Tim Brando Sits Down With Bobby Bowden | ACCDigitalNetwork

Oh probably you'll not talk many times about this wonderful setting on the beach and the fourth of July week how you always love to get the family together I can certainly see why this is some special place it's beautiful down here we've been coming here forever you know ever since we were children first time I came here when I was 10 years old it's 1940 you know and I bet you nearly every summer since then first it was in and I then there's an eye on the children that it was ours and grandchildren that was a great grandchildren so we've been doing it for 50 years any coach is going to struggle with time with his family we know that but how did you manage to still get you know when Terry's coaching Tommy's coach and Jeff's coaching to still be able to pull it off to make sure that that one that one week you were all going to be together and bowed and bow is I mean she and is the one who has held our family together you know it had six children got all these grandchildren everything but I mean she was she insists now listen y'all put the last week of June in the first week of July on your calendar and we're going to Panama City and have our family vacation yeah and you wonder how long we can last yeah but I guarantee as long as Ann Bowden is on this earth breathing and she'll have those kids here I say kids they're all 16 yeah yeah it's I mean it's amazing that I've known you for 30 years oh yeah and during that time the evolution of your family and football and when somebody says to you and I I'll mention this just in passing I'm going to visit with the first family of college football when you hear that how do you feel well it's an honor if they're correct you know I of course our careers are all phasing down I'm I'm out Tommy's out I just kind of little things you hope it's true you hope others feel that way well you know the key word here is family I mean when you say family yeah I can't I mean a lot of coaches have had their sons get into the business yeah I look at the total numbers and where are you guys coached and the impact yeah that the Bowden's have had on the game yeah I think it's true that's right well you know look back at it Tommy had an undefeated season Terry had an undefeated season and you know they all had them for I did all right I was 64 we won our first national championship you know I was 68 when we won our second national championship and had a perfect record you know and only one time it's a storied career whose roots lie in Bobby's home state of Alabama one of America's truest football hotbeds yet the playing career of little Bobby Bowden the one that eventually led him to the sidelines nearly came to an end before it began you know who your generation really did have to deal with issues medically that people our generations forgotten oh yeah you were sitting a lot as all yeah well yeah well when I was 13 years of old age my my knee started killing me just aching like mad and I liked to play ball at that age you know and so mother took me to a doctor and they found out I had rheumatic fever now you don't hear much about rheumatic fever neither but it was a heart disease and he put me to bed I mean he put me flat on my back I remember and back in those days doctors came to see you didn't go to hospital doctors came every morning checked around you know so every morning he'd come by now I've never met forget the first morning he came by I'm laying in bed and and he came in an hour raced up he said no no don't tourism scooted it down but I had leaf flower on my dad coming back for about three or four or five months you know but anyway I had to drop out of school couldn't go up the stairs could no lifting away don't do anything strong yeah and so I went through that for a year you know and that's when I got join the band I can't they won't let me play football I'll play in the band so I played been two years despite being told he would never again play football Bobby emerged from his year in bed to star at high school and later at Howard College where several years later he would get his first chance as a head coach the close proximity to Tuscaloosa allowed Bobby the unique opportunity to learn from some of the game's all-time greats when you were a kid and you were looking up to Bear Bryant who wouldn't back then oh yeah he had you had the occasion to go to Alabama and see and watch pride watch him practice and then even before he got there and Bart missed him by that much yeah Bart Starr I talked to him last year talked to me about those guys well Bart starred and I careers came along around the same time he was two years behind me in high school he played down in Montgomery and I was up in Birmingham and then of course he went the University of Alabama with a big name but things didn't fit for him there then and so anyway was so bad go so I mean Green Bay as everybody knows an adventure comes a great quarterback you know he in somebody had come back to Birmingham when I was coaching at Sanford University and he came out and coached my quarterbacks but the whole spring training well I invited him over I said Bert come over and kind of talk some football with me and he came over we said talk to on top and someone's come out worked with my quarterbacks a little bit see when I tell work with quarterbacks well I that was during spring training lasted about a month he came every day and totes my things they were I knew him there none I used to a green baby when he was playing watch during sprint during summertime here watch him you know and so but then but the other thing is I was coaching bear went to Alabama in 58 I went to Sanford in 59 s head coach that was only 50 miles away so every summer I would go down to watch Bala Bama practice spring training and then coach Bryant you know he had a plan back in those days if let's say you had signed 45 guys well if you lost one you could replace him so he let me come down our white spring training and he said I his list of about 17 guys I don't think and play here if you want them let me know I'll talk to so I'll tell them go to your school how good is that how you seeing a lot of recruits from Alabama from him you know and so anyway they were real good to me and I knew all the Gene Stallings was one of my favorite coaches ever yogi because he helped me so much when he was coaching down at the University of Alabama I don't think today you get the credit you deserve for building Florida State before it went into the ACC by playing these three four-one contracts with there was that one year where you played five in a row I mean it was Pitt Ohio State LSU and these were all like three for one for for one deal yeah oh yeah we played in five on coverage that year none of our so that's incredible so but then you build it you're having incredible years you've gone out of a number of orange bowls and that you're about to begin that run of 14 consecutive top five finishes and here's the Alabama job just yeah sitting pretty looks like the end of the rain vote for you exactly that was you know a race in Alabama and just as a child just one of those guys that cried when they lost when I was a kid you know and I had to go to Alabama want to finished high school and so anyway we're playing in the Birmingham in the the Hall of Fame Bowl and and Perkins leaves Highland Bama all of a sudden song by Obama jobs open and boy I had the governor and I had all the lot of Alabama big shots came to me but we want you the president wants to interview you well anyway it was a misunderstanding that I thought that was what was nice I got interviewed and as soon as I got interviewed I found out hey he's not on he he's not offering me the job you know so I pulled my name out quick as I could and and but I would have gone at that time because I always felt like Bobby you don't get to go back home you know in your career and I would buy much it's your favorite school and it didn't work out while Bobby's script didn't include an Alabama homecoming his time in Tallahassee is among the most decorated in college football history a tenure highlighted by national championships in 1993 and 99 and countless dramatic moments with in-state rivals Bobby I don't know of anybody that went through more drama at the end of games than you yeah did you get to a point when you felt like oh my gosh maybe it's just not in the car that's kinda like it one in the car that go we had two years I think while right two years in a row man you know and they win the national championship and that was only lost we could have won it if they hadn't you know if had been for them but all we had a great I don't know I tell you they're not many series don't kill anybody says that has been more greater than the Florida State Miami back in the 80s and early 90s I mean it good wanted won national champion I once asked you about the rivalry with Spurrier yeah and you said it does matter more when I play Steve because you always want to be the faster gun that did matter more didn't it but especially with Steve because that guy can he can get on your board now yeah he can are you up you know what I really like Steve admired him when he was a player and as a coach and the great job that guy has done you know the amazing thing about him I thought Bear Bryant had the only way you could do it you know here comes a guy with opposite philosophy when when it's just a mini game right this is successful you know anyway but when we played I think we both kind of liked each other yeah but papers naturally made a lot with a feud going on the reunion of the national championship team that's taking you back to Tallahassee I I'm going to do this to you whether you like it or not I come in to do an interview with you about the you just lost to Miami this was 92 the year before the championship but I said what happened to him you looked at me and you said Timmy Charlie Charlie we just need to let him see everything yeah like a point guard sees a basketball court I think he might win the high school you know and the following year he would that's exactly and I told him the next year the PR man wanted to start pushing don't push him you'll hurt him leave me alone don't let let me eat I said he will win it because he was so spectacular you know so we didn't push him at all he won't want it one of the highest boating's we have a good time in Theseus we played so much golfing in years there'll be a shot that always reminds of a shot of years past it was equally bad no pray for me our Father ha ha ha I came from prayer when you're here though it's not about football I know it's not other stuff it's about well you tell me what what's it about what's the I know you're playing 36 every time you can alright but but what but beyond the golf what's it what's it like with you guys alright it's it's having supper together every night without everybody coming in you know it each dot each child has a responsibility of supper that night you got it tonight you got the next night you got the next month you got next night so we do that at night and of course in the daytime I play golf you know I got something about God okay then go down the beach right now I don't have all the beach I want I thought hey that's some shade on that golf course so I go out to the side there'll be four of us now there's six boys that play golf what are you gonna do well for us we'll play today tomorrow you two can't play and you two can play now I'm playing every day I'm paying for this leg yeah when one of them says and I know they do hey you might play 36 but I'm out at 18 right and I know they do oh yeah I can't imagine Terry Bowden yeah every day you want to go for 30 I mean I just can't imagine so how do you handle that all right Tommy is not going to play 36 Terry is not going to play 36 Jeffrey will play 36 he will Steve will play 36 I will play 36 K so we so the day it's Tommy's day Tommy bring your car because you ain't gonna stay with us you got to go back you bring your car and tear when you play with us bring your car oh it's tan don't you dare don't jog geesh the telling y'all to have something there yeah did y'all nearly beat us alright say it again our Father I'm praying so hard for you not to do that there the first year that you got out and you were on the book tour I'm guessing it opened your eyes to the life after coaching that maybe you didn't even know was going to be available to you yeah yeah take me through that because there was and listen Jose no longer with us yeah but I do think there was relevance to the point that he he really did feel like the moment he stopped coaching that might be it I really always felt that way about Paterno yeah yeah and I don't know that you felt that way but maybe down and deep in your heart maybe you were thinking that well what did you find out when you got out well I was more aware of it then I worried about it I never worried about it you know but on you I knew that coach Bryant my idol got out died month later week whatever my dad retired died a year within a year later you know it and I always thought about that and so I always said my favor if I retire I'm gonna stay active I ain't gonna do nothing I'm gonna do something you know and and so I think men think of that as they get up to our age but the the first thing I realized first thing I realize I had no idea when I was coaching I coached 57 years you know when I quit coaching first thing realizes hey I don't have to worry about 100 guys hey did they go to class today I don't know hey did he did what's that police call about I didn't you know all those worries were gone yeah and I said gee there's no pressure yeah there's no pressure and all that time I was coaching you're burdened with pressure you know all coaches are and until get out of it don't realize it Bobby the the situation for you at the end mm-hmm this is the part of the interview that I I've been waiting it because I didn't know quite how to ask you but I'm sure that's a way you're going to Florida State for the first time now since you left and since you wrote the book you're going to go back there a couple of times yeah one of them the anniversary team all that yep the championship why now why is now the right time for you to go back to Doak Campbell Stadium if I call the shots I plan to stow away five years I mean I've always said I followed a very successful coach at West Virginia gym Carlin was an excellent coach he goes there before me and I'm his assistant and he takes them from three and three and eight up to I think we last you might have been ten in one he leaves you know I I follow him he was very successful everything I did was compared to him I got so tired to hear that wellshe's do it like Jim did it well you got beat want to do it like Jim did I wish we had Jim back I've heard that all I got so tired of that yeah I always said that when I leave Florida State I'm leaving I'm getting out of town I don't want that coach that to put up with that stuff you know what and and so I had really a plan to get away and stay away maybe five years and and so but and I stayed in town and then we stay in Panama City a lot and then but the school the president and the the Seminole boosters a they've they've tried to get me to come back year after year and I said no not time yet that time yet but this time I'm going to kind of work with them and a raising raising money for situation but I I definitely want to stay out of the way I do not want to interfere with what Jim Jim I don't I don't want him to hear all that stuff I heard yeah you wrote the book in 2010 and it was as forthright as anything I've ever read things that you would have never said to me in an interview you put the book yeah was that just cathartic for you did it enable you to have some resolution in your own mind here's exactly what happened when not number one the I would like for FSU Pedro I only wanted one more year it's not like I want to keep coaching down through the years but I think a lot of more afraid that he and Joe Paterno got a race here and if he has a good year he's going to stay another year so he fight Joe no I was determined one years all I wanted right so anyway I didn't get that year when they told me they were not going to retain me then I had a choice of resigning other than like North Jamie I retired to keep from embarrassing them I knew that if I let them fire me they going to bigness they go they gonna tear flour state up you know I as I felt like I needed to retire just to keep really keeping them getting embarrassing and so then there was an article in the paper and I think it was down around Sarasota where one of our officials had been interviewed like Bobby resigned joyfully and happily and when he did that I said okay that's um I'm gonna tell him the real story that's so I did that in the book not trying to hurt him but just I don't want people out thinking oh he was so happy to get it no I wasn't happy I wanted to coach one more year but that was all I wanted and he was gonna have a good ball club yeah it'll had you quarterback coming back you in first round young you was going to a good ball club but anyway that's I don't I'm not bitter about it anymore at first I was when I say that Bobby Bowden is the greatest man that I ever covered that coached college football that for me is your legacy I think you're the greatest individual that I've met that ever coached this game well I appreciate but for you what would you like for your legacy to be if it matters to you I've said this before and it's it's spiritual that I would like for them to say that I carried out God's plan for my life you know I'm one of those guys that thinks God has a plan for everybody and that he has a plan for me and I like for I'd like to say Bobby Biden served God's purpose for his life now that to me is it greatest wind you can get you know because you know we Christians think we're gonna go on home we think there's more out there you know and so if I could if that if that was true I would love for that to be my legacy

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Keywords: ACCDigitalNetwork, ACC Digital Network, College, Sports, Division I, NCAA, university, atlantic, coast, conference, athletics, competition, NCAA College Football, acc football, football, fsu, florida state, seminoles, noles, tim brando, bobby bowden, bowden, tallahassee, havoline football saturday's, football saturday's

Id: z2ZAo1uuqSg

Length: 20min 50sec (1250 seconds)

Published: Fri Oct 25 2013