Terry Bowden in hunt
Pressure builds for him, not Holliday
Thursday, December 20, 2007
By Chuck Finder, Pittsburgh Post-Gazette
At one point yesterday, West Virginia seemed ready to name a new football coach.

Mountaineers administrators apparently settled on longtime assistant Doc Holliday and prepared to call a news conference as early as today to announce this former West Virginia linebacker and Hurricane, W.Va., native as their next head coach.

It may well have caused them pause, however, when another graduate, Terry Bowden, received resounding public support. One source referred to it as an "all-out offensive."

Bowden, interviewed Tuesday for the vacancy created when Rich Rodriguez exited his home state and old school for Michigan, is a son of former Mountaineers coach and Florida State legend Bobby Bowden.

The elder Bowden yesterday placed a telephone call on his son's behalf -- and hardly his first such this week -- to West Virginia Gov. Joe Manchin, a de facto member of the Mountaineers' search committee.

Bowden the father was not the sole caller, either. A sizeable contingent of boosters, fans and others telephoned various West Virginia administrators to express their support for the younger Bowden, a former Auburn, Samford (Ala.) and Salem (W.Va.) head coach, though such officials as the president declined to return most, if not all, of their calls, sources said. With a faction of prominent donors withdrawing their financial support after they felt the administration mishandled Rodriguez and caused him to leave, West Virginia officials are attempting to distance themselves and their decision from boosters.

Athletic director Ed Pastilong, a longtime friend and former Mountaineers roommate of Manchin's, and assistant athletic director Mike Parsons have been at the forefront of the interview process, with new President Mike Garrison and the governor also taking part in behind-the-scenes discussions, evaluations and resolution.

"You know more than I know," Holliday said of that report to media after Florida's Capitol One Bowl practices in Gainesville, Fla., yesterday afternoon, his first day back at work after being absent Monday and Tuesday. Holliday is assistant head coach and safeties coach at Florida.

Meanwhile, associate head coach Bill Stewart yesterday put the 11th-ranked Mountaineers (10-2) through their first practice as official interim coach.

Chuck Finder can be reached at cfinder@post-gazette.com or 412-263-1724.

Why on earth does anyone want Terry Bowden as the head coach of WVU. Talk about a huge step down. There was only one Bowden with real coach talent, and he should have retired years ago.

South Tampa Knight Wrote:Why on earth does anyone want Terry Bowden as the head coach of WVU. Talk about a huge step down. There was only one Bowden with real coach talent, and he should have retired years ago.

-- Honestly, there is probably to much WV in the WVU coaching search. A lot of canidates who don't have ties to the state are lightl conisdered if they are considered at all. There just is no Bobby Huggins (aka slam dunk) hire out there with WV roots.

Bottom line is no one is getting this job without some sort of political connections.

JMO

Jackson

They need to hire a coach who knows the spread. Not sure Terry is an expert with the spread other than he has been out of coaching for a long long time. Why not look at Illinois OC Mike Locksley? He seems like an excellent coach and an upcoming young coach like Rich Rodriguez was.

SF Husky Wrote:They need to hire a coach who knows the spread. Not sure Terry is an expert with the spread other than he has been out of coaching for a long long time. Why not look at Illinois OC Mike Locksley? He seems like an excellent coach and an upcoming young coach like Rich Rodriguez was.

The difference between this guy and Rodriguez is that Rodriguez actually had head coaching experience and was quite succesful and somewhat proven before he was hired by WV. If the WV adm is going to hire someone with no head coaching experience, then they may as well hire Holliday. At least he knows the spread really well.

SF Husky Wrote:They need to hire a coach who knows the spread. Not sure Terry is an expert with the spread other than he has been out of coaching for a long long time. Why not look at Illinois OC Mike Locksley? He seems like an excellent coach and an upcoming young coach like Rich Rodriguez was.

-- If it is Bowden that I would strongly suspect that the spread will be gone or at least begin to be phased out

-- Locksley is not from WV nor has the political clout. That doesn't mean he won't get the job, but he is at a disadvantage. I'm not sure non-WVU fans realizes how much the Governor's office/big boosters are involved here.

Again, were talking political connections. Holiday is the heir apparant to Nehlen. All of the old Nehlen supporters within the athletic deparment (including I'm sure Nehlen himself) are pushing for Doc. The Bowden's have connections all over WV, not the least being Governor Manchin playing for a WVU squad were young Bobby Bowden was an assistant coach

Its very hard for someone without those connections to get the job. Didn't know you had a school so SEC like in its coaching search in house, did ya? LOL

Again, i don't have any big souces...this is JMO

Jackson

Getting Terry Bowden will bring instant credibility. Not that WVU does not already have credibility, but hiring Terry Bowden sure will get a lot of press for WVU and the BIG EAST in my opinion.

I think Bowden can be successful. He knows football, he's a smart guy, and his entire family is in coaching. He has a strong love for WV. He's not the ONLY one who can be successful, but I would be OK with his hire.

Not jumping up and down with glee.... but OK with it.

Really there's nobody out there short of some miracle longshot pipedream that would get me really excited. Anybody know Bill Cohwer's cell #? :)

No question Bowden has support of a lot of people

Jackson


Public support for Bowden slows hiring process
Friday, December 21, 2007
By Chuck Finder, Pittsburgh Post-Gazette
MORGANTOWN, W.Va. -- All was quiet yesterday on the West Virginia front.

Doc Holliday, the Florida assistant head coach with a long history as a Mountaineers assistant and player, remained the leading candidate to replace Rich Rodriguez, who left Sunday for Michigan. Yet West Virginia administrators seemed to hit the brakes on a speedy search after interviewing at least four prospects in a couple of days: Holliday, former Auburn coach Terry Bowden, Florida State assistant head coach Rick Trickett and Central Michigan first-year coach Butch Jones.

Part of the reason for the apparent slowdown was the phone-in and e-mail support for Bowden, son of former Mountaineers coach and Florida State legend Bobby Bowden. Another component was a telephone call from the head of the Black Coaches & Administrators Association asking if West Virginia officials might strongly consider interviewing a minority candidate.

And so yesterday the search seemed to bog down, meaning the Mountaineers could name a new coach anytime between this weekend and the Jan. 2 Fiesta Bowl, where No. 11 West Virginia meets No. 3 Oklahoma.

One signal that they weren't spending the day on flights to interviews? Athletic director Ed Pastilong at midafternoon was in Mountaineer Field escorting around a man with a say in the new coach's hiring, West Virginia Gov. Joe Manchi, who gave the team a 20-minute pep talk before its bowl practice.

There were media reports in West Virginia that administrators might reopen the process and conduct more candidate interviews. One source said the Mountaineers were limiting themselves by not employing a consulting firm to assist their search and by using restrictive search parameters: a candidate must have no agent or lawyer with whom to negotiate (most coaches and top coordinators carry such representation), and the team's annual price tag for a head coach is roughly between $1 million and $1.5 million, the top end falling about $400,000 short of Rodriguez's last contract.

Floyd Keith, executive director of the Black Coaches & Administrators, said he had a half-hour discussion Wednesday with Pastilong. He added that he had spoken with Pastilong about such matters on searches since 2001 and had a good relationship with him.

It wasn't known if officials had or planned to interview assistant head coach and offensive coordinator Calvin Magee.

"There are probably four or five people that we talked about. I don't know if those individuals are necessarily interested or not, but they would be strong candidates, that's for sure."

Some of the leading minority candidates for a Top 25 program include Kansas State coach Ron Prince, an Appalachian State grad who coached at James Madison and Virginia; Buffalo coach Turner Gill, a finalist at Nebraska; Illinois offensive coordinator Mike Locksley, a Towson State grad; and Indianapolis Colts assistant head coach and quarterbacks coach Jim Caldwell, a former Penn State assistant and Wake Forest head coach.


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NOTES -- Defensive tackle Johnny Dingle will skip a final college season and enter the NFL draft in April. Dingle said he decided after the Dec. 1 loss to Pitt, adding that Rodriguez's departure had no role in his choice. ... Tailback Steve Slaton said Rodriguez's exit will have no bearing on whether he returns for his senior season or tries for the NFL. ... Quarterback Patrick White all but guaranteed his return, which he pegged at a "99.99 percent" certainty. "I don't think I'm going anywhere," he said. ... Freshman tailback Noel Devine, the topic of much speculation, said he doesn't plan to transfer. Said this top recruit from North Fort Myers, Fla. "I started out here. I'm going to pretty much finish out here." ... Magee, who plans to join Rodriguez in Michigan, will stay with the Mountaineers through the bowl and help quarterback coach Rod Smith call offensive plays.

Chuck Finder can be reached at cfinder@post-gazette.com or 412-263-1724.

I don't see any of the minority candidates getting a job. None have WV ties. I'd prefer to see Butch Jones hired out of that list. If not him, I think Trickett would be my second choice, since he is always able to get the best performance out of players when he's had time to work with them. I have TB as my #4 pick from that list of candidates. Holliday is #3

Jackson1011 Wrote:There were media reports in West Virginia that administrators might reopen the process and conduct more candidate interviews. One source said the Mountaineers were limiting themselves by not employing a consulting firm to assist their search and by using restrictive search parameters: a candidate must have no agent or lawyer with whom to negotiate (most coaches and top coordinators carry such representation), and the team's annual price tag for a head coach is roughly between $1 million and $1.5 million, the top end falling about $400,000 short of Rodriguez's last contract.

I'm sure some of this may not be confirmed. If it is true it is hard to believe WVU wouldn't be willing to pony up RR type salary to get the best coach available. Considering the buyout why would they try to set a ceiling? No agent or lawyer? What is that about?

not so fast my friend:
Rick Trickett?
http://www.footballrumormill.com/scoop.php

Bowden would be a good choice. The guy went undefeated at Auburn. On top of that, WV wouldn't be stealing him away from another school.

Brick City Pirate Wrote:On top of that, WV wouldn't be stealing him away from another school.

That's a good point. It would be nice not to put someone else through what we are going through right now.

21 December 2007 Early Morning News



Although WVU appeared ready to name Florida associate head coach John ‘Doc’ Holliday at a Thursday press conference, Thursday came and went without any announcement. Word of Holliday’s impending appointment surfaced in Wednesday’s edition of The Parkersburg News and Sentinel. Sources confirmed Holliday was going to be the next coach and likely would be announced on Thursday. That didn’t happen and while none of the principals are saying why — they’re not saying anything — the Pittsburgh Post-Gazette said that there has been such resounding public support for former Auburn coach Terry Bowden, WVU officials are re-thinking their decision. Bowden was interviewed on Tuesday, one of three candidates who have met with WVU athletics director Ed Pastilong and other university officials since coach Rich Rodriguez announced he was taking the head coaching position at Michigan. In addition to Bowden and Holliday, Central Michigan head coach Butch Jones also has been interviewed. Bowden conducted what started as a one-man lobbying campaign, calling West Virginia media members on his own behalf. He’s also benefited from efforts from his father, former WVU coach and current Florida State coach Bobby Bowden, who talked to Gov. Joe Manchin on behalf of his son. Terry Bowden also has received strong public support from WVU boosters, who have flooded the offices of WVU officials with phone calls expressing their support. With no news surfacing on Thursday, it’s possible the decision won’t be made until next week. – News and Sentinel

IF WVU hires Bowden then they might as well mail the BIG EAST Trophy to Tampa in 2008.

They are going to need at least 2 years to adjust to his style of football AND he has been out of the game for 10 years.

Nothing wrong with his style of offense but IF I remember correctly he ran most I formation @ Auburn and not the Spread Option that is currently being used by the Mountaineers.

Maize Wrote:IF WVU hires Bowden then they might as well mail the BIG EAST Trophy to Tampa in 2008.

Tampa? Mmmkay...

Maize Wrote:IF WVU hires Bowden then they might as well mail the BIG EAST Trophy to Tampa in 2008.

They are going to need at least 2 years to adjust to his style of football AND he has been out of the game for 10 years.

Nothing wrong with his style of offense but IF I remember correctly he ran most I formation @ Auburn and not the Spread Option that is currently being used by the Mountaineers.

He will run the system that maximizes his talent...if named I would expect him to keep the spread.

Terry Bowden would be a good choice. He did well in his first couple of years at Auburn and even went undefeated with a team on probation in his initial season. Bowden played at West Virginia and he wants to be there. You can be pretty sure he is one alumnus who will not do what Rich Rodriguez just did. Remember, Bowden enrolled and played for the Mountaineers even after his father went on to Florida State, so that says a lot.

As for the offensive scheme, I am sure that Bowden is smart enough to hire a coordinator who is well versed in the spread, and he has to know the basics of it just from broadcasting games and breaking down film over the last few years. Rodriguez was formerly the offensive coordinator for Tommy Bowden so Terry almost certainly can benefit from that. Lost in all this is the note that Pat White and Noel Devine are definitely staying.

Bull Daly Wrote:Getting Terry Bowden will bring instant credibility. Not that WVU does not already have credibility, but hiring Terry Bowden sure will get a lot of press for WVU and the BIG EAST in my opinion.

I agree. Bowden will sell the program nationally and be able to demand the press take WVU seriously.

Bowden and Huggins will make WVU a "destination" and not a "warming area" for a bigger program.