACC championship five times in their preseason poll here at the annual meetings. They were right four of the five times.
What the media wanted to know is how Bowden and his team will handle the pressure of high expectations. He was pressed by reporters to reveal how disappointed he would be if this team, which is his most talented, did not win the conference championship. Bowden insisted that he is not going to apologize if his team wins 10 games but does not capture the ACC championship.
“Look at (Georgia’s) Mark Richt. He didn’t win a championship but I don’t think he was disappointed in his season,” Bowden said.
Then someone pointed out that Georgia, despite not winning the SEC championship, did go to a BCS bowl (Sugar). No ACC team has ever received an at-large bid to the BCS.
Bowden has a new contract with a $4 million buyout. You would think he is totally secure after years of being on the hot seat. This is going to be a very interesting year at Clemson.
5. Randy Shannon says goodbye to Orange Bowl: A big chunk of Randy Shannon’s life was spent at the Orange Bowl as a player and a coach for the University of Miami. But last season was the Hurricanes’ last at the old stadium, where they had played their home games since 1937.
The Orange Bowl, the place where Joe Namath shocked the world and Doug Flutie threw the Hail Mary pass that won him the Heisman Trophy, is no more. It’s gone, demolished last spring.
“I was flying back to Miami and looked out the window and I noticed that it was gone,” said Shannon. “It’s just unbelievable that it’s not there any more.”
Shannon said he will not wax nostalgic about the Orange Bowl. He is already focused on Miami’s new digs at Dolphin Stadium, north of the city. The powers that be have built his team their own locker room facility at the stadium so they don’t have to share with the pro team. They have promised to make the stadium Miami green and orange on Saturdays instead of the Dolphin teal.
“There is so much good about this decision and I feel good about it,” Shannon said. “We are going to make it our home.”
Shannon conceded that the best way to make Dolphin Stadium feel like home for the Hurricanes is to start winning more games. He is absolutely right about that.
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