Bowden, Paterno in sprint to make history

KANSAS CITY, Mo. -- You wonder what the folks in Alabama are thinking right about now.

Their football program is in NCAA jail. It might or might not get relief from an appeal. Most important, at the moment, is that their patron saint, Bear Bryant, is about to fall into third place on the all-time victories list.

Joe Paterno has racked up all 327 of his wins at Penn State.(Allsport)

That is all but assured Saturday night when Bobby Bowden, whose Seminoles are a 22-point favorite over Iowa State, pursues his 324th career victory. That would beat the Bear by one and get Bowden within three of Penn State's Joe Paterno (the leader with 327 victories).

"That's a dang good question," Bowden said, pondering his place in history. "I ain't scared of The Bear no more."

After reporters chuckled, the obvious joke continued, "I think he'd be pleased. Records don't last long."

You wonder what Alabama was thinking in 1986 when it could have had Bowden to replace Ray Perkins. That's Bobby Bowden, the native son of Alabama, worshipper of The Bear who would have crawled to Tuscaloosa if the school would have handled things right.

From the Bowden family angle, the process was bungled. Bobby walked into a meeting room expecting to be handed the keys to Bear's castle but was made to sit for a formal interview.

"From what people told him, he thought he had the job," Bowden's son Terry said. "But you shouldn't have to interview at his age."

You wonder now what college football is thinking. In this age of million-dollar contracts, the sport is still being dominated by two elderly men who are known for their footwear (Paterno's white socks) and folksiness (Bowden's "dad gum").

But quietly and definitely subtly, there is a heck of a competition lining up.

Bowden, 72, trails Paterno, 74, by four games on the all-time victory list.

If Florida State goes something like 10-4 this season and Penn State finishes 6-6, the two would be in a tie. Whatever the outcome, it is likely the two will be dueling for the rest of their careers. The result would be a record that would be out of sight.

Let's say the record reaches 330. Lou Holtz is next in line among active coaches with 232 victories. He would have to win 10 games per season until he was 75 to get to that mark. At the same pace, 40-year Rick Neuheisel would reach 330 before he turned 70.

But with modern salaries and the pressure, there are few Bowdens and Paternos left.

"If you think about it, it does have the potential for a sad ending," said Terry, a college football analyst and former coach at Auburn. "Maybe somebody is losing and won't get out. The two guys are at the exact same point and that may last for a while. It has a chance for a great ending or a sad ending. What if somebody really is after that record and they go out with lots of losses -- an Eddie Robinson type of thing?"

That's the ironic thing this weekend.

Florida State and Iowa State are playing in what could be the last Eddie Robinson Classic. Except for the BCA Classic, the preseason exempt games are scheduled to end after this season.

True, Robinson might have been mediocre near the end of his career, but Grambling never has been the same since he left.

"It's time for football again," Robinson said at a Friday luncheon. "I can't wait to get the football in the air."

Except for the stoop in his walk, the 83-year-old Robinson, who holds the all-division NCAA victories record with 408, looked almost spry enough to take the field again.

Timing is part of the great fear at both Penn State and Florida State -- whenever the two legends do step down, who will be there to carry on the winning tradition?

Alabama native son Bobby Bowden almost got the Crimson Tide job in 1986.(AP)

Bowden has trouble recalling dates at times. Critics of Paterno say he has lost it because of back-to-back losing seasons. But, in general, by their mere presence, they are able to maintain top-notch programs, like Caesars-for-life presided over the Roman empire.

"They say, 'How long are you going to coach?' Paterno said. "I tell them frankly, 'Right now I have three years to go on a contract and something could happen to me. I could have a heart attack, who knows? Whatever it is, this program is going to be the same program.'

"When all of those guys tell you that I am not going to coach, I just want you to know how many of those guys that have said that through the years are out of coaching."

It's hard to find many 70-something men involved in hero worship. It's usually them who look back on a long life and pass on their teachings. Bowden and his peer Paterno do, that but they still have their feet on the pedal.

When asked if it was time to consider naming a successor, Paterno said: "If I thought I was going to get out of it within the next 10 years, I might."

They are the "children" of one of the most remarkable developments in human evolution.

Since the Industrial Revolution, the average life expectancy has doubled from 35 to 73. Just a hundred years ago the average life was only 47. Now Paterno and Bowden are essentially in biological "overtime." It's a neck-and-neck race where the last victory might be won by the Grim Reaper.

"They chose to make a career out of one of the most competitive professions where the only thing that matters is that you've got one more point than the other guy," Terry said. "And that they're going to want to retire as the second-winningest coach in the history of Division I? I can't buy that. Maybe they want to both make sure they last longer than the other guy."

Both coaches are well aware that Bryant died shortly after retiring after the 1981 season. To more than one observer, it was obvious that football was a mistress that thrilled his soul long enough for Bear to win 323 games. When she dumped him, he was done.

"I was so in awe of him," Bobby said. "Not just as a coach but as a man. He was big and rough talking. I thought he was the best coach I ever met. I lived only 45 miles away from him. I cannot say I was one of his boys. You have to play for him or coach for him to be one of his boys."

Maybe that's why it is best Bowden didn't get the Alabama job. Shortly after Perkins left, the drum beat started for the 57-year-old Bowden, who had taken Florida State from a joke to a giant.

"They had the nerve to say he just didn't interview well, that he was tired," Terry said, "Are you kidding me? He was mad. Most of the family was glad it didn't happen, after the fact."

Maybe Bobby would still have gone on to have a remarkable career. But it would have been with the shadow of the Bear hanging over him, as it has from Perkins to Dennis Franchione.

"All my life, I wondered what if I would have stayed there?" said Bobby, who grew up in Birmingham. "Maybe things would be better, I don't know."

The way it has worked out, the only standard he is living up to is his own. And maybe, just maybe, that of his pal Paterno.

"Neither one of us wants to make anything out of this," Bobby said. "I can't see Penn State or Florida State going out on a losing note. It could happen. If it does, it's time for me to leave."