Bowden and Barney Fife, and other Friday links
posted by LW, Friday, February 12, 2010
So now Bobby Bowden claims that his only option to remain at Florida State was insultingly beneath him.
Bowden, whose great program gradually slipped into abject mediocrity, apparently was given an opportunity to remain with the Seminoles as an "ambassador-coach."
Sounds like a good role for an 80-year-old who stayed in coaching way too long. In fact, it's a role similar to one that lots of Clemson fans have long thought should be created for Danny Ford.
Bowden, though, viewed any role as a slap in the face if that role did not include coaching.
In this article by Brian Landman of the St. Pete Times, Bowden thumbs his nose at the idea.
"The ambassador-coach was something below my dignity," Bowden, who chose to bow out after the Jan. 1 Gator Bowl, said Thursday. "It reminded me of Barney Fife. They gave him a gun, but they won't let him put the bullet in there."
Funny, but Bowden's on-field presence in his later years was kinda reminiscent of Fife.
Criticizing Bowden is difficult and feels wrong, because the man just might be the best coach in college football history. But he clearly did not get it over the last few years of his tenure at Florida State, and he clearly does not get it now.
He's acting as if all his accomplishments were forgotten over one bad year. He's acting as if Florida State fans should have been happy with prolonged mediocrity -- and happy with him sticking around as long as he darn well pleased as rival coaches savaged him and his program on the recruiting trail while publicly criticizing those who wanted him out.
And speaking of Bowden's departure, former Florida State president T.K. Wetherell -- thought to be one of Bowden's closest allies in Tallahassee -- disagrees with Bowden's account that he was forced out.
What is it about Bowdens and disputes about whether they were fired or not fired?
Interesting situation in Raleigh. N.C. State hires Jon Tenuta to be linebackers coach. Tenuta has been a highly regarded coordinator, and he's working for a coordinator (Mike Archer) who has drawn intense criticism.
Tenuta is also known as the belligerent type. Should be fun to watch.
Miami drops some ticket prices for Hurricanes games at Whatchamacalit Stadium. The move from the Orange Bowl might've sounded good in theory, but it has not gone well.
Kevin Steele turns down Tennessee and gets a $200,000 raise to $575,000. Ellis Johnson turns down Tennessee and gets a $350,000 raise to $700,000.
Yes, the SEC's new TV deal tends to matter.
The Big Ten is making overtures to ... Texas?
There'd be something patently un-American about Bevo making regular trips to Evanston and East Lansing.
This Austin columnist says it ain't gonna happen, partner.
In the Washington Post, a look at the weird new rule imposing recruiting restrictions on coaches-in-waiting.
As long as you still have a head coach, what sense does it make to keep off the road an assistant who might or might not become the head coach?
Rob Daniels of the ACC Sports Journal writes about Ish Smith's achilles heel.
Smith is an excellent point guard. Poll the 347 Division I head coaches, ply them with truth serum and see how many would prefer Smith to the guy running their show. John Calipari might take John Wall and Gary Williams would go for the maddening but creative Greivis Vazquez, but the list can’t be much longer than that. Smith’s ability to dribble through potential traps, run 15 seconds off the clock by himself and then hit tremendously clutch shots in the final minutes is awfully appealing.
And it makes his one deficiency all the more confounding. Unless he gets hot – and by hot, we mean lukewarm – down the stretch, Smith will become only the second player in ACC history to shoot below 50 percent from the foul line (with a minimum of 50 FTA) in each of three seasons. The other is Ivano Newbill, a 6-9 bruiser for Georgia Tech in the early 1990s.
Woody Dantzler is back in the Upstate.
AJC writer Carroll Rogers wonders if Georgia Tech is an NCAA Tournament team. The fact that it's even a question tells you how much Paul Hewitt has left to be desired this season.
Wonder what Mike Krzyzewski or Gary Williams could do with that kind of talent?
LW
Click here for the "Eye On The Tigers" blog archive.
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So now Bobby Bowden claims that his only option to remain at Florida State was insultingly beneath him.
Bowden, whose great program gradually slipped into abject mediocrity, apparently was given an opportunity to remain with the Seminoles as an "ambassador-coach."
Sounds like a good role for an 80-year-old who stayed in coaching way too long. In fact, it's a role similar to one that lots of Clemson fans have long thought should be created for Danny Ford.
Bowden, though, viewed any role as a slap in the face if that role did not include coaching.
In this article by Brian Landman of the St. Pete Times, Bowden thumbs his nose at the idea.
"The ambassador-coach was something below my dignity," Bowden, who chose to bow out after the Jan. 1 Gator Bowl, said Thursday. "It reminded me of Barney Fife. They gave him a gun, but they won't let him put the bullet in there."
Funny, but Bowden's on-field presence in his later years was kinda reminiscent of Fife.
Criticizing Bowden is difficult and feels wrong, because the man just might be the best coach in college football history. But he clearly did not get it over the last few years of his tenure at Florida State, and he clearly does not get it now.
He's acting as if all his accomplishments were forgotten over one bad year. He's acting as if Florida State fans should have been happy with prolonged mediocrity -- and happy with him sticking around as long as he darn well pleased as rival coaches savaged him and his program on the recruiting trail while publicly criticizing those who wanted him out.
And speaking of Bowden's departure, former Florida State president T.K. Wetherell -- thought to be one of Bowden's closest allies in Tallahassee -- disagrees with Bowden's account that he was forced out.
What is it about Bowdens and disputes about whether they were fired or not fired?
Interesting situation in Raleigh. N.C. State hires Jon Tenuta to be linebackers coach. Tenuta has been a highly regarded coordinator, and he's working for a coordinator (Mike Archer) who has drawn intense criticism.
Tenuta is also known as the belligerent type. Should be fun to watch.
Miami drops some ticket prices for Hurricanes games at Whatchamacalit Stadium. The move from the Orange Bowl might've sounded good in theory, but it has not gone well.
Kevin Steele turns down Tennessee and gets a $200,000 raise to $575,000. Ellis Johnson turns down Tennessee and gets a $350,000 raise to $700,000.
Yes, the SEC's new TV deal tends to matter.
The Big Ten is making overtures to ... Texas?
There'd be something patently un-American about Bevo making regular trips to Evanston and East Lansing.
This Austin columnist says it ain't gonna happen, partner.
In the Washington Post, a look at the weird new rule imposing recruiting restrictions on coaches-in-waiting.
As long as you still have a head coach, what sense does it make to keep off the road an assistant who might or might not become the head coach?
Rob Daniels of the ACC Sports Journal writes about Ish Smith's achilles heel.
Smith is an excellent point guard. Poll the 347 Division I head coaches, ply them with truth serum and see how many would prefer Smith to the guy running their show. John Calipari might take John Wall and Gary Williams would go for the maddening but creative Greivis Vazquez, but the list can’t be much longer than that. Smith’s ability to dribble through potential traps, run 15 seconds off the clock by himself and then hit tremendously clutch shots in the final minutes is awfully appealing.
And it makes his one deficiency all the more confounding. Unless he gets hot – and by hot, we mean lukewarm – down the stretch, Smith will become only the second player in ACC history to shoot below 50 percent from the foul line (with a minimum of 50 FTA) in each of three seasons. The other is Ivano Newbill, a 6-9 bruiser for Georgia Tech in the early 1990s.
Woody Dantzler is back in the Upstate.
AJC writer Carroll Rogers wonders if Georgia Tech is an NCAA Tournament team. The fact that it's even a question tells you how much Paul Hewitt has left to be desired this season.
Wonder what Mike Krzyzewski or Gary Williams could do with that kind of talent?
LW
Click here for the "Eye On The Tigers" blog archive.
Link to this entry - Discuss this entry - Return to Blog Home
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