Bowden backs Bible, Seminoles

FORT MYERS, Fla. – Now 75 years old, Florida State University football coach Bobby Bowden is as colorful as ever.

He’s also refreshingly candid.

Speaking with Southwest Florida media on Saturday after shooting a 40 on the back nine at Stoneybrook Golf Club, Bowden feels:

•The NCAA has no business trying to change the school’s name from the Seminoles;

•Air Force coach Fisher DeBerry is perfectly within his rights to encourage his players to be Christians;

•The Big Ten’s model on instant replay is good for now;

•Potential NCAA legislation tying in graduation rates to postseason play hurts schools who lose players early to the NFL draft.

Oh, and he also thinks his football team will be pretty good this fall.

“I guess you get my age and (Penn State coach) Joe Paterno’s age and you have a little more freedom and credibility, whether they believe you or not,” Bowden said.

Earlier this week, Bowden was in Colorado Springs, Colo. and he told the Gazette that DeBerry is fighting a heckuva battle with the U.S Government over the role of religion on his team. Last season, DeBerry was asked to remove a banner from the team’s locker room, which displayed the “Competitor’s Creed”, including the lines “I am a Christian first and last. … I am a member of Team Jesus Christ.”

A Pentagon task force is investigating claims of religious intolerance at the academy, where there have allegedly been cases where a Jewish cadet was told the Holocaust was revenge for the death of Jesus and another was called a Christ killer by a fellow cadet.

“I do believe in what Fisher DeBerry is doing,” Bowden said. “And that may not be politically correct.

“Here’s the thing that gets me. You’ve always got a group out there that thinks you’re not supposed to mention religion when you’re a coach, yet the big problems are delinquency and crime. Let’s get the big picture and teach these kids the commandments. Thou shall not kill, thou shall not steal, thou shall not commit adultery. I don’t see how we could go wrong with that. And I’m not going to back off, I tell you that.”

As coach, Bowden said it’s his team and he’s going to coach his players in ways that will be best to prepare them not only for Saturdays but the rest of their lives.

“I’ve always felt like I have a responsibility to the boys I coach,” Bowden said. “I want to see them graduate, see them become the best player they can be and then, dadgum it, try to help them be a better person. And the moral standards of the world come from the bible.”

This summer, the NCAA is expected to formally respond to the question of whether Native American nicknames and mascots are appropriate. It has compiled a survey of 30 member schools that use such names and Florida State is one of those. An NCAA executive committee will conduct at least two reviews of the nickname issue.

Bowden, the university and Seminole Indian Tribe have had a great relationship over the years and he expects it to continue.

”(The NCAA) is trying to make it sensitive but we don’t plan to back down, I tell you that, and Seminoles don’t plan to back down,” Bowden said. “They like what we’re doing and we like them for letting us do what we’re doing. I don’t think the NCAA has any business whatsoever with that, and I think our university will fight that.”

This fall, the Atlantic Coast Conference approved instant replay. After initially favoring the NFL method where coaches could appeal officials’ calls, Bowden prefers the Big Ten model where a person in a replay booth decides on what to review.

“After I talked to the Big Ten, they’ve got best method right now and most follow that,” he said. “I’m very happy with it… until later, if we decide to use something else.”

This fall, Florida State is expected to be defensively dominant. On offense, quarterback Wyatt Sexton has the job now but will have to work to keep it.

“The redshirt freshmen have a lot more talent,” Bowden said. “He has 3 1/2 more weeks in the fall to see if they can get his job. If not, he’s it.

“If we stay healthy, I’ll take our chances.”

Bowden had his usual quips. When asked about the key on winning close games, he said, “Kick the ball straight.” On battling the negative recruiting involving his age: “He’s 75 and will only live another year. He’ll be dead in another year, and that comes especially from that coach at Clemson (son Tommy).”

And then there was the question as to whether he’ll change his recruiting in light of new potential NCAA standards linking postseason play to graduation rates.

“No sir,” Bowden said. “I still want those guys who might leave a half year early. They’re the best ones.”