Bobby Bowden: “Take Down the Paterno Statue”

Dillon Cheverere13 years ago

Former Florida State head coach Bobby Bowden is a respected icon and the ultimate ‘good ole boy’ head coach of college football. He also ranks third among Division 1 football coaches in number of wins, has a couple national championship rings, a slew of conference titles and bowl wins, and dadgum, when Bobby’s got something to say, you best pull up a chair.

This time he’s talking about the Paterno legacy, and because it’s Bobby, it’s noteworthy. A little backstory is prudent first. Some speculate, even though Bowden will likely never go public about it, that Paterno has always irked him a bit with Joe’s prolonged tenure at Penn State. He sits up in the press box in the air conditioning, sipping warm milk before his post-game naps, and he’s racking up wins to put Bowden’s legacy further in his rearview mirror.

Bobby, being the honorable man that he is, takes the high road on the subject. Well, now he’s speaking up a little bit in light of the recent Penn State developments.

Bowden told the Open Mike program on 740-AM in Orlando that the Joe Paterno statue on Penn State’s campus should come down, though with a unique and somewhat-compelling argument.

Bowden’s argument for removing the statue has little to do with Paterno himself; instead, he points out that it will only serve to start conversations about the scandal and as a target for television cameras. Bowden explains that with an administration and coaching staff entirely removed from the mistakes of the Paterno era, they need to put up an “iron curtain” with the past and move on; moving on would, thus, be hindered by that rather prominent reminder.

High road. Again. That’s Bobby Bowden. Follow the link below for the audio, and listen for some classic Bowdenisms; you’ll hear a “dadgum” and a “statcha.”

CLICK HERE for the audio.

• [via Deadspin]