Tommy Bowden

Tommy Bowden
Tommy Bowden at Clemson
Sport(s) Football
Biographical details
Born July 10, 1954 (1954-07-10) (age 57)
Place of birth Birmingham, Alabama
Playing career
1973–1976 West Virginia
Position(s) Wide receiver
Coaching career (HC unless noted)
1977
1978–1979
1980
1981–1982
1983–1984
1985–1986
1987–1989
1990
1991–1996
1997–1998
1999–2008		 West Virginia (GA)
Florida State (DB)
Auburn (RB)
Florida State (TE)
Duke (QB)
Duke (OC)
Alabama (WR)
Kentucky (OC)
Auburn (OC)
Tulane
Clemson
Head coaching record
Overall 90–49
Statistics
College Football Data Warehouse
Accomplishments and honors
Championships
1× C-USA Champion (1998)
Awards
1× C-USA Coach of the Year (1998)
2× ACC Coach of the Year (1999, 2003)
1× FCA Football Coach of the Year (2006)

Tommy Bowden (born July 10, 1954 in Birmingham, Alabama) is an American football coach who served as the head coach at Clemson University from 1999 until October 13, 2008. He is the son of Bobby Bowden, former head coach of Florida State University, against whom he has coached in games nicknamed the "Bowden Bowl."

Contents

Coaching career

Before Clemson University, Bowden was the head coach at Tulane, and an assistant at the University of Alabama, Auburn University, Duke University, the University of Kentucky, East Carolina University and, with his father, at Florida State. His 1998 Tulane squad went 12–0 and achieved a top-10 final ranking in both polls.

Bowden was hired as Clemson's head coach before the 1999 season. Bowden's Clemson teams went to a bowl game every year he coached there, except in 2004, when both teams agreed to decline any invitation to a bowl game for that year after a brawl with rival South Carolina. He resigned on October 13, 2008, after leading the team to a disappointing 3–3 record (1–2 ACC) at the midpoint of a season in which the Tigers had been an almost unanimous preseason pick to win their first ACC title under Bowden and were ranked #9 in the preseason polls. Assistant head coach/wide receivers coach Dabo Swinney was named as interim head coach for the remainder of the season. His brother Terry (former head coach at Auburn) is going to coach at Akron during the 2012 season after Rob Ianello was fired.[1]

Personal

Bowden attended and played football for West Virginia University from 1972 through 1976. He is married to the former Linda White and has two children, Ryan and Lauren. He is the son of former Florida State Seminoles head coach Bobby Bowden and has two sisters and three brothers, including Terry, the head coach at the University of Akron, and Jeff, who serves as an assistant coach on his brother Terry's staff.

Head coaching record

Year Team Overall Conference Standing Bowl/playoffs Coaches# AP°
Tulane Green Wave (Conference USA) (1997–1998)
1997 Tulane 7–4 5–1 2nd
1998 Tulane 11–0 6–0 1st W Liberty 7 7
Tulane: 18-4 11-1
Clemson Tigers (Atlantic Coast Conference) (1999–2008)
1999 Clemson 6–6 5–3 2nd L Peach
2000 Clemson 9–3 6–2 2nd L Gator
2001 Clemson 7–5 4–4 T–4th W Humanitarian
2002 Clemson 7–6 4–4 T–5th L Tangerine
2003 Clemson 9–4 5–3 3rd W Peach 22 22
2004 Clemson 6–5 4–4 T–6th Declined*
2005 Clemson 8–4 4–4 3rd (Atlantic) W Champs Sports 21 21
2006 Clemson 8–5 5–3 T–2nd (Atlantic) L Music City
2007 Clemson 9–4 5–3 2nd (Atlantic) L Chick-fil-A 22 21
2008 Clemson 3–3‡ 1–2 T–2nd (Atlantic)
Clemson: 72–45 43–32
Total: 90–49
      National championship         Conference title         Conference division title
†Indicates BCS bowl game. #Rankings from final Coaches' Poll.
°Rankings from final AP Poll.

*Self-imposed punishment for team fight with South Carolina
‡ Bowden resigned on October 13, 2008.

References

  1. ^ Mark Schlabach, Bowden ousted at Clemson; coach 'deserved' to be fired, QB says, ESPN.com, October 13, 2008, Accessed October 13, 2008.

External links

Preceded by
?		 Kentucky Wildcats Offensive Coordinator
1990		 Succeeded by
Rick Rhoades
Preceded by
Larry Blakeney		 Auburn Tigers Offensive Coordinator
1990–1996		 Succeeded by
Rodney Allison