Florida State University officials have confirmed that there will be an announcement this afternoon – probably in the form of a press release — after head coach (for now) Bobby Bowden meets with the football team, scheduled for 2:15 Tallahassee time.

The school would neither confirm nor deny that the announcement will be Bowden’s retirement but three independent sources are reporting that this is the case based on discussions with “high-ranking” university officials.

All three reports are consistent in saying that yesterday’s discussion between Bowden, university president T.K. Wetherell, and Director of Athletics Randy Spetman focused on Bowden’s role with the team going forward.  The options presented were:

1.  remain as “head coach” while ceding most of the decision authority for the program to Jimbo Fisher, or

2.  step down.

All three sources report that Bowden has elected the latter option and the school will announce his retirement following the 2:15 team meeting.

Additionally, one source reports that a new contract for Jimbo Fisher, reflecting his position as head coach of the Florida State Seminoles, was completed last night as well.  No details about the contract are available at this point.

Stay tuned throughout the day for additional information on the retirement of Coach Bowden.

Will keep you posted as I get additional information.

~Smokey Joe

Joe Mayes Florida State, General

Sources close to the Florida State University football boosters have reported that one big-money booster has weighed in on whether or not legendary head coach Bobby Bowden should return for 2010.

The question is, how much weight does $15 million carry in Tallahassee?

The unnamed booster has reportedly offered to donate $15 million toward the construction of an indoor training facility for the Seminole football program.  One condition, however, is that Jimbo Fisher, not Bowden, be the man to coach the football team in the new practice facility.

Plans have been announced for the facility but funding remains an issue.  (Design firm Ellerbe Becket has provided the school preliminary pictures here, here, here, and here.)

Director of Athletics, Randy Spetman, has confirmed that there are some donors willing to provide what he called, “seed money.”  “We do have some [money] committed for the project and a number of interested donors, but are not at a point to announce any kind of time line.”

If my sources are correct, the reason there is no time line for the donation is there has been no time line announced for Bowden’s departure.

This appears to be yet another twist in a seemingly ever more acrimonious split between Bobby Bowden and the Florida State University football program he essentially built.  After 34 years together, maybe it’s true…there is no easy way to say goodbye.

Stay tuned for more…

~Smokey Joe

Joe Mayes ACC, Florida State

When Florida State head football coach Bobby Bowden was asked what departing defensive coordinator Mickey Andrews has meant to him during their past quarter century together, Bowden pulled a reference from Southern history.  “What did [Stonewall] Jackson mean to [Robert E.] Lee?” he said, analogizing his relationship with his longtime assistant and friend to that of the two Civil War generals.  “He said it was his right arm.”

And so it has been for the past quarter-century:  Andrews as Bowden’s right arm as the two men built, from the ground up, a Nationally-prominent football program together.

You know the records.  Fourteen consecutive ten-win seasons from 1987-2000.  Fourteen consecutive top-5 finishes in the AP poll.  More than 150 players drafted by NFL teams.

And much of the Seminoles success over the years was predicated on Andrews’ defensive schemes that transformed the football landscape from coast-to-coast.  He crafted defensive game plans to attack the opponents’ offense before the offense could attack them.  He put great athletes in positions to make big plays and created an atmosphere in which these athletes pushed the envelope of what had previously been the role of the defense.

Of course, this atmosphere resulted in incidents like those involving former Florida Heisman winning quarterback Danny Wuerffel during the mid-1990’s.  Andrews charges were accused of dirty play, of trying to deliberately hurt Wuerffel and other opposing teams’ offensive stars.

Andrews role in these incidents can be debated but what is certain is that offenses in college football had to adapt and transform in response to the Noles’ attacking, focused aggression.

This influence extended beyond the college game, too.  Andrews developed 18 first-round NFL draft picks during 26 seasons at Florida State beginning with cornerback Deion Sanders in 1989.  In total, 73 former Nole defenders have been taken by NFL teams, including stars like Sanders, Peter Boulware, Derrick Brooks, Terrell Buckley, LeRoy Butler, Sam Cowart and Marvin Jones.

“Not a single day goes by when I am coaching, mentoring or teaching somebody that I don’t use things Coach Andrews taught me,” Sanders said upon hearing the announcement of Andrews retirement.

The Nov 21 game against Maryland will mark Andrews’ final game in the stadium he helped double in size, from 40,500 seats to more than 83,000.  Just once more, he’ll send his troops onto the field named for his boss for the previous 26 years.  He’ll travel to Gainesville next weekend and, if the Seminoles are able to win one of their final two games, maybe even to a bowl game to close things out on a high note.

But after that, if head coach Bobby Bowden does decide to come back for one final year in 2010, he’ll be doing it without his right arm.

Joe Mayes ACC, Florida State

Fear the Spear but Don’t Sweat the Shield

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Joe Mayes ACC, Florida State