Watch video of Ann Bowden, er, Tammy Wynette standing by her man:
Two rules of thumb that usually hold true:
1. It's never good when the dad of a college quarterback publicly rips the coach of the team.
2. It's even worse when the wife of a college coach makes incredibly egotistical remarks and insults the fan base of university that pays her husband $2.5 million a year.
Ann Bowden's comments in a USA Today story earlier this week about husband Bobby's uncertain job status at Florida State pretty much prove what I feel has been the real problem at FSU over the last several years. It all goes back to Bobby thinking he is bigger than Florida State and putting his own personal agenda ahead of what's best for the program.
"You know, we don't need the university as much as they need us — as much as they need him and his connections and reputation and everything," Ann Bowden told USA Today. "If they want to pull that trick (and force Bobby to retire), we'll just shake the dirt off our feet and go to Europe or go on a long cruise or something.
"They'll have to fire him for him not to go another year … If they've got guts enough to do it, let them do it."
As you might expect, Ann's comments have fanned the flames of discontent among Florida State's fans. Can't say I blame Seminole Nation for being upset. Ann's comments are astoundingly arrogant, making her sound like Marie Antoinette — the French queen who told the peasants who complained about not having any bread: "Let them eat cake."
To those FSU fans who are complaining that Bobby is winning enough games, Ann is essentially saying, "We don't need these peasants … we'll just sail off to Europe on a luxury cruise."
Of course, this isn't the first time Ann has opened her mouth and inserted her foot.
She made similarly angry comments a few weeks ago when influential Seminole trustee Jim Smith said it was time for Bobby to retire.
I penned a column then that I think is even more relevant now.
Here's what I wrote:
Ann Bowden is right about one thing.
Her husband Bobby has been a party to betrayal at Florida State University.
Except it's not exactly how she portrays it.
You see, Florida State has not betrayed Bobby Bowden.
Bobby Bowden has betrayed Florida State.
And, along the way, he has even betrayed himself.
Throughout the years, Bobby has said that if his program ever fell into a state of disrepair and mediocrity, he would hang it up. He has said in the past that when his program started going downhill, he would "get out and let some young guy do it." He said when a "pattern of losing" developed, it would be time for him to step down. After going 8-4 way back in 2001, Bobby cracked that if the Seminoles suffered another such subpar season, "It might be time for ol' Robert to step down."
That was about six subpar seasons ago and ol' Robert is still desperately hanging onto his job while Florida State's dysfunctional football program circles the drain. This, sadly, is what happens when you don't follow your own advice.
There is a feeling among his wife and supporters that boosters like influential trustee Jim Smith are being disloyal for wanting Bowden to retire after this season. Bowden loyalists believe Bobby is owed a graceful and grand farewell by Florida State. I would agree — except for one small problem. It's hard to say farewell to somebody who just won't leave.
Don't get me wrong, I love Bobby. I think he's the greatest college football coach who ever lived. I've said many times, he not only put FSU football on the map, he drew the map.
But guess what? He's been paid handsomely for that. He's made tens of millions of dollars being Florida State's coach. Good grief, the 'Noles are currently paying him $2.3 million a year so he can stand on the sideline and watch somebody else do his job. If this is being betrayed, I volunteer.
Let's face it, as great as Bobby has been and as much as he has meant to FSU, he has selfishly and stubbornly choreographed his own demise.
The beginning of his downfall started nearly a decade ago; that's when Bobby's betrayal of Florida State began. That's when he wrongly put his son's career ahead of his program's success.
The year was 2000; the Seminoles were coming off their last appearance in a national championship game and their offense was ranked No. 1 in the nation. Mark Richt, the offensive coordinator, left to become the head coach at Georgia. Bobby could have had his choice of the most innovative offensive minds in college football. He instead hired his son Jeff as the new coordinator.
In fact, he went to battle to hire Jeff, circumvented FSU's own nepotism policy and won a behind-the-scenes power struggle with then-FSU president Sandy D'Alemberte. In his own book, The Bowden Way, Bobby wrote that he had made up his mind to resign if D'Alemberte had not allowed him to hire Jeff.
D'Alemberte would tell The Florida Times-Union years later he fought Bowden because he thought "Florida State needed an offensive coordinator as high in quality as [defensive coordinator] Mickey Andrews. I didn't see that in Jeff."
Bobby's program hasn't been the same since. And even when it was clear to everybody else that his son couldn't get the job done, Bobby continued to hold the program hostage. He would not fire Jeff even after six years of awful offenses. As a result, FSU had to actually pay Jeff more than $500,000 to get him to "resign." This is believed to be the first time in history a school ever paid a multiyear buyout to an assistant coach whose contract had already expired.
Translation: Bobby selfishly turned Florida State booster contributions into the Bowden Family Unemployment Fund.
So, please, spare us the rhetoric about how Jim Smith and other boosters have betrayed Bobby by saying publicly they think the coach needs to retire at the end of this season.
Such talk is unfair to a loyal and long-standing Seminole like Smith, who is simply trying to do what's right for his school.
It's about time somebody started looking out for the best interest of Florida State University.
After all, ol' Robert stopped doing it years ago.