The Bowden Way Now Part of USF Program DNA
By Joey Johnston
USF coach Jeff Scott practically grew up on the practice field and in the locker room of Florida State football. That's where he mingled with dozens of All-American players as he tagged along with his father, Brad, a Seminoles assistant. That's where he decided — at age 11 — that he would one day become a college football coach. And that's where he watched and learned from the legendary Bobby Bowden.
"I hope I can have just half the impact on my players as Coach Bowden had on his players,'' Scott said while reflecting on the life and legacy of Bowden, who died Sunday at age 91.
In January 2019, while he was co-offensive coordinator at Clemson, Scott went to Mobile, Ala., for the presentation of the Bobby Bowden Trophy, given annually to the college football player who epitomizes faith and model behavior in the classroom, field and community. It went to Hunter Renfrow, the Clemson receiver.
"We had a lunch at a country club and I got to spend the entire afternoon with Coach Bowden,'' Scott said. "Through the years, I had seen him at games and shaken his hand. But for the first time, 25 years later, I could go thank him and tell him how he influenced me.''
The Bowden influence is unmistakable throughout the Bulls' program, where Brad Scott, the offensive coordinator on Bowden's first national-championship team, is assisting his son as the USF chief of staff. USF's linebackers coach is Ernie Sims, a Tallahassee native and former FSU All-American who achieved his dream of playing for Bowden.
Sims has a photo in his office of Bowden visiting his home during a recruiting session, when Bowden brought the No. 34 jersey (retired to honor former All-American Ron Sellers) and said Sims would be allowed to wear it if he signed with FSU.
"Bobby Bowden is who I want to emulate as a coach,'' Sims said. "I want to be stern. I want to be hard. But I also want to show love to my players.
"Faith, family and football. That was Bobby Bowden. He engrained that into the culture. Jeff Scott is implementing that at South Florida. It was the same as Clemson, that same culture being built within these programs. It's all a testament to Coach Bobby Bowden.''
Scott remembers the classic 1991 game at Doak Campbell Stadium — No. 1-ranked FSU vs. the No. 2 Miami Hurricanes. Scott sat deep in the metal locker area of quarterback Charlie Ward, a future Heisman Trophy winner, while Ward sat on a stool. Bowden came in to address the players.
"You could hear the crowd outside,'' Scott said. "What I think I remember is Coach Bowden saying, 'Hey men, just relax. This is a big game. But I want you to know there's nothing you can do in this game, good or bad, that would make me love you any more or less than I do. Let's go out there and having some fun.'
"Watching him interact with the players, seeing the respect they showed him, I just thought, 'That's awesome. That's what I want to do.' ''
There were also some lighthearted moments. When Scott was 7, just old enough to watch from the sidelines, he remembers a 73-14 romp against the Tulane Green Wave. When the game got out of hand, Scott and the other kids roamed to the other sideline and tackled Tulane's mascot. Of course, the Tallahassee crowd reacted and Scott thought it was a funny moment.
Until a few days later at the weekly family dinner following FSU's practice. Bowden called Scott and the other kids to his office and told them the sideline presence was a privilege. They had to behave. Scott and his buddies never tackled another mascot.
After Friday's USF scrimmage, both Jeff and Brad Scott and Ernie Sims will travel to Tallahassee, where a Saturday public service is planned for Bowden. The memories are bound to come flooding back. But the memories have never really left.
"Jeff is bringing a little bit of the Bobby Bowden way to USF,'' Brad Scott said. "You run a program with great respect for the players. You earn the respect of the players by how you treat them. Bobby would discipline when needed, but he made sure to give them an opportunity for success. He treated the players like his own sons. I see that in Jeff.''
Scott was 3 when the family moved to Tallahassee after his father accepted a position on Bowden's staff in 1983. He was 13 when the Seminoles defeated Nebraska 18-16 on Jan. 1, 1994 at the Orange Bowl, then his father left the next day to become head coach at South Carolina.
"It was an unbelievable amount of memories,'' Scott said. "It completely changed my life and my family's life. From what I observed from Coach Bowden, then working 12 years for Dabo Swinney, I think I have a lot of the same traits and qualities.
"Coach Bowden always made you feel like family, always asked how you and your family were doing. There won't be another one like him. I'm so grateful that I got to be around him and learn from him. Faith, family and football. He set a very high standard for all of us to live up to.''
