Bobby Bowden
Bobby Bowden went 388–130–4 on the field as a head coach, 1959–2009, at Howard, West Virginia and Florida State; 377–129–4 officially, after the NCAA vacated 12 wins (2006 and 2007) and with 1983 (8–4) after forfeits. His teams claim two national titles: Florida State in 1993 and 1999. Share
Four seasons our game records don’t credit to him come from the coach’s Wikipedia article: 1959–62 at Howard. They’re marked in the table.
- Record
- 377–129–4 official; 388–130–4 on the field
- Seasons
- 44
- Schools
- 3
- National titles
- 2 claimed: 1993 and 1999
- Hall of Fame
- 2006 inducted
- Best season
- 1999 12–0, No. 1
Season by season
Each season links to the team’s season page; bowls and playoff games link to the game. Conference finishes from the Wikipedia article’s record table. * A season our game records don’t credit to him; its record is the article’s.
Players he coached
Casey WeldonSecond in the 1991 Heisman vote- Marvin JonesFourth in the 1992 Heisman vote
- Terrell Buckley1991 Jim Thorpe Award
- Jamal Reynolds2000 Lombardi Award
- Paul McGowan1987 Butkus Award
- Andre WadsworthNo. 3 pick, 1998
- Peter WarrickNo. 4 pick, 2000
- Derrick BrooksConsensus All‑American, 1993 and 1994
- Alex BarronConsensus All‑American, 2003 and 2004
- Ron SimmonsConsensus All‑American, 1979 and 1980
- Corey SimonConsensus All‑American, 1999
- Reinard WilsonConsensus All‑American, 1996
27 more
LeRoy Butler (Consensus All‑American, 1989); Greg Allen (Consensus All‑American, 1983); Jason Whitaker (Consensus All‑American, 1999); Marvin Minnis (Consensus All‑American, 2000); Tay Cody (Consensus All‑American, 2000); Jamie Dukes (Consensus All‑American, 1985); Sam Cowart (Consensus All‑American, 1997); Clay Shiver (Consensus All‑American, 1995); Corey Sawyer (Consensus All‑American, 1993); Clifton Abraham (Consensus All‑American, 1994); Walter Jones (No. 6 pick, 1997); Sammie Smith (No. 9 pick, 1989); Ernie Sims (No. 9 pick, 2006); Antonio Cromartie (No. 19 pick, 2006); Lawrence Timmons (No. 15 pick, 2007); Patrick Robinson (No. 32 pick, 2010); William Floyd (No. 28 pick, 1994); Javon Walker (No. 20 pick, 2002); Dexter Carter (No. 25 pick, 1990); Bobby Butler (No. 25 pick, 1981); William Thomas (No. 11 pick, 1998); Alphonso Carreker (No. 12 pick, 1984); Derrick Alexander (No. 11 pick, 1995); Derrick Gibson (No. 28 pick, 2001); Jessie Hester (No. 23 pick, 1985); Devin Bush (No. 26 pick, 1995); Graham Gano (2008 Lou Groza Award).
18 of the 45 players from his seasons with a Heisman top-five finish, a national award, consensus All-America honors or a first-round pick, the best of each school he coached among them. Photos: Wikimedia Commons, free licenses; credits on each player’s page.
How his teams did
| Kind of game | Games | Record | Won |
|---|---|---|---|
| Against ranked teams | 147 | 81–65–1 | 55% |
| Against top-10 teams | 84 | 39–44–1 | 47% |
| Against rivals | 130 | 70–59–1 | 54% |
| Conference games | 144 | 117–27 | 81% |
| Bowls and playoffs | 33 | 22–10–1 | 68% |
| Decided by 8 points or fewer | 142 | 76–62–4 | 55% |
| At home | 237 | 191–44–2 | 81% |
| On the road | 198 | 128–69–1 | 65% |
| At neutral sites | 50 | 38–11–1 | 77% |
| As our Elo’s favorite | 373 | 310–59–4 | 84% |
| As our Elo’s underdog | 112 | 47–65 | 42% |
His own 485 games on file, 1970–2009, as played (vacated wins counted, ties as half a win). Ranks are the AP poll going into the game; rivals are the ones either program’s Wikipedia article names; favorite and underdog by our own Elo rating, which reads only scores.
Against other head coaches
| Coach | Record | Their schools | Games | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Steve Spurrier 1990–2001 | 8–5–1 | Florida | 14 | |
| George Welsh 1978–2000 | 9–1 | Navy, Virginia | 10 | |
| Mack Brown 1985–1997 | 9–0 | Tulane, North Carolina | 9 | |
| Frank Beamer 1988–2008 | 8–1 | Virginia Tech | 9 | |
| Ralph Friedgen 2001–2009 | 7–2 | Maryland | 9 | |
| Jim Grobe 2001–2009 | 6–3 | Wake Forest | 9 | |
| Tommy Bowden 1999–2007 | 5–4 | Clemson | 9 | |
| Jim Caldwell 1993–2000 | 8–0 | Wake Forest | 8 | |
| Tom Osborne 1980–1993 | 6–2 | Nebraska | 8 | |
| Howard Schnellenberger 1979–1991 | 5–3 | Miami, Louisville | 8 |
Bobby Bowden’s record against the head coaches he met three or more times, from the games on file, as played.
Most-faced opponents
| Opponent | Games | Record |
|---|---|---|
| Miamiseries | 37 | 15–22 |
| Floridaseries | 36 | 17–18–1 |
| Clemsonseries | 21 | 14–7 |
| Marylandseries | 20 | 18–2 |
| NC Stateseries | 20 | 14–6 |
| Dukeseries | 18 | 16–2 |
| Wake Forestseries | 18 | 15–3 |
| Virginia Techseries | 17 | 16–1 |
National coaching awards
The awards- 1991 Florida State: Walter Camp Coach
- 1980 Florida State: Bobby Dodd Award
National title staffs
Every title staff- Won a national title on Florida State’s 1993 staff (head coach) · the staff · source
- Won a national title on Florida State’s 1999 staff (head coach) · the staff · source
The champions’ staffs from 1990 on, as the schools listed them that season: Staff lists: Drew Hoover’s how-many-rings (MIT), from the schools’ media guides and staff pages. Roles as the source words them.
Career
| Years | Team | Job | |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1953–54 | Howard (AL) | Backfield coach | |
| 1955–58 | South Georgia | Head coach | |
| 1959–62 | Howard (AL) | Head coach | |
| 1963–65 | Florida State | Wide receivers coach | |
| 1966–69 | West Virginia | Offensive coordinator | |
| 1970–75 | West Virginia | Head coach | |
| 1976–2009 | Florida State | Head coach |
Every job as the infobox of his Wikipedia article lists it (CC BY-SA), assistant jobs included.
Coaching tree
Worked under
- Bill PetersonFlorida State
- Jim CarlenWest Virginia
Assistants who became head coaches
- Vince GibsonKansas State, Louisville, Tulane
- Chuck KlausingIndiana (PA), Carnegie Mellon
- Dale EvansSalem
- Frank CignettiWest Virginia, IU Pennsylvania
- George HenshawTulsa
- Joe PendryPittsburgh Maulers
- Gene McDowellUCF
- Tommy BowdenTulane, Clemson
- Chuck AmatoNC State
- Mike KruczekUCF
- Terry BowdenAuburn, Akron, UL Monroe, Salem, Samford, North Alabama
- Brad ScottSouth Carolina
- and 14 more
Worked under (2)
| Head coach | Team | Years | His job | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Bill Peterson | Florida State | 1963–65 | Wide receivers coach | |
| Jim Carlen | West Virginia | 1966–69 | Offensive coordinator |
Coached under him, later head coaches (26)
| Coach | With him | Head coach at | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Vince Gibson | South Georgia, 1956–58: assistant coach | Kansas State, Louisville, Tulane | |
| Chuck Klausing | West Virginia, 1970–72: assistant head coach; 1973–75: assistant head coach and defensive coordinator | Indiana (PA), Carnegie Mellon | |
| Dale Evans | West Virginia, 1970–73: freshman coach | Salem | |
| Frank Cignetti | West Virginia, 1970–75: assistant coach | West Virginia, IU Pennsylvania | |
| George Henshaw | West Virginia, 1970–71: graduate assistant; 1972: junior varsity coach; 1973–75: defensive line coach; Florida State, 1976–78: defensive line coach; 1979–82: offensive coordinator and offensive line coach | Tulsa | |
| Joe Pendry | West Virginia, 1971–72: wide receivers coach; 1973–74: offensive line coach | Pittsburgh Maulers | |
| Gene McDowell | Florida State, 1976–84: linebackers coach | UCF | |
| Tommy Bowden | Florida State, 1978–79: defensive backs coach; 1981–82: tight ends coach | Tulane, Clemson | |
| Chuck Amato | Florida State, 1982–85: defensive line coach; 1986–95: assistant head coach and defensive line coach; 1996–99: assistant head coach and linebackers coach; 2007–09: associate head coach and linebackers coach | NC State | |
| Mike Kruczek | Florida State, 1982–83: quarterbacks coach | UCF | |
| Terry Bowden | Florida State, 1982: graduate assistant | Auburn, Akron, UL Monroe, Salem, Samford, North Alabama | |
| Brad Scott | Florida State, 1983–84: graduate assistant; 1985–89: tight ends coach; 1990–93: offensive coordinator and offensive line coach | South Carolina | |
| Art Baker | Florida State, 1984: quarterbacks coach | Furman, The Citadel, East Carolina | |
| Jeff Farrington | Florida State, 1984: graduate assistant | North Greenville | |
| Mickey Andrews | Florida State, 1984–2001: defensive coordinator; 2002–09: associate head coach and defensive coordinator | West Alabama, North Alabama | |
| Mark Richt | Florida State, 1985–88: graduate assistant; 1990–93: quarterbacks coach; 1994–2000: offensive coordinator and quarterbacks coach | Georgia, Miami | |
| Skip Holtz | Florida State, 1987–88: graduate assistant | East Carolina, South Florida, Louisiana Tech, UConn, Birmingham Stallions | |
| Daryl Dickey | Florida State, 1989, 2001–06: quarterbacks coach | Presbyterian, West Georgia | |
| Odell Haggins | Florida State, 1994–95: tight ends and offensive line coach; 1996–2009: defensive tackles coach | Florida State | |
| Manny Diaz | Florida State, 1998–99: graduate assistant | Miami, Duke | |
| Joe Kines | Florida State, 2000–02: linebackers coach | Arkansas, Alabama | |
| Kirby Smart | Florida State, 2002–03: graduate assistant | Georgia | |
| Kevin Steele | Florida State, 2003–06: linebackers coach | Baylor, Auburn | |
| Garin Justice | Florida State, 2007–08: graduate assistant | Concord | |
| Jimbo Fisher | Florida State, 2007–09: offensive coordinator and quarterbacks coach | Florida State, Texas A&M | |
| Todd Stroud | Florida State, 2007–09: strength coach | West Alabama |
Other assistants under him (11)
| Coach | With him | |
|---|---|---|
| George Haffner | Florida State, 1976–78: offensive coordinator | |
| Jack Stanton | Florida State, 1976–83: defensive coordinator | |
| Kent Schoolfield | Florida State, 1976–80: wide receivers coach | |
| Dick Hopkins | Florida State, 1978–80: graduate assistant | |
| Wayne McDuffie | Florida State, 1983–89: offensive coordinator | |
| Jeff Bowden | Florida State, 1986: graduate assistant; 1994–2000: wide receivers coach; 2001–06: offensive coordinator | |
| Ron Dugans | Florida State, 2005–06: graduate assistant | |
| Lawrence Dawsey | Florida State, 2007–09: wide receivers coach | |
| Pat Meyer | Florida State, 2007: strength and conditioning coach | |
| James Coley | Florida State, 2008–09: tight ends coach and recruiting coordinator | |
| Travis Trickett | Florida State, 2008–09: graduate assistant |
From coaches’ Wikipedia infoboxes (CC BY-SA) and each season’s article for its coordinators: an assistant’s seasons at a school count under its head coach in our records; jobs in the NFL and elsewhere, under the head coach whose own article lists the job that year. Names without a page here link to their Wikipedia articles.
Pay
| Year | School | Job | Contract pay | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2009 | Florida State | head coachbonuses up to $727,793 | $2,319,375 USA Today via Leeds | |
| 2008 | Florida State | head coach | $2,500,000 USA Today via Leeds | |
| 2007 | Florida State | head coachbonuses up to $272,578 | $1,695,200 USA Today via Leeds | |
| 2006 | Florida State | head coachbonuses up to $272,578 | $1,691,900 USA Today via Leeds |
The same USA Today database for 2006–16, from Michael Leeds’ replication data on Harvard Dataverse (CC0): the season’s contract pay.
Pay of public employees in their public job only: head coaches, and assistants in the seasons our records name them a coordinator, at public universities.
How he coached
Bowden’s teams went for it on 14% of fourth downs and on 30% of those where the model said go for it, passed on 54% of plays and took 25.9 seconds a play, 2004–2009.
| Season | Went for it on fourth | When the model said go | Pass rate | Seconds a play | EPA a play | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2004 11 g | 20 of 115 17% | 35% | 49% | 23.6 | −0.11 | |
| 2005 11 g | 10 of 92 11% | 26% | 61% | 23.6 | −0.10 | |
| 2006 13 g | 11 of 100 11% | 26% | 59% | 27.0 | −0.08 | |
| 2007 13 g | 17 of 125 14% | 30% | 53% | 24.4 | −0.14 | |
| 2008 13 g | 13 of 82 16% | 32% | 48% | 27.2 | −0.02 | |
| 2009 13 g | 13 of 81 16% | 32% | 53% | 28.9 | +0.06 | |
| All 74 g | 84 of 595 14% | 30% | 54% | 25.9 | −0.06 |
His seasons as a head coach from 2004 on, from ESPN’s play by play: fourth downs where he went for it out of every fourth-down decision; how often he went when SportsDataverse’s fourth-down model said going for it was the better call; the share of his offense’s plays that were passes; seconds of game clock per offensive play (lower is faster); and expected points added per offensive play (EPA, a measure of how much each play moved the offense toward points). The season in progress counts its games so far. SportsDataverse’s coach tendencies, from ESPN’s play by play; the EPA and the fourth-down model are SportsDataverse’s.
Books
Books: Open Library (CC0); most-reissued first, each linked to its page there.