Bobby Bowden, the Hall of Fame football coach who built Florida State University into a dynasty and who was never shy about discussing his Christian faith, died Aug. 8. He was 91.
Bowden coached Florida State from 1976 to 2009, winning two national championships and 12 conference titles, and also tallying a record 14 consecutive seasons finishing in the Associated Press Top 5. His 389 on-the-field victories ranked second all-time among major college coaches. He was inducted into the College Football Hall of Fame in 2006.
When Bowden arrived in Tallahassee, Florida, in 1976, the program had won only four games over the previous three seasons.
But Bowden’s off-the-field character is what many fans will remember. He exhibited a folksy wit and warm charm to players and media members alike. He often spoke in churches and at faith-based events – both before and after retirement.
“If we don’t go out and talk about Jesus, how is the world going to know?” Bowden said this year during the Southern Baptist Convention annual meeting. He appeared at the SBC alongside former coach Mark Richt, who he helped lead to Christ during the 1980s.
Coaches, he said, can have a major impact on a player’s life.
“Rev. Billy Graham said, ‘A coach can influence more people in a year than a preacher can in a lifetime,'” he said in 2017. “And, for the most part, I agree with that. But it can be a good or bad influence.”
In 2001, he recorded a video for an evangelistic event hosted by Franklin Graham.
“I was 23 years of age, I had finished college and finished graduate school when I finally realized that I’m saved through grace and not by any way that I could earn it,” Bowden said in the video. “… Once you accept that grace and recognize it and make yourself available to Christ … then He will lead you.”
In 2017, Bowden co-wrote a book and appeared in a documentary discussing his faith-centric view of football. Both were called The Bowden Dynasty.
Former Florida State quarterback Danny Kanell tweeted of Bowden’s success, “Coach Bowden’s legacy is far more about his faith than his football career.”
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