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PANAMA CITY BEACH, Fla. -- In 1998, coming off a No. 8 ranking and an 11-0 regular season at Tulane, Tommy Bowden was one of the hottest names in college coaching.
Bowden, the son of legendary Florida State head coach Bobby Bowden and considered part of college football royalty, would soon find his way to Clemson to succeed Tommy West, following the Tigers' 3-8 mark, the program's worst season since 1976.
From 1999-2004 Clemson ranked dead last in the Atlantic Coast Conference in football facilities spending, yet in that span Bowden managed to take home ACC Coach of the Year honors twice. But while Bowden's staff lifted the program's recruiting, also averaging eight wins a season and dominating arch-rival South Carolina, the Tigers' drought of conference titles would continue under his watch.
In August of 2008, Clemson was billed nationally as one of college football's top 10 teams, but stumbled to a 3-3 start. Following a 12-7 defeat to Wake Forest on an ESPN-televised Thursday night matchup, the fallout began the following Monday with Bowden resigning under pressure, and then position coach-turned interim head coach Dabo Swinney firing Bowden's offensive coordinator, Rob Spence.
In May of 2011, I met with Bowden at his home in Panama City Beach, Fla. for what was his first, one-on-one, exclusive interview since his departure from Clemson on October 13, 2008. It was here where the 57-year old placed himself back in Clemson's head coaching chair one more time to revisit his nine-and-a-half seasons as the program's leader.
PUBLISHER's NOTE: When Tommy Bowden began his first season in Clemson in 1999, the Tigers had not won 10 games in a season since 1990. The Tigers had not won the Atlantic Coast Conference championship since 1991. Not only was Clemson no longer nationally relevant, but the Tigers were just coming off a 3-8 campaign, the program's worst showing since 1976.
Ultimately Bowden was able to improve the product on the field, winning nine games in 2000, 2003 and 2007. But it should be noted that for six of his nine-and-a-half seasons as Clemson's head coach, the program would rank dead last in the ACC in football facilities spending (1999, 2000, 2001, 2002, 2003, 2004). In fact in 2004, the dressing room Bowden's team used in Death Valley was essentially the same facility Danny Ford's team had used in 1989.
Bowden sought advice from all of Clemson's former living head coaches in late 1998 upon taking the job, including Tommy West, who immediately told him to stay on Clemson's administration for a facilities push. As readers will see later in this interview, I ask Bowden what he wants to be remembered for as the Tigers' head coach. But before the coach can answer, his wife, Linda Bowden, chimes in and simply states, "He should be remembered for helping get the West Zone off the ground because they (Clemson's administration) were in no hurry to get it."
One way or another, Bowden was always fighting for his job at Clemson. And one way or another Bowden was always fighting battles on his own campus.
In the summer of 2004, I remember driving out to Bowden's home on Lake Hartwell. I was working on a feature and I wanted to see if I could locate a different side of a coach who by his own admission a year earlier had gone from the hot seat to the "fiery furnace." I didn't expect Bowden to let his guard down. I was wrong.
As we stepped out onto his dock, he pulled out a rod and reel, a rod that had his name inscribed on it. As we talked for a few moments, he looked out over the lake. I had never seen the expression he wore on his face that afternoon. For that moment, he no longer looked like a coach who was carrying the weight of the world on his shoulders.
I never saw that look again while he was head coach at Clemson.
For this interview, I met with the Bowdens at their condo in Panama City Beach, Fla. in 2011. Bowden had purchased a tract of land directly on the ocean alongside his father a number of years earlier. He told me we'd look at the house he was building on his land after the interview. And we did. As the coach stepped out onto the beach that afternoon, there it was again ... that same carefree expression I had seen on his face on Lake Hartwell back in 2004.
As time has gone by, I believe Bowden's retroactive approval rating with Clemson fans has risen. As time has gone by, I believe more people have come to realize the battles Bowden, Tommy West, Ken Hatfield and Danny Ford fought on their own campus during their tenure while an administration at Clemson was not yet aligned; in simplest terms meaning the President, the Board of Trustees, the Athletics Director and head football coach singing off of the same sheet of music.
This is Tommy Bowden, in his own words.
This is his story.
PART III of V
Ard. We're now in early 2003, we've discussed Rick Stockstill's departure. At this time you also lose Rodney Allison to UTC-Chattanooga, so you need another defensive coach. You opt to bring in Greenville native David Blackwell. There weren't any personal connections there, so what stood out about David when you were looking to fill Allison's position?
Bowden. "He had a South Carolina background. Some of my coaches knew him well. I didn't know him that well. He had recruited the state for Pitt and did a good job. He was recruiting some guys we were on and kind of made a name for himself. Walt Harris had named him defensive coordinator for a day when he lost his coordinator, so I felt he had a good football mind."
Ard. When Stockstill departs, you bring in a young wide receivers coach who had been out of coaching and in real estate for several years - Dabo Swinney.
Bowden. "And I got some criticism for that because he hadn't been coaching."
Ard. But you still hired him, so tell me some things you liked about him.
Bowden. "I knew him a little. He had a track record in recruiting. I felt Rick was a good recruiter and we needed to replace a good recruiter with another good recruiter. It didn't bother me so much that he had been out of coaching for a little while."
Ard. The season gets here and you're hit hard out of the gate, taking a 30-0 loss to #11 UGA in Death Valley. You beat Furman 28-17, your team blows out Georgia Tech 39-3 in Atlanta, there's a 14-point loss at Maryland, a three-point win over a top 25-ranked Virginia team in overtime at home, a two-point loss to N.C. State on the road and an eight-point win over UNC before you take a 45-17 loss at Wake Forest.
Obviously I want to talk about the situation at Wake. You're down at one point 45-0. At that point in the game, what was running through your mind?
Bowden. "I was thinking about what I was going to say to the team. I remember seeing Jim Grobe after the game. I said, 'Jim, you must be a Christian because you called the dogs off.' Then I went in and talked to the team."
Ard. It was here where you told them that you expected to beat #3 Florida State the following week.
Bowden. "I told the team that we will beat Florida State. I said, 'We will beat Florida State. I will tell you that right now.'"
Ard. Coming back that night, how concerned were you about your job?
Bowden. "Oh, I was concerned. When you lose like that, you're concerned. You worry about staff morale and team morale. And Tim (Bourret) told me the last guy who lost to Wake Forest got fired. And we not only lost, but we got killed."
