Tommy Bowden Gives Up On Clemson

Tommy Bowden Gives Up On Clemson
for The Bleacher Report


Remember that feeling...That's how you will be remembered.

Starting the season with the widely regarded best talent in the ACC with a devastating loss to an unranked team was probably not the best idea if Tommy Bowden had designs on remaining the head coach of the Clemson Tigers past this year.

And as it turns out, it wasn't even a good recipe to survive the season.

In a meeting monday morning, Tommy Bowden offered to walk away midseason, telling the Atheletic Director that he would step aside for "the good of the program".

Clemson quarterback Cullen Harper agreed with the decision, “It’s what he deserved,” Harper said. “Dabo Swinney is a fine man and will do an excellent job.” Harper later expanded on his comments, explaining that Bowden “tried to motivate us, but guys were off the bandwagon. There were things I disagreed with and that my teammates disagreed with. I didn’t appreciate it when he would say some off-the-wall things about me to the media. I guess one thing I can say is he gave me an opportunity to come to Clemson and play.”

Bowden will be paid through the end of the season, then get $3.5 million as a buyout negotiated in the contract extension both sides agreed to last December.

Recent losses to Maryland and Wake Forest raised calls again for Bowden’s ouster despite the contract extension that tied him to the school through 2014.

“I appreciate the opportunity Clemson University gave me and the support of the administration while I was here,” Bowden said in a statement released by the school.


A Bowden could always replace Tommy Tuberville in Auburn, who was brought in to replace a similarly failed Bowden.

Tommy Bowden and Nick NITELITE Saban Collide!

Tommy Bowden and Nick NITELITE Saban Collide!
for Gods Among Men: Coaches and Coordinators in the SEC


"So that's Nitelite? He doesn't look that scary..."


The Clemson Tigers have been clamoring for recognition this off-season, and with an assembly of talent unmatched in the ACC, if the Clemson "Snooty" Tigers can get by Nick NITELITE Saban and the Alabama Crimson Tide tonight in the season opener, the "Snooty" Tigers should experience clear sailing until they reach the ACC championship game. A big part of Tommy Bowden’s team’s success this year may be attributed to the contributions of true freshman DE DaQuan Bowers, who many considered to be the nation’s best overall recruit. Expectations for Clemson are the highest since 1991.

The truth is this: if Tommy Bowden fails to put away Alabama tonight, he will likely be out of a job come January. If the Tigers fail to win the ACC or make a BCS Bowl, I think Tommy Bowden will be sent packing. Tommy Bowden’s ass should be immune to heat after years of under achieving, but it will be the hottest season yet if his Tigers don’t deliver on lofty expectations. Given the right circumstances, the biggest of which is the current weakness of the ACC, and it is foreseable for Clemson to work their way into the national championship debate. But if Clemson loses to Alabama and Nick NITELITE Saban, Bowden will return to his annual spot on the hot seat. Clemson never seems to do anything that truly impresses people. Alabama might have had the best recruiting class in the nation this past spring, but James Davis, C.J. Spiller, and a talented and deep Clemson roster look to steamroll the best Saban can patch together this early into the season.

While Tommy Bowden is a nationally recognized choke artist, and Saban could clearly out coach him with an equal team, Bowden may benefit from having caught Alabama early and inexperienced. Bowden has been on the hot seat more times than the number of pairs of ugly sunglasses that his dad owns. Saban will out scheme and out play-call Bowden to keep this one close even though the talent levels are not even comparable.

If there are any two coaches that cannot afford a loss on opening day it is Tommy Bowden and Nick NITELITE Saban. Bowden is entering his tenth season at Clemson, and has recruited a very talented group of players onto this ’08 team, so there is no excuse in the world for Bowden and the Tigers to lose to a second year coach that took over what was nothing more than a demoralized football program when Saban arrived in Tuscaloosa in January of 2007. Bowden has everything going for him in this game, and a loss to Alabama in a game that Clemson should not only win, but dominate, would be the first and quickest step to an abrupt exit. Tommy Bowden enters Saturday night’s game against Alabama on the Hot Seat in front of the entire nation, and it will be very interesting to see if Bowden can step-up and prove he deserves to be mentioned with the best coaches in the game. Lose to Alabama, and it might lead to the entire season unraveling for Clemson. It will be a fascinating match up to see how Bowden and Saban perform under the pressure of the national spotlight.


"...damn I hate losing...."