Read the debate intro and the arguments from Sports Geek and Babe Ruthless about whether or not a coach with a long history of success still has the right to retire on their own terms despite poor results recently.
We live in a results-oriented world. Regardless of our career, we are judged professionally by what we produce. History and past results may help to create new or better opportunities for us, but they do not guarantee security.
Bobby Bowden has done a lot of great things for Florida State University. His past conference championships, bowl appearances, impressive win count, and national championships will each serve as a testimony to the legacy of one of the greatest college football coaches of all time. None of those past feats, however, will guarantee wins in the future. The problem for Bowden is that Florida State had lost confidence in his ability to continue that success. In a results-oriented world, that confidence is all that matters.
Imagine a hospital whose chief neurosurgeon had spent the past 35 years of his life at that hospital. During the first 32 years of his career he masterfully saved thousands of lives, and his reputation earned him respect around the world as one of the best ever. During the last three years of his career his performance began to slip and, as a result, the hospital administrators began to lose confidence in his abilities.
Should the hospital continue to retain that neurosurgeon’s services, simply because he was a well-respected and world-renowned surgeon? No!
At some point, the hospital needs to make a decision that it can no longer risk keeping the legendary surgeon on staff, claiming to do so out of respect for the fact that he USED to be good, and MIGHT become good again. In the meantime, while waiting for him to HOPEFULLY return to form, there are many surgeries that need to be performed, and the hospital wants to make sure it is equipped with the best possible staff to meet the needs of its patients.
For those exact same reasons, a football program has a responsibility to its shareholders (boosters, fans, players, etc.) that it equips a team with the best tools available to get the job done, even if that means replacing a well-respected and historically successful coach. It does not mean that the program is unappreciative for all of the success that the exiting coach earned (that appreciation came in the form of a very lucrative paycheck), and it is not a show of disrespect to that coach’s legacy. Instead, it is the unfortunate but very necessary acceptance that circumstances have changed, and the program must change with those circumstances in order to remain competitive. I am awarding the debate to Babe Ruthless for recognizing that unavoidable nature of change.
Sports Geek raised the example of Joe Paterno as evidence that a struggling, legendary coach could be successful again. I do not deny that JoePa has managed to revitalize a program that seemed to be slipping out of his control. Just because Paterno did it, though, there is no guarantee that another coach would be able to repeat that success. Once again, it comes down to confidence. People have gone skydiving with a parachute that never opened, but have lived to tell about it. That does not mean I would jump out of a plane with one of those same faulty parachutes! As Babe Ruthless states, the “powers that be” within a program should move forward with the coach that they feel would bring the BEST results.
In addition, some people argue that a coach with legendary credentials should be allowed to walk away on their own terms out of respect for their career, when in fact it is actually DISRESPECTFUL to their prestigious career to allow them to hang on. Every mistake and failure would serve only to further blemish a career that would otherwise have been remembered fondly. Hanging on too long is one of the worst ways to destroy the legacy of an outstanding career.
It is irresponsible to the fans, the players, and the legacy of the coach to intentionally allow a team to walk on the field with anything less than what is believed to be the absolute best chance for a school to win.
Nothing against Bobby and what he has accomplished, but it chaps my behind that FSU will be playing in the Gator Bowl.