Paul Finebaum is of the mind that the late Bobby Bowden would’ve been a successful head coach in any era. Pointing to the legendary Florida State coach’s eye for talent on the recruiting trail.
But in explaining his position, he couldn’t help but take some shots at a couple of other college football powers in Oklahoma and Notre Dame.
Speaking to a caller on Monday’s “The Paul Finebaum Show,” the ESPN personality stated his case:
Bobby Bowden, he was in the first BCS game and lost. I mean, Bobby Bowden would’ve done well in any era because he was such a good coach and such a great recruiter. But I’m not sure. I mean, he would’ve had the players. And really, what separates people in the playoffs has been players. That’s why Notre Dame has been unable to win.
That’s why Oklahoma has failed most of the time, because they just simply could not match up to the SEC. Bobby Bowden could match up with the SEC. He had great success in the SEC.
Bowden retired from coaching in 2009. But, less than five years later, the Seminoles won a national title under Jimbo Fisher. His 377 career wins currently sit fourth all-time.
No doubt, Bobby was an outstanding coach. But Finebaum knew what he was doing there…