By Dave Morrison
JACKSONVILLE — It is the essence of Bobby Bowden. He’s genuine.
In an era where that old-time, good-guy coach doesn’t play with the younger generation, the Florida State coach makes it work.
Where Bill Stewart is maligned for being “too nice,” Bobby Bowden is beloved for it.
Seminoles’ receiver Rod Owens certainly knows that.
His recruiting visit from the legendary, Hall of Fame coach was like the tens of thousands Bowden made in a career spanning a half-century.
He remembers opening the front door to see Bowden, and immediately he felt a sense of awe.
“The first thing he did was go to my back sliding door where all the kids were playing basketball,” Owens said. “Everybody was like, ‘Oh, it’s coach Bowden.’ They all ran up, in awe. He was shaking all their hands like, ‘It’s good to see you.’ That showed me that he is a friend of my friends. He doesn’t even know these guys but he’s warm and genuine.”
There’s that word. Genuine.
“The second task was my mother,” Owens said. “My mother is tough as nails. I thought I’d be surprised if he could make my mother smile.”
Not a problem for Bowden. He knows mammas.
“I gave them some alone time and when I came down, my mom was smiling,” Owens said. “I was like, ‘What’d he do to my mom?’
Like most mothers, Owens’ mom only asked for a fair shake for her son.
“He was just honest,” Owens said. “He didn’t guarantee anything. He just told the honest truth. He said, ‘He will get an opportunity to play. I don’t know if he will start. But he will get an opportunity to play.”
He got that and this season the senior from Jacksonville caught 58 passes for 692 yards. His 98-yard touchdown catch was the second longest play in college football this season.
Bowden relishes that role and plays it to his advantage. Not that he doesn’t mean it. History shows he does.
“The older you get the more you can play that role,” Bowden said. “I’ve said this before. Is there anybody you like more than your granddaddy? You like him more than your own daddy. It’s an advantage of getting old.”
Only he’s done it forever.
So, what is the secret?
“What I always ask the mothers when I walk in there is, ‘Whatcha got to eat?’ They like to feed you. (It’s) what they do the best.”
For Bowden, coaching the right way is what he has done best.
He didn’t make football his god.
While coaches today seem to wither away to football machines before they finally can’t take any more (Florida coach Urban Meyer for instance) Bowden has made a crusade of putting God and family first.
“I did not make football make my god,” Bowden said. “I’ve seen coaches do that folks. You can’t put football ahead of your family. You can do it but you can’t do it and last. You can’t put football ahead of God and last. You’ll have a nervous breakdown, burn out. Keep football in perspective. That’s why I’ve been able to stay in football so long.”
It’s something that coaches like Bill Stewart, who once played for Bowden at WVU, appreciate, respect and even model.
“When I went to West Virginia University 40 years ago this fall and I meet this gentleman, coach Bobby Bowden, I was absolutely in awe of how he lived his life, the type of man he was, the type of husband he was,” Stewart said. “He was never degrading, he was never demeaning. He treated each and every one of us as if we were his own son.
“How I know that is his son Steve was a receiver/defensive back on the same freshman team as me. We were 3-1 that year. Coach Bowden was 8-3. It was a tremendous first season for his legacy, which began in Morgantown.
“He treated us all in a manner that not many people were used to or thought that a head coach should be. I’ve tried to emulate that. I’m always going to be myself. But the way he treated me personally and how I saw him handle the Pitt loss and the Duke loss ... I’ve tried to emulate that.”
“That’s the way you’d want it, you just hope they ain’t lying,” Bowden said, eliciting one of many laughs during Thursday’s press conference, the last pregame presser of his storied career. “In 56 years of coaching, I can honestly say I haven’t stabbed anybody in the back. Bill’s a very good guy. I haven’t seen him since I was at West Virginia. But I appreciate his remarks.”
Classy. Genuine. An honest man of integrity.
Seems to me the world of college football can use a few more Bobby Bowdens.
— E-mail:
demorrison@register-herald.com
