AFM RSS Feed Follow Us on Twitter       
AMERICAN FOOTBALL MONTHLY THE #1 RESOURCE FOR FOOTBALL COACHES
ABOUT |  CONTACT |  ADVERTISE |  HELP  



   User Name    Password 
      Password Help





Article Categories


AFM Magazine

AFM Magazine


Bobby and the Boys

With 127 years combined experience, FSU sports arguably the nation's best staff.
by: Gene Frenette
Florida Times-Union
© More from this issue

Click for Printer Friendly Version          

Unlike many colleagues in their nomadic profession, they remain anchored to a cozy town in northwest Florida. They have kept the moving vans at bay, instead preferring to work for the same boss while turning down more lucrative job opportunities elsewhere.

Coaches at other Division I-A schools would likely jump at thechances that have presented themselves to Florida State's staff over the years. Jim Gladden, the 58-year-old defensive ends coach, reinforced his status as a Seminole lifer in 1996 when he passed up the Texas A&M defensive coordinator job. Offensive coordinator Mark Richt said no to the Pittsburgh head coaching post. And that's just the recent rejections.

Suffice it to say that coaches who work for Bobby Bowden don't leave. Not so easily anyway. Defensive coordinator Mickey Andrews wants to be a head coach, but missed his best opportunity when he couldn't make himself available right away to the I-A school that wanted to hire him. Andrews' excuse: FSU was playing for a national championship in a bowl game.

Then again, when are the Seminoles not playing for No. 1? Such is the downside, if it can be called that, of working at a school that has finished in the Top Four for the last 12 years. Higher-paying jobs with more prestigious titles are out there, but is it really better thanworking for Bowden?

"Becoming a head coach may happen next year or never,'' Andrews said. "I just can't think of any place I'd rather be at waiting for that opportunity.''

Of all the reasons why American Football Monthly has selected Florida State's coaching staff as one of the top one in the collegiate ranks, none may be as important as consistency. Not just staying near the top of the polls since 1987, but having nine full-time assistants under Bowden that have stayed in Tallahassee for a combined 127 years, longevity that's second only to the staff of Joe Paterno at Penn State (143 years). And that's not counting FSU strength and conditioning coach Dave Van Halanger, who is entering his 17th season.

"They found a situation where there was no sense to leave just tobe leaving,'' Bowden said. "If they can't make a big salary increase or position upgrade, they might as well stay here.''

Remarkably, Bowden has still kept a lot of his assistants on board even when those perks became available to them. Only a few FSU coaches have been willing to trade the job security of working under Bowden for either a promotion or more money elsewhere.

In his 24th season as head coach, Bowden has lost only 17 full-time assistants. The biggest shakeup came in 1994 when Brad Scott became head coach at South Carolina, taking two FSU assistants along with him. Five years later, Scott was on the unemployment line and is once again working for a Bowden, this time under Tommy as a tight ends coach at Clemson.

"Nobody knows the right formula to get any head coaching job,''said FSU assistant head coach Chuck Amato, who also coaches the linebackers. "Should you move every few years? Should you stay put? What works for one doesn't necessarily work for another.''

What seems to work for the majority of Bowden's coaches is to keep playing the hand they got. Not since after the 1982 season, when offensive coordinator George Henshaw left to take the same position at Alabama in Ray Perkins' first year, has a full-time FSU assistant made a lateral move out of Tallahassee.

Only three Bowden assistants have left for head coaching jobs -Art Baker to East Carolina and Gene McDowell to Central Florida in 1985, and Scott to South Carolina. Others, like the late Wayne McDuffie and Jack Stanton, Bowden's first defensive coordinator, took higher-paying NFL jobs.

"I remember when Brad (Scott) went to South Carolina, he nearly backed out the day before," said Bowden. "He said he wasn't sure, but felt he had to make the move. Sooner or later, a coach has to jump into the water and see if it can happen for him."

Few of Bowden's assistants have been inclined to make that jump.

Between prosperity on the football field and the close-knit relationships formed in Tallahassee's community, members of the FSU staff have discovered the best job out there is usually the one they're already in.

"This is home to us," said defensive ends coach Jim Gladden, oneof three coaches that Bowden hired from the staff of his predecessor,Darrell Mudra. "It has provided a warm, value-oriented lifestyle and that was more important to me than ego. Everybody would like to be the next Bud Wilkinson.

"I'd rather have a chance to win each Saturday than get my brainsbeat out just to have the title of head coach on my resume. Some coaches move every two or three years. But everybody needs stability, especially children. It's not worth it to me to start all over again somewhere else. To leave now would be counterproductive."

Loving the boss

In 1989, Mark Richt left his volunteer coaching position at FSU to become the offensive coordinator at East Carolina, a logical move that he questioned the moment he took the position.

"Even then, I thought, 'What the heck did I do that for?' " Richt said.

Actually, it worked out fine as Richt, now FSU's offensive coordinator, was hired back the following season as quarterbacks coach.But his initial hesitancy about leaving the Seminoles had a lot to dowith doubts over working for somebody else besides Bowden.

Just as Bowden has professed loyalty to FSU over the years, thebiggest opportunity coming when he rejected overtures from Alabama, his assistants have been reluctant to leave a boss who gives them the latitude to coach without being overbearing.

"Working for Coach Bowden is as good as it gets," said Richt. "You win, of course. But the important thing is he allows you to coach. He corrects us, but it's off the field or in the staff room. Even if he thinks you're screwing up, he will never dress anybody down in front of the players or other coaches. He's not going to be up in that tower with a bull horn yelling at you. He treats us with respect."

Richt also credits Bowden with his conversion to Jesus Christ. Bowden's focus on the spiritual aspect of his players' lives is well documented. But his coaches contend that despite Bowden's astounding overall record (292-85-4), his priority of putting God above winning eases the pressure on them.

"He's at his very best after a tough loss," Richt said. "Coach Bowden knows there's more to life than a game. Football isn't the end-all. It's not always that way in this business."

Andrews, who took a $15,000 paycut to come to FSU in 1984 from the USFL Arizona Wranglers, believes a major reason for the staff's cohesiveness and success is that Bowden delegates authority and lets his assistants run their own show.

"The thing he does that a lot of head coaches can't do is he givesyou a job and doesn't tell you how to do it," said Andrews. "He givesyou an opportunity to make mistakes without shoving it in your face. A lot of places, there's guys always looking over your shoulder."

Bowden himself came to FSU, in large part, to get away from theintense spotlight of people always second-guessing him. He was hung in effigy in his fifth season at West Virginia, prompting him to jump at the chance to rebuild FSU's struggling program after going 9-3 the following year with the Mountaineers.

He went 5-6 in his first year with the 'Noles, but has since reeled off 22 consecutive winning seasons. And in the last dozen years, few I-A school have approached FSU's .881 winning percentage (129-17-1). That success rate over a 12-year period, surpassed only by Notre Dame's 1919-30 teams of Knute Rockne (.891) and Oklahoma's 1947-58 teams of Bud Wilkinson (.909), has made it extra difficult for FSU assistants to leave for better jobs. And for theblue-chip players to choose other schools.

"Coach Bowden has stayed flexible, to the point of allowing ourplayers to have fun," Gladden noted. "Deion Sanders and that grouptaught us you can have fun and still win. The most important thing is morale of the players. Coach learned that from reading all those military books about generals.

"If the soldiers don't want to go to battle or war every day, you can pour coffee on the fire and call off the dogs. The hunt's over."

At FSU, loyalty clearly starts at the top. Bowden's devotion to FSU has had a trickle-down effect, enabling him to retain assistants, which, in turn, has made it easier for the Seminoles to keep one of college football's greatest dynasties in first gear.

"We hit it just right in the late 1970s because that's when the population started exploding in Florida," said Gladden. "We had the right chemistry at the right time. Good organizations keep their toppeople intact. There's not as much turnover.

"It takes a while to build a bond of trust between players andposition coaches. A player has no way of reaching his full potential if he's changing coaches every year."

Staying the course

There may be no greater testimony to Bowden's ability to keeping assistants than the career of running backs coach Bily Sexton, one of two coaches who has been with him every step of the way at FSU.

Sexton has never been a coordinator, a position of prestige that many coaches aspire to once they've known success. Bowden believes he has lost at least two assistants, Jerry Bruner in 1979 and John Eason in 1994, because he named someone else on the staff as offensive coordinator.

During Sexton's 24 seasons, he has seen that coordinator position go to five different men, twice to fellow assistants with less coaching experience than himself. Though Sexton wanted the job, he has not let being bypassed force him into packing his bags for somewhere else. A husband and father of three children, Sexton unsuccessfully pursued a I-A head coaching job in the early 1990s, and has turned down a handful of offers in his career. Nothing ever seems quite as appealing as staying put.

"I just felt it was in my best interest to stay," Sexton said. "I didn't let my ego get in the way. If I just wanted to be an offensive coordinator, I could have taken several jobs at other places. This is just a great place to coach and Tallahassee is an excellent place to raise a family.

"You don't plan on staying all that time. It just kind of happens."

Amato came to FSU in 1982 and figured he'd stay three or fouryears, then move on to a better program or possibly a head coaching job. The Seminoles were still an independent school, and unlike Notre Dame, they had nowhere near today's national presence that puts FSU on television every week.

It wasn't until Amato was weighing offers to leave Arizona, including one from Lou Holtz to coach the linebackers at Arkansas, that he decided FSU was the place to go. Holtz told Amato to consider three things in his job evaluation: what his family wanted; where he could win the most right away; and his first gut feeling.

That conversation pushed Amato toward FSU. And after consulting then with Florida basketball coach Norm Sloan, who coached at North Carolina State when Amato was there in the 1970s, he became convinced that the Seminoles were sitting on a dominant-type football program.

"Starting in coaching, you think, 'Wouldn't it be great to coachat Notre Dame, Oklahoma or Penn State?' " said Amato. "Well, we're one of those programs now. We've got guys on this coaching staff that are ready to be head coaches, probably some for a long time. But you don't want to be a head coach and be looking for work three or four years later.

"This isn't the most secure business. If Tommy Bowden didn't hire Brad Scott (at Clemson), he might not have a job right now."

Amato estimates he has turned down 15 jobs since coming to FSU, about half of them considered promotions. But like so many of his colleagues, leaving a program that has produced 16 consensus All-America players and 16 first-round NFL draft picks since 1980 is easier said than done.

Where could Bowden's assistants go and duplicate that kind of success? And when everybody else around them is staying, it seemsleaving becomes less desirable of an option.

"The continuity of the staff is amazing," said Amato. "It helps because the players know what to expect and the coaches know how they react to each other. We've been to many big wars with the same people and they've made good judgments. As a coach, it's good to know your back is covered.

"And if you're going to ride anyone's coattails, there's none better than Bobby Bowden. His recommendation (for a job) means a lot."

So does Bowden's occasional pleas to stay, as was the case afterthe 1992 season when Andrews was a finalist for the University of Houston post that eventually went to Kim Helton.

"I think I ended up giving Mickey (Andrews) some more money and he pulled his name out," Bowden said.

A good thing for Andrews that he did, too. FSU won its first national championship the following year. As for Helton, he enters his seventh season at the helm of the Cougars with a record of 17-49-1.

Sometimes, especially if you're an assistant at Florida State, thebest move a coach can make is to not move at all.

"Becoming a head coach is important to me, but so is winning andbeing successful," Andrews said. "I'd have a hard time if we workedour fannies off and the best thing we could do is break even. Some things are more important than money or titles. It's peace of mind, knowing you've made a difference somewhere along the line.

"When we're getting ready for a game or a season, the coaches know what to expect from each other. You don't have to scratch out every little detail. We bring different things to the table. Yet each of us has strengths that make us better as a whole."

As long as Bobby Bowden sits in the boss' chair, chances are it will remain that way. He has built a staff that was made to last.

The FSU Staff

Bobby Bowden is starting his 24th season as Florida State's head coach, a tenure which has seen him lose only 17 full-time assistant coaches. Six of his 10 key assistants, including strength coach Dave Van Halanger, have been with the Seminoles continuously since at least the 1986 season. A rundown on the coaching staff that has guided FSU to 12 consecutive Top Four finishes.

Chuck Amato: assistant head coach/linebackers; age 51; 18th season at FSU; left the University of Arizona and turned down Lou Holtz offer to coach at Arkansas to come to FSU as defensive line coach in 1982.

Mickey Andrews: defensive coordinator/defensive backs; age 58; 16th season at FSU; left the USFL Arizona Wranglers when the owner switched franchises with the Chicago Blitz in 1984 and FSU needed a defensive coordinator to replace Jack Stanton.

Jeff Bowden: receivers coach; age 38; 6th season at FSU; left a similar post at Southern Mississippi to reunite with his father after the 1993 season.

Jim Gladden: defensive ends coach; age 58; 25th season at FSU; the only coach at FSU who has been there longer than Bowden, he was a graduate assistant on Darrell Mudra's staff and was hired to coach defensive ends and outside linebackers.

Odell Haggins: defensive line coach; age 34; 6th season at FSU; was a standout player for the Seminoles from 1986-89 and was working with the state attorney's office in Jacksonville when he joined the staff.

Jimmy Heggins: offensive line; age 43; 14th season at FSU; served as starting noseguard on Bowden's first two FSU teams and was hired to coach that position in 1986 after previous coaching stops at Western Illinois, Eastern Michigan and Southwestern Louisiana.

John Lilly: tight ends/recruiting coordinator; age 31; 4th season at FSU; made his mark after replacing Ronnie Cottrell in 1998 as recruiting coordinator and this will be his just second season as a full-time assistant and tight ends coach.

Mark Richt: offensive coordinator/quarterbacks coach; age 39; 14th season at FSU; left a volunteer position at FSU to become offensive coordinator at East Carolina in 1989, but returned to FSU the following year to coach quarterbacks before getting promoted to coordinator after Brad Scott left for head coaching job at South Carolina.

Billy Sexton: running backs coach; age 48; 24th season at FSU; innitially hired as a graduate assistant after coaching three years at Tallahassee Leon High School, Sexton became the running backs coach in 1983 and has remained in that post ever since.

Dave Van Halanger: strength/conditioning coach; age 45; 17th seasons at FSU; served in same capacity at West Virginia for five years until Bowden hired him away in 1983.






NEW BOOK!

AFM Videos Streaming Memberships Now Available Digital Download - 304 Pages of Football Forms for the Winning Coach



















HOME
MAGAZINE
SUBSCRIBE ONLINE COLUMNISTS COACHING VIDEOS


Copyright 2024, AmericanFootballMonthly.com
All Rights Reserved