Bobby Bowden not surprised by son's resignation
Posted: Saturday October 24, 1998 12:29 AM
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Bobby on Terry: "I think it was a 'leave now or get fired at the end of the year' situation." Rick Stewart/Allsport |
ATLANTA (AP) -- Bobby Bowden said Friday he was not surprised
that his son Terry had resigned as football coach at Auburn.
Florida State's head coach of 20 years last spoke with his son
three days ago. At that time, it appeared Terry Bowden was close to
severing his ties with Auburn.
"I talked to him and told him to let us know before anything
happened, but I wasn't able to talk to him because of the plane
delay," Bobby Bowden said. "Talking to him, he loved the 5 1/2 years
at Auburn. That's where he wanted to end his career."
FSU's Delta Air Lines charter flight to Atlanta for the team's
game Saturday against Georgia Tech departed from Tallahassee more
than three hours late. As it was taxiing down the runway, the plane
had engine trouble and was called back to the terminal.
At 5 p.m., the Seminoles left Tallahassee, but nine players
asked to travel to Atlanta by bus and were allowed to do so.
Sixth-ranked FSU is scheduled to play at No. 20 Georgia Tech at 7
p.m.
"We started to take off, and the engine made an explosive
sound," Bowden said. "I don't like it when the team is not
together, but in this case it was necessary."
The players who chose to travel by bus were receivers Peter
Warrick, Robert Morgan and Marvin Minnis, cornerback Tay Cody, kicker
Sebastian Janikowski, defensive ends David Warren and Jamal
Reynolds, tailback Jeff Chaney and fullback Lamarr Glenn.
Bowden said the departure of Terry Bowden is a blow to Auburn
and a disappointment to him personally. The Seminoles and Tigers
were scheduled to play each other in 1999 at Tallahassee and in
2000 at Auburn.
Terry Bowden, 42, is 1-5 this season at Auburn. He began his
tenure with the Tigers with a 20-0 mark -- the first Division I-A
coach to achieve such a feat. He was 46-12-1 through his first five
seasons and was 3-2 against cross-state rival Alabama.
After taking Auburn to the Southeastern Conference championship
game last year, Terry Bowden signed a seven-year contract, with a
base salary of $155,000 and benefits boosting the total package at
more than $800,000.
But a poor start this year and a series of off-the-field
problems led to speculation that his job was in jeopardy.
"Evidently, he's gone ahead and resigned," the elder Bowden,
68, said. "I think it was a 'leave now or get fired at the end of
the year' situation.
"The only thing I did was give him everything that could
possibly happen -- every scenario I could think of. I just told him
to be sure he was doing the right thing."
Bobby Bowden said he experienced a similar situation during his
tenure at West Virginia in 1974, when his Mountaineers went 4-7. He
went 9-3 the next year before leaving for FSU.
"The popular choice was to fire me," Bobby Bowden said. "The
president, the AD, the athletic committee and the trustees stood
behind me and got me through it. I stayed another year and left."
The FSU charter plane had a busy day. It took Mississippi
State's football team to Baton Rouge, Louisiana, earlier Friday for the
Bulldogs' game at LSU. The plane appeared to be in good shape when
it landed in Tallahassee, but that was not the case.
Details of the flight's difficulties were not immediately known.
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