Bowden agrees to one-year deal with options; Fisher to succeed him
TALLAHASSEE, Fla. -- Jimbo Fisher will succeed Bobby Bowden as Florida State's next football coach -- someday.
President T.K. Wetherell designated offensive coordinator Fisher as "head coach-in waiting," but skipped out of a somewhat unusual news conference Monday without answering questions about the contracts that are not yet finalized.
Bowden, major college football's winningest coach, agreed to return for a 33rd season with options to stay longer.
"Every year I'll just re-sign it and tell 'em if I want to coach another year," Bowden said. "I couldn't ask for anything better than that."
Bowden, Fisher and interim athletic director Bill Proctor all skirted questions about what Proctor described as "agreement(s) in principle" that give "stability to our program."
Bowden, 78, said he supported the plan brought to him last week by the president and Proctor, who have both known the coach since the early 1960s.
"I think it's a great plan," Bowden said. "Hey, you get 78 years of age, it's hard to say how you're going out, but we've got a plan. It kind of all started with my contract."
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| Jimbo Fisher has been designated 'head coach-in-waiting' to succeed Bobby Bowden. (AP) |
"My position hasn't changed. As long as I'm healthy," he said, "(and) if I can win enough games."
It's the falloff in wins in recent years that has increased focus on Bowden's age.
"I do have an obligation to the university to win enough ball games," said Bowden, who is 14-11 the past two seasons heading into the Dec. 31 Music City Bowl against Kentucky.
Fisher, a disciple of the Bowden coaching family who played and coached for Terry Bowden, spent much of his time praising the family patriarch and avoiding details on what exactly he agreed to.
"This gives me some peace," said Fisher, who has not been a head coach before. "I'm content to wait for it."
