Terry Bowden, Butch Davis see promise in new Sun Belt opportunities

NEW ORLEANS – Terry Bowden and Butch Jones know college football programs and conferences better than many coaches.

They have coached at programs and in conferences throughout the hierarchy of the FBS.

Now they are embarking of new tenures at programs in the Sun Belt Conference, which is clearly on the rise.

Bowden is in his first season at Louisiana-Monroe and Jones is in his first season at Arkansas State.

“The Sun Belt is at the point where it’s clearly the best Group of 5 conference in the country right now,” Bowden said Thursday afternoon at Sun Belt Media Day at the Sheraton. “When you’re a Group of 5 team in a bowl game, you’re at a disadvantage because you’re playing a Power 5 school.”

The Sun Belt, which sends its champion to the R+L Carriers New Orleans Bowl annually, has the highest cumulative winning percentage in bowl games (.692) in the last five seasons.

Bowden’s Warhawks have a lot of work to do before they’ll have an opportunity to contribute to the Sun Belt’s bowl record. They were 0-10 last season.

“Things aren’t built overnight,” Bowden said, adding that the first step in rebuilding the program is to have “a vision of success” and “a belief.” He said he has been impressed with his players’ “buy-in” to his vision.

“The Sun Belt is at a point where everybody is making each other better,” Bowden said. “My commitment is to ULM. This is the first job where I’ve gone in not looking for another job. I want to hang my hat here.”

The Sun Belt has the most non-conference wins (21) among FBS conferences in 2020, including a 3-0 record against teams from the Big XII.

“The Sun Belt is not only one of the most competitive conferences in the country,” Jones said, “but the non-conference schedule that you all have to play is as challenging as anywhere.”

Two Sun Belt teams – Louisiana-Lafayette and Coastal Carolina – finished in the final AP poll, Coaches Poll and CFP rankings for the first time in conference history last season.

With the CFP considering a possible expansion from four participants to 12 perhaps as soon as 2022, the Sun Belt is trying to position itself for an even more prominent role in college football.

Bowden and Jones both worked their way up the coaching ranks and reached the pinnacle with head-coaching opportunities in the SEC. Both had to rebuild their careers after losing their SEC jobs and each found an opportunity as an assistant at an elite program.

Bowden, a son of legendary Florida State coach Bobby Bowden and former Tulane and Clemson head coach Tommy Bowden, has compiled a career record of 175-114-2 (.605) in 25 seasons as a collegiate head coach

He started as the nation’s youngest head coach at Salem and worked his way up to Samford, then Auburn. After six seasons with the Tigers he was head coach at North Alabama for three seasons and at Akron for seven seasons before being an offensive analyst at Clemson for the last two seasons.

Jones was a college assistant for 17 years at five different programs before becoming head coach at Central Michigan for three seasons, then Cincinnati for three seasons and Tennessee for five seasons.

After being let go by the Volunteers he was an offensive analyst at Alabama for two seasons and spent last season as special assistant to Crimson Tide head coach Nick Saban, whom he called “the greatest college football coach of all-time.”

Jones said he had “a checklist” of things he was looking for in his next head coaching opportunity, including an institution committed to winning with “great people and a great vision.”

“I found that at Arkansas State,” Jones said. “(Jonesboro) is almost a mini-SEC community because of the excitement and energy. Everything in town is about Arkansas State. I’m very encouraged by everything I’ve seen so far.”