Buddy Martin Blog: ‘Call Me Coach’ Deion Had A Great Role Model. But Bad News About Coach Bowden.
Updated: Jul 24, 2021
“Thinking about my friend Bobby Bowden tonight. He was a great rival and is a great man. I’ll be keeping you and your family in our prayers, Bobby.” Steve Spurrier.
My heart is with Bobby Bowden today. Deion Sanders’ coach. He’s probably the main reason Deion would rather be called “Coach” than by his first name, or the trademarked super-moniker he picked for himself, “Prime Time.” Sanders walked off the set of an interview at SWAC Media Days in anger, feigned or otherwise, because the interviewer called him “Deion” and not “Coach.”
While I respect that Coach Sanders is trying to give back to the Historic Black Colleges, it feels like he’s playing the disrespect card in order to leverage his preference of his title “Coach,” as compared to earning it or having it conferred upon him as an anointment.
A man is entitled to be called what he chooses, but must the media be mandated to adopt it? No. “You wouldn’t call Nick Saban ‘Nick,’” said Sanders. Well, yes, you would, as many have. (And Nick said he really didn’t care. See below.) The word “Coach” is not mandated, perhaps like “Doctor” or “Senator” or “Mayor.”
‘Coach Deion’ walks off the set
What does all this have to do with SEC Media Days? Nothing. And Everything. The irony was that it happened on the same day it was announced that Sanders’ own coach was terminally ill. Just when it seemed the air in Alabama was sweet with anticipation, spiked by the joy of football’s return, a pall was cast over Hoover. The news of Bobby Bowden’s illness was a grim and painful reminder of how quickly things that really matter can change and become extracted from our lives.
It almost took your breath away. Just when it felt like the grip of The Grim Reaper had been somewhat loosened came this.
There was already other news galore breaking, and not all of it in Alabama. Nick Saban did a little pre-emptive shot before he got there by announcing that his quarterback, Bryce Young, was already entertaining offers of “nearly seven figures.” Which caused me to wonder: If Young stayed in Tuscaloosa four years, could he make $4-5 million before he ever turned pro?
There was also the explosive report that two CFB powerhouses were eyeballing a new home in the SEC, already the most powerful conference in amateur sports. When a reporter at the Wynfrey Hotel confronted Texas A&M Coach Jimbo Fisher about the news of Oklahoma and Texas having interest in the SEC, he responded: “I guess they do! We’ve got the greatest league in Ball!”
It also fell to Jimbo to field the first question about his late boss and friend – “friend” despite those rumors of their disdain for each other – and mentor.
He won 12 ACC championships and two national titles, but Coach Bowden never won an SEC, mainly because he never coached in the league. But his influence was felt everywhere by everybody.
Every single coach at SEC Media Days — and those who’d come before them — felt sad and compassionate. Even his staunchest rival, who posted the above photo with this message: “Thinking about my friend Bobby Bowden tonight. He was a great rival and is a great man. I’ll be keeping you and your family in our prayers, Bobby.” Steve Spurrier.
I don’t expect everybody to recall every detail of the Florida-FSU rivalry in the Spurrier-Bowden Era, but as somebody who has watched every play of every game since the Florida-FSU series began in the late ‘50s, trust me on this: There has never been -- nor will there never again be -- anything like it. For a time the best CFB rivalry in the country. A corker!
That was more than one main topic during Media Days, not news broken out of Hoover. And in many ways, the condition of Coach Bowden overshadowed everything. What was his illness? We didn’t find out until the Bowden family announced it was pancreatic cancer. Later, son Terry, head coach at the University of Louisiana Monroe, offered more specifics:
"We've been preparing for this,” Terry told the Associated Press. “We know when you have pancreatic cancer, which is what the disease is, you're probably talking months, not years, so we know that. We just think we've got some more good days ahead, and we're going to enjoy those together.
"I would plead that all people would respect the fact he needs to rest when he's up. He doesn't need a lot of phone calls, or a lot of people talking on the phone. You know my dad; he has never turned down an interview in his life. He'll be on his deathbed (doing) an interview the last minute like he does it. But, that's Bobby Bowden."
In other news, as they say in the big-time, these snippets emerged:
--Commissioner Greg Sankey informing us that teams which can’t muster enough players due Covid will have to forfeit games instead of rescheduling them. He is pushing for all the consider vaccinations as a deterrent.
--Dan Mullen, first up after Sankey, looked relaxed and fit and tan, enjoying his new Jordan 3’s kicks, seemingly optimistic and confident, saying he couldn’t wait to go home and work on his wake-boarding. (The video of him doing a 360, popular online, was run several times by ESPN.) Mullen also chastised the “independent contractors” on last year’s defensive team and said they were not focused on playing “11-man defense.”
But back to the appropriate title. For the record, since Coach Sanders brought it up, Saban clarified his preference, all of which makes the contention over the use of the title “Coach” seem churlish and pedantic.
Someone finally asked Saban how we should address him.
“I answer to just about anything. And I’ve been called just about everything.”
He said he really doesn’t care what we call him.
I’d say he should demand to be called The GOAT.
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