Legendary Florida State coach Bobby Bowden is expected to announce his retirement today after 34 seasons, the Tallahassee Democrat reported on its Web site last night.

In another major move, Notre Dame fired embattled coach Charlie Weis yesterday after the Fighting Irish finished 6-6 in the regular season.

Bowden, 80, is expected to be offered a non-coaching position at Florida State as part of his retirement, the Democrat reported.

Bowden, whose 388 career wins are second only to Penn State's Joe Paterno (393) among major college coaches, met with Florida State president T.K. Wetherell and athletic director Randy Spetman for an hour yesterday in Bowden's office.

"We'll finalize it tomorrow," Bowden told reporters. "We talked about our options."

When asked about reports that Bowden was stepping down, his wife, Ann, told the Associated Press that nothing had been finalized - "that's why they're meeting tomorrow."

Bowden's teams put together the most dominant run in college football history between 1987 and 2000 with 14 consecutive finishes in the nation's top five and national titles in 1993 and '99.

But the Seminoles are 6-6 this season after starting the year with a preseason No. 18 ranking.

Since winning their 12th Atlantic Coast Conference championship in 2005, the Seminoles have gone 16-16 over the last four seasons against league opponents.

Bowden's retirement opens the door for offensive coordinator Jimbo Fisher to become Seminoles coach. Fisher was named the head coach in waiting in December 2007.

Weis dismissed. Notre Dame athletic director Jack Swarbrick said he recommended to the Rev. John Jenkins, Notre Dame's president, on Sunday night that Weis be let go with six years left on his contract. Weis finishes with a 35-27 record in five seasons, among the worst of any Fighting Irish coach.

"He will go on to have great success. He'll add some Super Bowl rings to the ones he already has as a successful coordinator in the NFL and we will miss him," Swarbrick said. "But for us it's time to move forward. It's time to move forward because it is critical to this program and to its place in the university and college football that we compete at the highest level. That we compete for national championships."

Assistant head coach Rob Ianello will step in for Weis until a new coach is hired.

The Fighting Irish (6-6) could be invited to a bowl game, but Swarbrick has said he wants to hear from the players before deciding if Notre Dame will go to a minor postseason game.

After a 6-2 start this season, Notre Dame began November with the second upset by Navy in three years. Then came losses to Pittsburgh and to Connecticut in double overtime. On Saturday the Irish lost their season finale to Stanford.

Speculation about possible replacements for Weis has been rampant. Among the top names mentioned, Florida's Urban Meyer and Oklahoma's Bob Stoops already have said they plan to stay where they are.