So long and happy days, Coach Bobby

Posted Dec 1, 2009 by Tom McEwen

Updated Dec 1, 2009 at 07:38 PM

The Florida State Seminoles and college football won’t be the same any more. Bobby Bowden has retired as the forever head coach.

No one ever used the nearest thing to expletives such as dadgum and goshdang with the same sincerity and fire as Bobby, except for maybe late Buccaneer Coach John McKay in his distresses after all of those Buccaneer losses.

We all knew the futility of Bowden in his exasperations at any Seminole misdeed. 

Well, it is all over now.  Bowden can retire to life with Ann and his kin for the rest of his days.

He is 80 and in the best of health, but his golf game remains one of the problems of his life. He has never really conquered it, but he is still trying. Even I could beat him on the golf course.  But few could outcoach Bobby Bowden. He won two national championships for Florida States and countless games.  They have already built a statue and named a park after him.  Surely, that won’t be the end of it. They will name more Florida State special events after this wonderful man whose only enemy were those coaches who took defeats personal after he whooped up on ‘em repeatedly. 

When Bowden came to Florida State from West Virginia, he considered it his finest opportunity.  I happened to be with him talking at a Bill Watson party in Tampa when Bowden got the phone call offering him the job at Florida State.  He snapped it up.

He knew his future was there, emphasized by the fact that when he returned to West Virginia that night after getting the job, ice prevented him from climbing the hill in his car to get to his home. 

He got out and walked. He praised his own decision to take the job in Florida. 

On the field, Bowden was a fine offensive coach, he was innovative and he beat the Gators with enough regularity to make the Gator faithful respectful. Through all of those wins, I never heard Bowden boast.  He was modest in his successes always, but particularly more proud of the Florida State victories than he would acknowledge.   

No, he was not was boastful. He was a modest man who was proud of Florida State and of America.  Bowden’s greatest joys included visiting battlefields of great American victories under fire.  He loved to read American military history and still does.

I am not so sure Bobby Bowden will be satisfied with the life of retirement even at 80.  He has always been an extraordinarily active man away from his office, spending time with the family who he adores. 

In all of the years that I have known Bobby Bowden, I have never heard him use profanity or demean anyone else.  He is not a perfect man, but he doesn’t have any faults of which I know and he has had one hell of a coaching career. He is also a fine Christian man. He brought Florida State from nowhere to rank among the best football programs in America.  Remember, twice he produced national champions at Florida State. 

Now, think about that. 

When Bowden got to FSU, he very quickly booked games with some of the biggest, toughest schools in America like Nebraska and Ohio State, and his team gave those great schools fits and made the Florida State games one of the most important games on the national scene every year. 

This man was/is one fine football coach, who has chosen to retire the winner that he is. 

Fine, since it is his decision. 

Thank you, Bobby for all of those good years you were part of my beat.

Next time we play golf, I need two strokes a side.