Throughout this whole sordid affair, there have been literally hundreds of explanations and theories regarding Bowden's departure. They range from the wildly speculative to the merely inane, even to conspiracy theories that only a moron could believe. The entire story will probably never be known to anyone but the principals involved. But one story sticks out to me as most plausible, and in the interest of truth, I relate it to you here.

Why do I believe the following account to be the right one? 3 reasons:

  • I heard it from more than one source, and each account agreed with the others.
  • It is the simplest, and therefore most plausible, explanation.
  • It is the one account that seems most in keeping with Bowden's character.

In addition to the above three, one of my sources is a good friend of David Housel, the Auburn athletic director and speaks with him often. He assured me that the following account came straight from Housel's mouth, and I believe it.

So, here it is.

The chain of events that led to Bowden's resignation began on the Monday before the Lousiana Tech game. That day, an article in the Huntsville Times claimed that "highly placed sources" in the Auburn athletic department stated that Bowden had a win a certain number of games by the end of the season, or he would be fired (we were 1-5 at the time). Bowden, who claims he doesn't read the newspapers after we lose, read the article, and then called his agent in Florida. The two then set up a meeting with David Housel.

In that meeting, Bowden referred to the Times article's claim and said he wanted some gurantees about his future. Housel said the exact same thing he'd been saying publicly for two weeks; Bowden was the coach and he had Housel's full support. However, he added, a 1-5 record was not acceptable and there were some alumni who were upset about it

[Let me comment: I don't think Housel was hinting that Bowden was going to be fired, merely stating the obvious. Believe me, ALL the alumni were upset at this point.]

Bowden claimed this wasn't good enough for him. He told Housel he would call Bobby Lowder, an Auburn trustee who Bowden is convinced got him the Auburn head coaching job. Upon speaking with Lowder, he was essentially told that Housel was the athletic director and it was in his hands, and by the way, Housel's right, a 1-5 record isn't acceptable.

Upon hearing this, Bowden told Housel that if he didn't get what he wanted he would quit.

And David Housel let him.
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