Bobby Bowden turns 70 next month, and though he rarely talks of retirement, the idea was on his mind this week.
The FSU coach was that upset over the handling of wide receiver Peter Warrick’s case and said similar situations in the future might drive him from the game.
“I might think about it if I go through something like this too often,” Bowden said. “When I first became a head coach [33 years ago] and a player did what Pete did, it was usually handled through the coach. Today, the coach is the last one to have anything to say about it. Often, he is the last one to know. Usually, it goes through law enforcement, the university’s administration and the athletic director first.”
It wasn’t easy for Bowden, who recently signed a five-year extension, to watch helplessly as Warrick wrestled with decisions the coach believes his player should have never faced.
“Let’s be clear about one thing,” Bowden said. “Pete did something wrong, and it was against the law. He deserved to be punished, but he wasn’t a felon. He didn’t deserve to be hung. He wouldn’t have been a felony if he wasn’t a star and a Heisman Trophy candidate. I advised him to plead not guilty to the felony. This was more important than football.”
In the end, Bowden admits things worked out, but in his mind, the degree of Warrick’s humiliation has far surpassed the severity of his crime.
“We’re talking about something greater than winning and losing,” Bowden said. “We’re talking about a young man’s life. Watching what happened to him ate my guts out. We often forget that these young men are human beings before they are football players. Unfortunately, the system and society get it reversed a lot when one of them does something wrong.”
A Bowden shuns football?
Ryan Bowden, a defensive end for Clemson’s Daniel High School, doesn’t plan to play football after this season. He will attend Auburn and likely study business. His father, Clemson coach Tommy Bowden, and his grandfather Bobby Bowden should try to change his mind.
Daniel, South Carolina’s top-ranked Class AAA team, beat Travelers Rest 70-10 Friday with Bobby and Tommy watching for a half. Since the ninth grade, Ryan has played for three schools in three states but in just one losing game. He obviously has the Bowden touch.
Friday night’s game was as special to Ryan and Saturday night’s game to the entire Bowden family. His father and mother, Linda, see most of the games. His grandfather had never seen him play and had to get a NCAA waiver to attend the game with his wife, Ann. Coaching grandfathers aren’t covered by the NCAA.
“All the players on the team were excited about my grandfather coming to the game,” said Ryan, who had a sack and recovered a fumble.
Ryan attended John Curtis Christian in New Orleans the previous two seasons when Tommy coached at Tulane, and he played his ninth grade year in Auburn. “It was circus-like atmosphere,” Ryan said. “Our coach [former N.C. State player Allen Sitterle] told us to stay focused. I’m glad that it’s over, but it was great fun for a week. I won’t forget either game.”
Senior meeting
Florida State’s seniors met on Tuesday, and decided that the entire team needed a focus session Thursday before practice. Wide receiver Ron Dugans and nose tackle Corey Simon were the loud voices.
“I reminded everyone that we were entering the second half of the season,” Simon said, “and it was time to take care of business. We can’t allow ourselves to be distracted by anything. Down the stretch, we have tough road games at Clemson, Virginia and Florida. We can’t let up.”
The seniors are concerned that the Seminoles aren’t playing well enough.
“We haven’t played as good as we can,” Dugans said, “and we got that point across. If we’re going to have a chance at the national championship, we have to play better and that was the message.”
Divided loyalties, wardrobe
Wife and mother Ann Bowden showed up in divided loyalties for Saturday night’s game wearing a sweatshirt that was half a Florida State sweatshirt and half a Clemson sweatshirt sewn together. … Since Florida State joined the ACC in 1992, Clemson’s average margin of defeat (10 points) was the smallest by any conference team playing the Seminoles on its home field, entering Saturday night’s game.
Craig Barnes can be reached at .
