Leave Him Alone

Friends,

I will keep this brief, but heartfelt. I understand that Bobby Bowden is aging a bit, but he is an institution at Florda State, having been there for over thirty years as head coach. He is also the second winningest Division !a coach of all time, ranking just behind Jo Paterno. One of the things that rankles me, in this case, is our pragmatic society that says -- if it works for me today...great, if it doesn't work tomorrow...change it. This may be so in many cases. But, Mr. Bowden has earned the right to leave on his terms. He shouldn't be getting pressure and made to feel guilty just because his team is 2-3 at this point. Joe Paterno, at Penn State, had this happen to him a few years ago. The octogenarion had experienced a difficult year, and all of the vultures started swirling, and the carnivorous media types were wanting to know when Jo Pa was going to be done. The next year, he was 11-1. This could very well happen to Bobby Bowden. So...leave him alone. Let him enjoy the twilight of his career without being under intense media scrutiny...asking him if he should be fired or when he is going to step down. There are just some people who should be untouchable...Pat Summit, Joe Paterno, Coach K. They have earned some grace. Blessings,

Don