Bowden to announce coaching future on Tuesday
TALLAHASSEE, Fla. -- Bobby Bowden says there will be an announcement Tuesday on his coaching future at Florida State.
The 80-year-old coach met with Florida State President T.K. Wetherell and athletic director Randy Spetman for an hour Monday in Bowden's office.
"We'll finalize it tomorrow," Bowden told reporters as he departed a weekly booster luncheon. "We talked about our options."
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Bowden has said before making a decision he had to do some soul searching, which will likely include mulling over the division of responsibility between he and coach-in-waiting Jimbo Fisher -- especially over changes in the assistant coaching ranks. Fisher, the offensive coordinator, receives $5 million from Florida State if he's not the head coach by January 2011.
Bowden, whose 388 career wins are second only to Penn State's Joe Paterno among major college coaches, has also said he could not return as a head coach with no authority.
Spetman described Monday's meeting in Bowden's office as congenial.
"It's always cordial with coach Bowden," Spetman said. "He's a good man."
The coach was in good humor when he told a couple hundred boosters Monday at his weekly luncheon that he had the discussion about his future. The coach drew laughs from fans several times with quips and one-liners.
Bowden was not as upbeat after FSU's embarrassing 37-10 loss to the Gators on Saturday. The Seminoles have lost their last three games to Florida by scores of 45-12, 45-15 and 37-10.
But by Sunday, Bowden said he wanted to return in 2010 for his 35th season at Florida State, but that decision couldn't be finalized before he met with Florida State administrators.
Bowden has been on a one-year rollover agreement with the university for several years, but that ends after the 2010 season. Wetherell agreed in December 2007 to pay Fisher $5 million if he was not elevated to head coach by January 2011.
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, finishing this year with a 6-6 record after starting the year with high expectations and a preseason No. 18 ranking.
In 1993, despite a late-season slip at Notre Dame, Florida State won its first national title after near misses in 1987, 1988, 1991 and 1992 -- several seasons because of losses to nemesis Miami, which won three national titles during that span.
Bowden experienced his lone perfect season in 1999 as the Seminoles became the first team to go wire-to-wire in The Associated Press poll ranked No. 1 from the preseason to finish.
Since winning their 12th ACC championship in 2005, the Seminoles have been 16-16 over the past four seasons against league opponents.
"There's no doubt in my mind Florida State will come back," Bowden said Monday.
