Noles home for the Holidays

As a Florida State Seminole faithful I have put a lot of though into this post. It comes from the heart but also from some common sense.

It should come as no surprise that the Florida State Seminoles may not be heading to a bowl game this year and it is probably a good thing. I'm die hard garnet and gold but I feel that if the Noles were to go to a bowl game it would be a meaningless bowl and stunt the future growth and rebuilding that needs to be done at FSU. The time would be right for Bobby Bowden to say good-bye at the end of this season. I never thought the day would come when Coach Bowden would not be leaving on his own terms, for all he has done for the football program and university, but with the Chairman of the Board of Trustees having lost faith in Bowden, numerous influential booster members losing faith in Bowden and a team that has seemed to have lost direction it is obvious the time is right.

For the last few years it seems that the once proud Seminole football program has been losing ground on the rest of the elite programs and losing games. Is Coach Bowden to blame? Of course he is, Bowden is the head coach and with the failure of the program all fingers are pointed at him and deservedly so. He is the leader and the face of the football program and he knows that. My heart tells me that it can't be true but everyone needs to take a few steps back and take the emotion out of the equation and look at every program that has fallen on tough times a change is always made. Head coaches are dismissed, that is a reality. I do know that at the end of the season the Florida State administration will give Coach Bowden the opportunity to retire and I hope he does. There does come a time when a change is good and that time has come. In the best interest of Florida State I believe Bowden will take the high road and retire. Bowden's image and legacy will not be tarnished when he walks away at the end of the season. He is a legend and his status is very secure in my opinion, in the opinion of many Seminole faithful and the college football world. I know that Bobby would love to go out on top of the college football world as a National Champion or would settle for BCS bowl bid to finish his career but it is not in the cards and and it be years away and get much uglier, the time is right for him to walk away.

I have, as a Seminole faithful, no ill will towards Bobby Bowden. He built the program I love into what it is. He has brought more joy to this Seminole fan than I could ever express. He made the Seminole Nation proud and by walking away after this season he will be making the hardest decision of his coaching career but one of the best decisions he has ever made. I will shed a tear when Bobby makes the announcement as will many Nole fans not because of him leaving but because of all the great memories he gave us and college football.

Is Jimbo Fisher the right choice? I can't answer that question. All I know is that Bobby Bowden is not the answer and it hurts to say that. There will be a major overhaul of the coaching staff when Bowden leaves as the departures of Mickey Andrews and Chuck Amato will not be far behind. Bowden has always said, "surround yourself with great people and let them do their job." I hope that Jimbo Fisher does take that advice and brings in some capable people to assist him in bringing the Seminole program back to prominence.

It is a tough pill to swallow, thinking about going to or watching a Florida State football game without Coach Bowden on the sidelines but just as Alabama did with "Bear" Bryant we will learn to deal with it and keep our Tomahawk chops and war chants going for who ever is the new head coach patrolling the sidelines.