Bowden rumors abound

FLORENCE - Terry Bowden's return to coaching has helped North Alabama to a 9-0 start, a No. 1 ranking and at least a share of the Gulf South Conference football championship.

It also has made Bowden a popular name on sports talk radio shows and the Internet when potential coaching vacancies are discussed.

Bowden has been linked with potential coaching openings at several schools, including Virginia, Memphis and Central Florida.

None of the schools has announced coaching changes, but many sports Web sites are speculating that openings will come at the end of the season. And Bowden's name has already been mentioned as one of the possible candidates.

Bowden said Tuesday he has not been contacted by any school regarding a coaching position.

Bowden was hired at UNA on Jan. 1 after spending the previous 10 years as a TV and radio analyst for college football games. He is in the first year of a three-year contract at UNA.

He said having his name mentioned about coaching jobs is nothing new to him.

"I've dealt with that over the years, and I've stopped getting too concerned with it," Bowden said, "When I was young, I was so excited to see my name mentioned somewhere big, but now it doesn't mean a lot to me. I'm not looking for a job. I have absolutely nothing on my mind but finishing out this season.

"I'm sure my name pops up here and there, and that would have happened regardless just because I got back into coaching. It wouldn't be happening (now) if we were 5-4, so that's a credit to our players and coaches that things have worked out so well."

Bowden's success in Division I schools has likely contributed to the rumors. He was head coach at Auburn from 1993-98, winning his first 19 games in the process.

He said it is a natural progression for coaches to go from a Division II job to one at a Division I mid-major. But at age 53, he said his situation is somewhat different.

"It's a much different go-around being a young coach at a small college and having never been anywhere," Bowden said.

"Right now, I'm an older coach at a smaller college. I've never won a championship, and I would like to keep my focus on that."

Bowden said he loves coaching at UNA, but he could not completely rule out taking a Division I job if an offer came his way.

"I am very happy here at UNA," he said. "But can anyone say what they would do if they were offered a job that paid a million and a half or two million dollars a year? I want to be here and coach here. If that situation were to come up, then we'll address it.

"It beats the alternative of being a young coach that feels an urgency to move somewhere. I've been there before. I've got a job, and we still have a big season ahead of us.

"Besides, I've still got a lot of fishing to do here."

Jeff McIntyre can be reached at 740-5737 or jeff.mcintyre@TimesDaily.com.