RUSH: Nick in Tallahassee, nice to have you, sir, on Open Line Friday.
CALLER: Yes, sir. How are you doing today?
RUSH: Good, sir.
CALLER: I actually had some questions or just a thought — or wanted to know your thoughts on some stuff. Bobby Bowden being the most winningest coach in college football and everything, I was just wondering what your thoughts were on him and whether he needed to retire or whether he should try to stick it out and hopefully turn this program around —
RUSH: I played golf with Bobby Bowden once down here in Florida prior to a boosters dinner. This was in the spring, after spring practice. It’s been about five or six years ago. It was over in Naples, Fort Myers, somewhere. He was just feisty as he could be. He was a blast to be around; he was actually a pretty good golfer. You know, he is the face of that team. I think if they hadn’t designated — who was it the offensive coordinator or defensive coordinator to be the head coach when he retires?
CALLER: Jimbo Fisher.
RUSH: Jimbo Fisher. What is he, defense or offensive coordinator?
CALLER: He’s offensive coordinator.
RUSH: Okay. If they hadn’t done that, there would have been a problem recruiting and all.
CALLER: Yeah.
RUSH: But now they can go recruit guys out of high school and say, ‘There’s continuity here. Jimbo Fisher going to take over,’ and Jimbo Fisher, by the way, rejected opportunities to go somewhere else. He’s established his loyalty. So, you know, Bobby Bowden is the face of that program and he’s entrenched and they’re going to kick him out of there, or he’s going to have kick himself out, like Joe Paterno at Penn State.
CALLER: Right.
RUSH: I have all the respect in the world for Bobby Bowden. I don’t know him that well, and I don’t really follow college football that closely until we get to the end of the season, because I didn’t go to college, and so I don’t have a rah-rah alma mater spirit. Plus, college football teams don’t wear socks, and I think they look like amateurs. It’s tough for me to get into it. But having met Bowden and the overall success of that program is such… Look at the number of people, number of players they put in the National Football League that end up playing, and being stars. There’s something to be said for it. I wish him the best. I really enjoyed having gotten to meet him, his kids, his sons — I’ve never met them, but they seem to be really good guys, too, the ultimate plus for the program, from an outsider looking in like me with no intimate inside knowledge.