By By Chandler Myers
Florida State head coach Bobby Bowden has been the focus of the college football world this week after a booster openly stated that the coach who put the school on the map needs to go after this season.
This is Bowden’s 34th season with FSU and he has had only one losing season with the Seminoles, which was his first year back in 1976.
Since then he has won two national championships and finished in the Associated Press Top 5 for 14 consecutive years.
How can someone come out and say that he needs to leave?
Yes, Bowden will be 80 next month, but has he not earned the right to say when he will step down as the coach of the Seminoles.
What that booster needs to realize is, Bobby Bowden is the reason Florida State has a football program that has become enriched with tradition, and he will go when he knows it is his time to go.
That leads me to my point this week.
A lot of people lately have been head hunting in the direction of Escambia County High School head coach Kyle Davis.
While he is not Bobby Bowden, Davis is a good coach that does not deserve the comments that have been thrown his way.
The big thing that has been pushed around is that he needs to fit in an I-formation or a goal line package to make his team successful.
Personally, there is nothing I would love to see more than the Blue Devils go under center and run right at their opponents.
The fact of the matter is though that this team does not have the personnel to run a package that pushes the ball through the offensive line.
ECHS does not have a big enough offensive line to line up against teams that have defensive lines, which average more than 260-270 pounds. They just cannot compete with that.
This is a team that is best suited to run a spread offense. They have a dual-threat quarterback and skill players who are full of speed.
Another issue mentioned is Davis’s ability to inspire and discipline players.
First, nobody but Davis, his coaches and his staff need to know what discipline is given on that football team.
No one is at practice to see what players have to do in order to make up for the foul ups they make.
As far as inspiration goes, Davis tries to inspire his players, but some players are beyond inspiration. A lot of rosters are full of players who want to go out there every game and put their heart into it. This team is not.
I hate to say it, but this isn’t a team full of kids who want to go out there and work for a win. When they are down, they play like it. All of the coaching in the world can’t fix that.
Calling for Davis to leave is not the answer for this team.Davis has done more for this team than any coach here in the last 15 years.
Before Davis got here, ECHS had 12 wins in 10 years. So, the two playoff performances, ECHS had in his tenure make his time here look pretty good if you ask me.
What do I know though? I’m just a sports fanatic.
Chandler Myers is sports editor of the Atmore Advance. He can be reached at 368-2123 or by e-mail at sports@atmoreadvance.com