Florida State Coach Bowden Plans to Retire

34-year tenure turned Seminoles into national football powerhouse
By Will McCahill,  Newser Staff
Posted Nov 30, 2009 7:04 PM CST
Florida State Coach Bowden Plans to Retire
Florida State head coach Bobby Bowden.   (AP Photo)

Bobby Bowden will announce his retirement tomorrow as Florida State University’s football coach, ending a 34-year tenure during which he built the Seminoles into a national powerhouse. The 80-year-old Bowden met with school officials today, sources tell the Tallahassee Democrat, and was given the option of staying in a reduced role, with chosen successor Jimbo Fisher getting greater authority.

“I make the decision,” Bowden told ESPN on leaving the school, where he’s been under pressure after several seasons of declining production. Bowden’s 388 Division I-A victories are second only to Joe Paterno’s 393 with Penn State. Bowden coached Florida State to national championships in 1993 and ’99, and has led the Seminoles to bowl games every season since 1982.
(More Bobby Bowden stories.)

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