Bowden Fired, Oliver Named Interim Coach

Terry Bowden, the second winningest coach in Auburn football history, was fired despite a 47-17-1 record at AU and will not coach Auburn's home game on Saturday.

Terry Bowden in better times

Although the university officially announced Friday night that the Auburn coach had "resigned," Bowden was forced out. For Saturday's 1 p.m. kickoff against Louisiana Tech, defensive coordinator Bill "Brother" Oliver will be the interim head coach. Offensive coordinator Rodney Allison and quarterback coach Jimbo Fisher will call the plays. Oliver says he will stay in the press box like he normally does and be the defensive coordinator.

Bowden told his players farewell in an emotional speech in the Sewell Hall dining room on Friday night just as the university was releasing an official statement announcing his "resignation." Bowden asked his team to play hard on Saturday for themselves, for Auburn, for their teammates and for the remaining coaches on the staff. All of the assistants were at Sewell Hall except for defensive line coach Pete Jenkins and Joe Whitt, who were too far out of town on recruiting trips to get back in time for the meeting with the players.

Players were told not to discuss the situation until after Saturday's game against the 4-4 Bulldogs, which has been totally overshadowed by Friday's developments. Tears were flowing not only from players but from staff members in the athletic department as the news spread of Bowden's "resignation."

Bowden issued this statement through the athletic department: "It is with deepest regrets that I must resign my position as head football coach at Auburn University effective immediately. There continues to be a very serious and divisive public debate about the certainty of my status at Auburn University. This is extremely harmful to the morale of Auburn fans, our football staff, and most importantly the young men you play football at Auburn."

"It is because of my love for these players and Auburn University that I cannot allow this painful controversy to continue. Someone must be willing to step up to the plate and put closure to this endless debate if Auburn is going to move forward. I believe that someone must now be me. I ask all of the Auburn Family to rally this team and these assistant coaches and show them the unity and support they deserve."

"I want to thank (Athletic Director) David Housel, (President William) Dr. Muse and the Board of Trustees for the opportunity to have been the head football coach at Auburn University."

This will be the second opportunity for Oliver to be a head coach. After leaving Alabama, he was head coach from 1980-83 for the University of Tennessee-Chattanooga. He left there to become defensive coordinator of the Memphis Showboats of the now defunct United States Football League.

Housel says Auburn will talk to Dr. Muse next week about who the next head coach will be. "We have some time," the athletic director says. "We would obviously like to have a coach on board as quickly as possible because of the recruiting process. As with any search like this, we are more concerned about getting the right person than a timing situation."

Housel's official statement read, "The decision and timing of this decision are strictly Coach Bowden's decision. We encouraged him to stay, to play out the season and see where we were at the end of the season, but he felt that it would be in his best interest and the best interests of all concerned that he take this action at this time. Coach Bowden has served us well. He is and always will be an important part of our football history. We appreciate his many good efforts on Auburn's behalf, and wish him well."

Bowden, who has an all-time record of 111-52-2 in three stops as a college head coach, is expected to look for another job in the profession, several members of his staff said Friday night. However, he does not have to be in a major rush to find a job because Auburn is expected to pay him for the remaining four years on his contract ($620,000). Although his contract extension last year was officially called a seven-year extension, state law allows no contract to extend beyond five years so Bowden has four years left on his deal at a base salary of $155,000 a year. Housel said Friday night that Auburn and Bowden are still in negotiations on terms of the contract, but pledged that the university would do the right thing.

Text of Bowden Release

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