Tommy Bowden: Did He Deserve It? Players Say Yes.

After ten years with Cleamson, head coach Tommy Bowden has been kicked to the curb. Well, kinda. Athletic director Terry Don Phillips said that ousting Bowden wasn’t the intention of their meeting, but he put it on the table and they both agreed that it was going to be right for the team.

Bowden says that he’ll be the Tigers’ “biggest fan on Saturday.” Unfortunately, his players might not have the same fuzzy feelings about him as he seems to have about them. Says senior Cullen Harper, who started this season as quarterback, but was later benched,

“It’s what he deserved. Dabo Swinney is a fine man and will do an excellent job.”

Ouch. Later, he said,

There were things I disagreed with and that my teammates disagreed with. I didn’t appreciate it when he would say some off-the-wall things about me to the media. I guess one thing I can say is he gave me an opportunity to come to Clemson and play.

Double ouch. His father, who played for Georgia in the 1980s, isn’t a big Bowden fan either, it seems, and other players on the team aren’t exactly sad to see him go. Says running back C.J. Spiller,

“I enjoyed playing for coach Bowden and I liked him, but in the end he was yelling at us to be leaders and it wasn’t working. He did all he could to motivate us, but guys weren’t buying into what he was saying. And he said a lot of the same things over and over again.”

Don’t cry for Bowden, though. Although this may be a bit of a disappointment, considering his legacy (successful coach Bobby Bowden), he’s getting paid until the end of the season, and then Clemson will be buying out his contract for a cushy $3.5 million. So yeah…he’s set.

But I do wonder – will he look for a new coaching gig? After ten years in the ACC with talents players and no titles, I’m not sure who would take him if there’s an opening in one of the bigger conferences, but I could see him coaching a Div-II team.

Do you think Bowden deserved to be kicked out mid-season?

Picture via Newscom.