said Monday evening at his home that he has not made a decision about
his coaching future at Florida State and plans to meet with university
officials again Tuesday.
Bowden told The Associated Press that
he is still sifting through "options presented to him." Bowden met with
Florida State President T.K. Wetherell and athletic director Randy
Spetman for an hour Monday morning.
The Tallahassee Democrat and ESPN.com are reporting Bowden is expected to announce his retirement.
When asked about those reports, his wife, Ann, told the AP that nothing had been finalized — "that's why they're meeting tomorrow."
The 80-year-old coach said earlier Monday that there will be an announcement about his coaching future on Tuesday.
"We'll finalize it tomorrow," Bowden
told reporters as he departed a weekly booster luncheon on Monday. "We
talked about our options."
Bowden has said before making a
decision he had to do some soul searching, which will likely include
mulling over the division of responsibility between he and
coach-in-waiting Jimbo Fisher — especially over changes in the
assistant coaching ranks. Fisher, the offensive coordinator, receives
$5 million from Florida State if he's not the head coach by January
2011.
Earlier this year, Bowden had
strongly suggested he wanted 2010 to be his last season. But Bowden,
whose 388 career wins are second only to Penn State's Joe Paterno among
major college coaches, has also said he could not return as a head
coach with no authority.
Spetman described Monday's meeting in Bowden's office as congenial.
"It's always cordial with Coach Bowden," Spetman said. "He's a good man."
The coach was in good humor when he
told a couple hundred boosters Monday at his weekly luncheon that he
had the discussion about his future. The coach drew laughs from fans
several times with quips and one-liners.
Bowden was not as upbeat after FSU's
embarrassing 37-10 loss to the Gators on Saturday. The Seminoles have
lost their last three games to Florida by scores of 45-12, 45-15 and
37-10.
But by Sunday, Bowden said he wanted
to return in 2010 for his 35th season at Florida State, but that
decision couldn't be finalized before he met with Florida State
administrators.
Bowden has been on a one-year
rollover agreement with the university for several years, but that ends
after the 2010 season. Wetherell agreed in December 2007 to pay Fisher
$5 million if he was not elevated to head coach by January 2011.
The winningest coach in Atlantic
Coast Conference history, Bowden teams put together the most dominant
run in college football history between 1987 and 2000 with 14
consecutive finishes in the nation's top five and a pair of national
titles.
But the Seminoles' fortunes haven't
been nearly as good in recent years, finishing this year with a 6-6
record after starting the year with high expectations and a preseason
No. 18 ranking.
In 1993, despite a late-season slip
at Notre Dame, Florida State won its first national title after near
misses in 1987, 1988, 1991 and 1992 — several seasons because of losses
to nemesis Miami, which won three national titles during that span.
Bowden experienced his lone perfect
season in 1999 as the Seminoles became the first team to go
wire-to-wire in The Associated Press poll ranked No. 1 from the
preseason to finish.
Since winning their 12th ACC
championship in 2005, the Seminoles have been 16-16 over the past four
seasons against league opponents.
"There's no doubt in my mind Florida State will come back," Bowden said Monday.