Bowden undecided on future

TALLAHASSEE, Fla. (AP) — Bobby Bowden 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 today.

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 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 today.

“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.