TALLAHASSEE, Fla. — Bobby Bowden says there will be an announcement on his coaching future at Florida State on Tuesday.
The 80-year-old coach met with Florida State President T.K. Wetherell and athletic director Randy Spetman for an hour Monday.
“We talked about my future here at Florida State,” Bowden said at a Monday booster luncheon. He didn’t elaborate.
Bowden, however, was in good humor, drawing laughs several times with quips and one-liners.
The coach said Sunday he wanted to return in 2010 for his 35th season at Florida State, but that decision was not in his hands, but the Florida State administration.
Bowden has been on a one-year rollover contract with the university for several years, but that ends after the 2010 season. Florida State agreed in 2007 to pay offensive coordinator Jimbo Fisher $5 million if he was elevated to head coach by January 2011.
After an embarrassing 37-10 loss to the Gators on Saturday, Bowden said he needed do to some soul-searching about his future. The Seminoles have lost their last three games to Florida by scores of 45-12, 45-15 and 37-10.
Bowden’s 388 career wins are second only to Penn State’s Joe Paterno among major college coaches.
The winningest coach in Atlantic Coast Conference history, Bowden teams put together the most dominant run in college football history between 1987 and 2000 with 14 consecutive finishes in the nation’s top five and a pair of national titles.
But the Seminoles’ fortunes haven’t been nearly as good in recent years.
Since winning their 12th Atlantic Coast Conference championship in 2005, the Seminoles have been 16-16 over the past four seasons.
“There’s no doubt in my mind Florida State will come back,” Bowden said Monday.
Talk to us
> Give us your news tips.
> Send us a letter to the editor.
> More Herald contact information.