CLEMSON, S.C. - Clemson coach Tommy Bowden leaves his up-and-down season with three fewer assistants, little bitterness over brawl penalties that kept him from his sixth-straight bowl and a strong belief that the Tigers are close to major success.
"There are a lot of positives to carry because we finished strongly again," Bowden said Monday. "I think anytime you can win your last game and win five out of six, you carry some positive momentum into your offseason program."
That program will be without offensive coordinator Mike O'Cain, defensive coordinator John Lovett and linebackers coach Thielen Smith, who Bowden said were no longer with the team.
Bowden spoke publicly for the first time since bowl penalties were announced following Clemson's 29-7 victory against South Carolina on Nov. 20. The game will be remembered as much for a sidelines-clearing fight between the two teams as for the Tigers' seventh win in eight tries against its state rival.
Both Clemson and South Carolina qualified for bowls with 6-5 records, but turned down bids as part of brawl sanctions crafted in unison with the opposing school and the Atlantic Coast and Southeastern conferences.
The no bowl announcement came Nov. 22. Bowden did not take questions on the matter afterward, leaving that to athletic director Terry Don Phillips. He said the perception he was angered by missing the postseason - he had taken Clemson to five bowls in his first five seasons - or that he didn't react strongly to his players' actions was wrong.
Following the fight, Bowden said players on both sides had watched countless replays of the Detroit Pistons-Indiana Pacers melee that occurred Nov. 19, the night before Clemson played South Carolina. Even NBA commissioner David Stern was asked on Nov. 21 if Bowden was somehow pointing the finger for the football fight on the basketball game.
"How it was perceived was that I didn't believe in discipline," Bowden said. "But y'all that have been around the program, I discipline pretty good."
Bowden said no one called him directly or through the sports information office for comment then or when the ACC suspended six Clemson players for one game because of the South Carolina fight.
However, after the bowl announcement The Associated Press asked the sports information director whether Bowden would be available for comment but was told the coach was reserving comment until a later date.
When asked Monday for his views, he referred to a statement he issued following the individual suspensions. "I think that was pretty comprehensive," he said.
"I do want to emphasize this... my discipline with this team has been swift, it's been just, it's been fair," Bowden said. "I had corporal punishment when I was a child and I punished my children (with) corporal punishment. I'm not a time-out guy. I read the Old Testament like I do the New Testament. The Old Testament's pretty cold-blooded."
Bowden talked harshly with his players about the fight. Still, he and Phillips have said several times that most Clemson players reacted the right way. "Ninety percent of (the players) either stayed out of it or tried to break it up," Bowden said in a Nov. 29 statement.
Bowden's not in a hurry on replacing his assistants, saying recruiting has gone well and several candidates may be tied up with bowl games with their present employers.
O'Cain, the former Clemson quarterback and North Carolina State coach, spent four seasons with the Tigers. He was shifted to offensive coordinator this past February and was surprised at his ouster.
Lovett came in three seasons ago. His defense was 10th in the nation this year in fewest yards allowed per play (4.36 a game).
Smith, responsible for the whip and rover linebackers this year, had been with Bowden for eight seasons - two at Tulane and all six with the Tigers.
Bowden had never fired assistants before. "By far, it was the hardest thing I've done," he said.
Speculation on Lovett's replacement has fallen on rising linebackers coach David Blackwell. The 33-year-old assistant also is Clemson's recruiting coordinator. Bowden said he would consider coaches on staff for the openings. When Blackwell's name came up, Bowden answered, "Is he on staff?"
Bowden was disappointed that his team started so poorly, opening 1-4 after making the preseason rankings at No. 15. But he says the recovery down the stretch gives him much to build on. "I got the back half going pretty good," he said. "Now I just have to work on the front end."
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