tommy bowden

heard that clemson wanted to fire him after the wake loss, but the acc stepped in and said wait until after bowden bowl. they'd prefer that clemson wait until after the usc game.

 

yep..I heard they wanted him gone too but he refused until after usc.

 

How likely is it that Ford would return to Clemson? Thats all I've heard about on FNZ.

 

heard it too. It shouldn't happen, but Packman's rationale makes sense for Clemson, considering that they will not get a real talent to Death Valley. If you are Mike Stoops, why in H___ would you go to Clemson, Auburn, Arkansas, Mississippi State, et cetera? IF any one knows, isn't Michael Dean Perry an assistant somewhere or a coordinator?

 

ford loves his cows too much........................................



contiune on!

 

Its just Clemson grads/fans/students having wet dreams again . . . .

 

article including player comments

http://www.andersonsc.com/and/sp_clemson_univ/article/0,1886,AND_8209_2400087,00.html

From the Anderson Independent Mail

Job in jeopardy?
Tigers dealing with speculation on coach's future

By Jon Solomon
Independent-Mail
November 3, 2003

CLEMSON — As Tommy Bowden faces increased speculation about his job security at Clemson, his players are trying to sift through the facts and fictions. Not to mention, they are preparing for a game against No. 3 Florida State.

"I really don’t know if his job is in jeopardy or not, but I think the fans want him out of here," reserve tailback Reggie Merriweather said. "I think it’s going to be a big change for us if he does leave. But from a coaching standpoint, it’s got to be hard. You’re trying to win games, and the team’s really not producing for you. You’re in a must-win situation, and it’s not happening."

A 45-17 loss to Wake Forest last Saturday left Clemson players stunned and searching for ways to remain focused.



"It was real embarrassing," cornerback Tye Hill said. "It was something I didn’t think would ever happen to Clemson, especially from Wake Forest."

Merriweather said players are "taking it kind of hard" and "dumbfounded" by the loss. For the third straight year, the Tigers are 5-4 through nine games and mired in the middle of the Atlantic Coast Conference.

Bowden is 20-18 since he took Clemson to a No. 5 national ranking by starting 8-0 in 2000. The Tigers have lost by an average of 18.5 points in those 18 defeats, including six games by four touchdowns or more.

Players are not oblivious to the political consequences that Clemson coaches face — even someone like Bowden, who could become the first ACC coach to reach a bowl game in each of his first five seasons. (The increase of bowls has lessened that potential accomplishment in the eyes of some people.)

In a survey by the Anderson Independent-Mail before the season, 57 percent of Clemson’s returning scholarship players said they thought Bowden needed nine victories or more to keep his job. Another 30 percent replied that eight was the magic number for him to stay safe.

The Tigers have three regular season games remaining. Bowden would have to win all three and a bowl game to reach nine victories.

"Tommy West, the guy right before him, had a bad season — that was his only bad season — and then he was gone," said Gregory Walker, a fifth-year senior offensive tackle. "That’s just the way it is at Clemson. The fans want you to perform, and they want you to perform as a team, and they expect it out of you. They’re faithful. But they’re very picky. They’re hard on you."

When asked if the criticism is unfair or justified, Walker responded: "I don’t know. I really don’t know how to answer that."

Wide receiver Kevin Youngblood, whose eligibility expires after the season, said he would like to see Bowden stay.

"I’m just going to play my hardest and everybody else is going to play their hardest to help him keep his job," Youngblood said.

Said Merriweather: "We’re behind him 100 percent. That’s our coach. ? As a player and him being a head coach, I have to be ready to go to war for him any day."

Coaching changes are not easy for players. Bowden recruited every scholarship player on Clemson’s roster, and the majority of the offensive and defensive players have developed under coordinators Brad Scott and John Lovett.

Last season, former rover Altroy Bodrick spoke passionately to reporters about his advice to younger players: Don’t let it come down to a coaching change. Bodrick was a freshman when West was fired in 1998.

"I heard when a coach comes through, they want everything through them," said Hill, a redshirt sophomore. "They want to bring their own players, a lot of changes toward team rules and living policies. Everybody has to move back on campus sometimes."

In the end, though, the players’ feelings often carry minimal weight in whether a coach stays or goes. And sometimes, the public thoughts expressed by players don’t mesh with what they really feel.

Bowden said after the Wake Forest loss that he did not have the team properly prepared. Merriweather and Hill said it is the players’ job to play and that coaches can only do so much. Walker declined to comment about Bowden’s admission.

"If that’s the way he feels about it, that’s a coaching decision with that," he said. "It was his choice to say that."

Where do the Tigers go from here? For that matter, where do the fans go?

Walker said playing well early against the Seminoles is crucial, speculating that fans will leave by the third quarter if Clemson falls behind.

"You’ve just got to hope that the fans realize that there are three more games in the season," Walker said. "We still have something to salvage out of the season. We can still get a winning season. We don’t have to settle for .500 just yet."

Jon Solomon can be reached at (864) 260-1236 or by e-mail at [email protected].

 

Bowden said after the Wake Forest loss that he did not have the team properly prepared.


he just canned himself

 

If Tommy Bowden is fired, he was fired after the Wake game. NO WAY he be fired after the 3 ass kickings they have just put on.

 

agreed.

i think bobby said it best when he said that they can fire him, but how sure are you that the next guy will give you at least what tommy did?