ULM head coach Terry Bowden takes leave of absence to be with ailing father

Louisiana-Monroe began preseason practice on Friday without new head coach Terry Bowden, who was in Tallahassee, Florida, spending time with his ailing father, Florida State legend Bobby Bowden.

The Monroe NEws-Star reported that Rich Rodriguez, ULM’s assistant head coach and offensive coordinator, will serve as interim head coach until Bowden returns. The Bowden family announced in July that Bobby, who transformed the Seminoles into a national power, had been diagnosed with terminal pancreatic cancer.

“There’s a spiritual side of me that thanks God for all the good times I’ve had with my father,” Bowden told the News-Star. Read more here.