Bowden bowing out already?
Joe Paterno's competition for the perennial Octogenarian Coach of the Year just might step down before him.
Good ol' man Bobby Bowden is dropping hints all around the Florida panhandle that, dadgummit, this just might be his final season at Florida State, especially if the Crimin. . .er, Seminoles fail to revert to their good ol' winning ways -- like, say, back when Bobby was in his 70s. Orlando Sentinel FSU beat writer Andrew Carter reports ...
Granted, followers of West Virginia football, where Bowden made his name before fleeing south, will recall a little coaching-search twist from late December that presaged all this.
Jimbo Fisher, anointed the Seminoles coach-in-waiting by a contract signed just last fall, was courted and nearly successfully wooed back home to the Mountaineer State (he's a Clarksburg boy). A withdrawn pledge about West Virginia paying his buyout from Florida State -- funny how that sounds in wake of the settlement over You Know Who's situation -- was overshadowed by Florida State's president and Bowden himself getting on the horn with Jimbo and talking him into staying in Tallahassee.
Perhaps as long as two days before Christmas, dadgummit, Jimbo heard that he might not be waiting much longer to coach Florida State.
Your trusty college scribes will venture to direct faithful readers (or even unfaithful ones) to other interesting reads, such as:
* Former Pitt defensive coordinator Paul Rhoads' rocky start at Auburn -- he lost a key Savage, according to Charles Goldberg.
* Penn State isn't alone in August dismissals. Chip Cosby on the Kentucky quarterback revolving door.
* Ex-Steelers assistant Mike Archer had a tough first year as North Carolina State's defensive coordinator, wrote Ken Tysiac.
* A still-good Tuesday column by Jerry Brewer about Washington coach Ty Willingham.
* Mountaineers fans, be advised: This deals with a subject matter that may only anger you. The new Michigan coach, old You Know Who hisself, chest bumps a Wolverine and plays loud music on the first day of very un-Loyd-Carr-like fall drills (good story by Shawn Windsor, even better photos).
-- Chuck Finder