As the football world turns

10/16/08

So much for a football season. The way things are going these days, Clemson and USC fans are in the midst of what has turned out to be a pretty good soap opera.

On Monday, the turbulent Tommy Bowden era finally reached a merciful end, thanks to his ‘resignation.' Clemson athletic director Terry Don Phillips was emphatic in letting everyone know that Bowden was not fired, that he resigned. Clemson's Death Valley finally proved to be Bowden's Valley of Death.

Resignations, of course, are a tricky thing. After all, Richard Nixon resigned the presidency. But the fact is, had Nixon not resigned, that little thing called Watergate was about to catch up to him and he would have eventually been forced out of office. Resignations are much better than getting fired. France's Louis XVI and England's Charles I both got fired from their monarchies by an unhappy fan base, and neither got a penny for their departure. All they got was decapitated.

I'll take 3.5 million bucks over decapitation any day.

But if there is one word that best describes Bowden's ‘resignation', it is relief. You could see the look in Bowden's eyes after the loss to Alabama and you could feel it in his voice after last Thursday's loss to Wake Forest that in the words of B. B. King, “the thrill is gone.”
Of course, having been smart enough to wiggle a 3.5 million dollar buyout from Phillips by flirting with an opening at Arkansas at the end of last year can be fairly relieving.

Quarterback Cullen Harper, who Bowden planned to replace with Willie Korn this week against Georgia Tech, was really relieved.
“He got what he deserved,” Harper told ESPN.com.

Phillips, who admitted that Bowden faced an ultimatum of an ACC championship to keep his job after this season, is finally relieved that he no longer has to discuss Bowden's job status.

“If I answered that question now I'd be answering it every week during the season,” Phillips said after the Wake Forest loss, when asked about Bowden's status.

For Clemson fans, the day they all saw and most hoped for has finally arrived.

“With the way the fan base had turned on him, I think it is the best thing for the program at this point,” said long-time Clemson supporter Diane McKenzie, who rarely misses a Clemson home game. “He will be remembered for a lot of good things. He graduated his players and he represented the university with class, but having that cloud lifted over everyone's head allows the program to move forward.”

Will Duffy, a local teen who has been raised in a Clemson family, approved of Bowden's departure as well.

“It was time for a change. It is probably something they should have done earlier, but at least now we can get back to just worrying about the team, and not if our coach is going to get fired,” said Duffy.
The forgotten thing in this whole ordeal is that if running back C. J. Spiller had not been lost early in the Wake Forest game, chances are Clemson would have won the game, would be in good position in the ACC standings, and Bowden would still be on the payroll. Then again, had Spiller been healthy, offensive coordinator Rob Spence, who was fired moments after Bowden resigned, might have continued his trend of not calling Spiller's name enough.

Exit Bowden, and enter assistant coach Dabo Swinney. So what happens if Swinney conducts a turn around and the Tigers go on a roll and win the ACC title? The last time that Clemson promoted an assistant coach to take over before the season was when Danny Ford took over. But an athletic department that can afford to pay a coach 3.5 million not to coach can afford to go out and spend enough money on the type of blockbuster hire that revitalizes both the players and the fan base. Alabama did it with Nick Saban. There is no reason that Clemson fans should expect anything less.

Meanwhile, down in Columbia, a pair of wins over Ole Miss and Kentucky, both on the road, will have Williams-Brice rocking this Saturday when LSU comes to town. The Ole Miss game starred quarterback Chris Smelley, who earned SEC honors by passing for the game of his life. Smelley followed that up by stinking it up against Kentucky, which brought Stephen Garcia into the game, and Garcia's play sparked the Gamecocks to the win.

“Stephen surprised us all,” USC coach Steve Spurrier said. “Shoot, looked pretty good for his first meaningful playing time.”

It is no surprise that Garcia was named this week's starter. In much the same way that Clemson fans have been hailing for Bowden's departure for a long time, USC fans have been begging Spurrier to hand the offense over to Garcia.

USC fans haven't been this happy or excited about their quarterback since the first game of the season when Tommy Beecher was the starter. He promptly went out and threw four interceptions. One can only hope, for the sake of Spurrier's hair and USC fans' blood pressure, Garcia does a little better than that in his first start.
It will be an interesting Saturday. In Columbia, Chris Smelley will begin the game with helmet in his hand on the sidelines, but it will be little surprise if he ends up buckling the helmet up. LSU's defense will be determined to crash Stephen Garcia's coming out party.

Meanwhile at noon, Dabo Swinney will be calling the shots, while the whereabouts of Tommy Bowden will probably be unknown. Bowden promises to keep an eye on the Tigers for the rest of the year, no matter where he hangs out.

“I will be their biggest fan against Georgia Tech this Saturday,” Bowden promised at the press conference where his resignation was announced.

If I was him, I'd be home counting my money.

Tom O'Hare

tom@mysumterherald.com