Not surprisingly, the grumbling and grousing in Tallahassee about the lingering Bobby Bowden era grows apace. Continued also-ran status in the Atlantic Coast Conference, a forfeit-affixed, academic-cheating scandal and that historic loss to the erstwhile commuter school from Tampa has only fueled the furor.
So outspoken have some Seminole boosters — and even a key trustee — become that no longer do you hear the argument that iconic coaches such as Bowden, 79, (and Penn State’s Joe Paterno, 82) should be able to call their own retirement shots.
That’s the good news.
Given the charge of institutions of higher education, including those with high-profile football programs, nobody should be calling their own shots about stepping down unless they’ve cured a disease or won a Nobel Prize. Long-tenured, highly-successful football coaches should not be an exception and, in effect, be able to dictate to a university president when they will opt to step aside.