OPINION

By Matt Hayes

updated 9:56 a.m. ET Oct. 14, 2008

Matt Hayes

Five reasons by Tommy Bowden is out at Clemson:

1. Win-loss record. Obviously. But even before this season of underachieving -- Clemson is 3-3 after starting the year ranked No. 9 and being picked to win the ACC -- the Tigers under Bowden lost games they should've won and won games they should've lost. That's a sure sign of a program in trouble, and one with little internal direction and leadership. You can't lose to Duke and beat Miami in the same season. Or lose to Wake Forest and beat Tennessee.

2. He lost control of the team. Players were bickering more and more after each loss, and then Bowden announced after last week's loss to Wake Forest that he was benching quarterback Cullen Harper, a senior captain, in favor of redshirt freshman Willy Korn. Bowden said he was looking for "a spark" in the offense, even though Harper has been playing behind an inexperienced and beat-up offensive line and has dealt with receivers dropping balls all season. Bowden essentially blamed Harper for the team's struggles -- and nothing could be further from reality.

3. He stayed too long with offensive coordinator Rob Spence. Bowden, like his father, Bobby, is big on staff continuity. He believes like minds get teams through rough patches. Spence had a few uneven seasons, but Bowden stuck with him. That loyalty likely cost Bowden his job. According to sources, Bowden was feeling pressure to fire Spence after last week's loss to Wake Forest. Spence also lost his job Monday.

The offense played well last year -- and Harper had a huge season -- because the line could pass block. Different story this fall, and Spence never adjusted. The young unit is decent at run blocking, and Spence didn't get the ball to dynamic tailbacks James Davis and C.J. Spiller nearly enough -- but kept trying pass calls with five- and seven-step drops.

For three seasons, Spence never consistently found a way to get Spiller, one of the game's fastest players, alone in matchup advantages. Davis and Spiller have combined for 121 carries in six games this season -- or 20 carries a game.

4. The team never developed an identity. The Tigers were so erratic under Bowden because there was never a foundation or philosophy to embrace. It's well known around the league that Clemson can't brawl and doesn't get physical. "They try to out-athlete you," says one ACC coach. "You never had to be concerned that they were going to line up and trade punches with you. That comes from up top and works its way down."

A team without an identity is eventually a team without a coach. More than a few Alabama players said Clemson quit in the third quarter of the season-opening loss to the Tide.

5. He was never embraced by the Clemson community. Think about that concept: This was Bowden's 10th season, yet there were many big-money boosters who never felt like he was the right coach for the job. There was constant bickering among the school's legendary booster club IPTAY, and Bowden was seemingly always considered on the proverbial hot seat.

ACC and national championship expectations simply made the obstacles too tough to overcome when the same Clemson team showed up this fall.

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