Report: Trustees chair thinks Bowden should retire

Published Oct. 5, 2009 9:07 a.m. ET

foxsports

The pressure to end Bobby Bowden's legendary run at Florida State is mounting quickly.

The chairman of the school's board of trustees told the Tallahassee Democrat that the longtime football coach should retire at the end of the year.

"My hope is frankly that we'll go ahead, and if we have to, let the world know that this year will be the end of the Bowden Era," Jim Smith told the newspaper Sunday. "... Seminole Nation has been more than patient. We have been in a decline not for a year or two or three but I think we're coming up on seven or eight. I think enough is enough."

The decline Smith mentioned stems from the program's lack of success this decade. From 1990-1999, Florida State went 109-13-1. This decade, the Seminoles are 80-41, including a 2-3 mark this season.

Bowden, 79, said he "knows in the back of his mind" when he'll leave and that he'll make a decision at the end of the season and after meeting with school president T.K. Wetherell, according to the Tallahassee Democrat.

In January, Bowden signed a one-year contract to remain at the school for his 34th season.

Offensive coordinator Jimbo Fisher was named coach-in-waiting in 2007. However, Fisher's reign may have to wait longer. The board of trustees doesn't approve athletic contracts, the newspaper said.