Reflecting on a trio of football legends

Hard to believe it has been nearly a decade since George Welsh graced the sidelines at Scott Stadium.

Welsh, who retired after the 2000 season at age 67, perhaps called it quits too early. At the time it seemed right in his mind. He was worn down, having trouble sleeping and concerned about his health.

Still, the Hall of Fame coach marvels at how his longtime friend, Penn State’s Joe Paterno, and Florida State’s Bobby Bowden, a formal rival, have kept going.

Paterno and Bowden are the two winningest coaches in major college football history.

Can’t please everyone

Yet both have come under fire from their fan bases — Paterno a few years back, Bowden only last week when an FSU board of trustees member said it was time for the coach to hang it up.

Welsh, who took a downtrodden Virginia football program to unprecedented heights in one of the best coaching performances in the game’s history, wasn’t treated so kindly by a portion of the Cavaliers’ fan base his last couple of years on the job. While all coaches know that criticism comes with the territory, impatient fans with sometimes unrealistic expectations can exhibit an amazing lack of class in such instances.

Like this columnist, Welsh found it mind-boggling that some fans would call for Bowden’s head.

He’s earned the right

“I think, at this stage, that Bowden should be the one that determines when he steps down,” Welsh said. “That should be his choice. I mean, how much can you do for a university? He had top-10 finishes and 10 wins a year for 10 straight years. I don’t know if that will ever happen again in college football.”

Actually, it was 14 consecutive years with at least 10 wins, but in 10 of those seasons, it was 11 or 12 wins.

“He’s a really good coach,” Welsh said. “I think it’s ridiculous the way they’re treating Bowden. I think he should be given a long leash. What do they expect, a national championship every year?”

The former Virginia and Navy coach isn’t quite sure why there is so much criticism. Maybe part of it is jealousy because Florida has been so successful the past few years and Miami is starting to come on after tumbling. There’s also South Florida, which beat FSU a few weeks ago and is possibly the best team in the Big East.

Welsh said the only difference he can tell since the days he coached against the Seminoles is that FSU used to feature a great pass rush and doesn’t seem to have that going any more. When Mark Richt was the ’Noles’ offensive coordinator, Welsh remembered that FSU seemed to be able to change the tempo of a game from hurry-up to not hurry-up.

“I think the problem is — and this is my personal opinion now — there should never be an announced ‘Coach in Waiting,’ never,” Welsh said. “Maryland’s done it, and look what’s happened up there. Maybe they can bring it back. I don’t know [Florida State’s] Jimbo Fisher, but I just don’t understand that concept.”

Welsh, who still lives in the Charlottesville area and is a member of the Legends Poll, a collection of some of the most recognizable retired coaches in college football, remembered that it wasn’t long ago until a group of disgruntled Penn State fans tried to run Paterno out of Happy Valley.

They said he was too old, that the game had passed him by after the Lions went 3-9 and 4-7 in 2003 and ’04.

JoePa weathered the storm and is 45-12 since then.

“How can you beat that?” Welsh said. “I think what they did was reorganize at Penn State and did a better recruiting job.”

Welsh said he doesn’t know how involved Bowden is in the day-to-day operations at Florida State anymore, but he does know what’s going on at Penn State. Welsh and Paterno have been close friends since they coached together under Rip Engle, Paterno’s predecessor.

“Paterno is intimately involved,” Welsh said. “He doesn’t call the plays anymore but he’s making decisions on what they want to do on offense and he’s very much involved in practice and in game days. He’s chewing kids out on the sidelines still [Welsh paused for a chuckle] now that he’s on the sidelines again.”

For a while it seemed that these two giants of the game, Bowden and Paterno, were locked in a dance to determine who would go out as the king of wins in major college football.

Bowden’s son, Tommy, once joked to this writer that, “the first one who dies loses.”

Now it seems that Bobby Bowden will be the first guy out. He will likely call it quits after either this season or 2010. Bowden, who will turn 80 years old on Nov. 8, has 384 career wins. Paterno, who is 82, has 388.

Welsh can’t believe either one of ’em is still going.

“I have no idea how they did it,” Welsh said. “I don’t know Bobby’s temperament, but he told me way back when that if he went 7-4 for three or four straight years, that he was going to quit. Joe doesn’t want to give it up.

“I think they have a different temperament than I do and most of us, most coaches have,” Welsh said. “I kind of wore out at a certain stage and most coaches do — well, except for Amos Alonzo Stagg.”

Stagg coached college football as either an assistant or head coach from 1890 to 1958.

I’m in total agreement with Welsh. These two legendary figures should coach as long as they have good health, which they both do, and as long as they feel like it.

These two men of outstanding character are good for college football.

They’ve earned the right to call their own shot.