Bowden

When the word came down that Tommy Bowden was stepping down, I believe the timing was the most shocking, not the firing itself. Surprisingly, there have been some fans upset with not only the move, but also the timing. The most telling statistic however was 73 wins vs. 72 wins. The former is the amount of wins compiled by the Hatfield/West era while the latter was the total wins by Bowden. Fewer wins, no 10 win seasons, and zero ACC titles, and one exit.

Some might feel that I am a "Bowden Guy" on the air. Quite the contrary, I believe I am realistic. There are some fans who follow the program that will never be happy unless they are a national title contender every year. That is not realistic, and the fact that Bowden was able to build the foundation that now lays beneath the Clemson football program despite this group's negativity is a testiment to the man's ability.

In the end, however sound the foundation might be, Tommy Bowden couldn't get the program to the top floor of the ACC. That wasn't an unrealistic expectation. There were some unlucky breaks (google: Aaron Kelly, Boston College), along with close loses (see: 2005). Erase those and the discussion is much different. However the story was always the same, close but no cigar. First time is unlucky, fourth time is a trend.

Now Clemson's football season has a rekindled excitement to it. Nobody knows what is in store with Dabo Swinney and a staff that has nothing to lose. It'll be fun to sit down next week and write about what I see in Clemson this week. The foundation is there, the expectations are gone, and while Bowden was shown the exit, Swinney has doors wide open.