He was a man with deep roots in his faith, respected amonghis peers throughout college football, and displayed a love for his players.
The Florida State teams under his tutelage were disciplined, talented, andfeared, and he coached his players with honesty and class. Saturday marked thefifth anniversary of the passing of Florida State coaching legend Bobby Bowdenat the age of 91.
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As a high school star, Bowden first accepted ascholarship to Alabama, then later transferred to Howard College. Howard waslater renamed Samford University. At Samford, Bowden was a three-sport star, aswell quarterback and captain of the football team. Bowden went on to earn “LittleAll-American” honors.
After head-coaching stints at both Howard College and WestVirginia, coach Bowden took over the Florida State football program way back in1976. Within a decade, according to a designation by the NCAA, Bowden had builta dynasty in Tallahassee from 1987-2000.
Over that time, Bowden coached the Seminoles to 10 ormore wins and 14 consecutive top five finishes.
In that 2000 season, the Seminoles were the preseason No.1 team and finished undefeated at 12-0 to win the BCS National Championship, goingwire-to-wire as the No. 1 team.
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A six-time National Coach of the Year, Florida Statewon 12 ACC titles and two national championships in 1993 and 1999 under Bowden.He coached 153 All-Americans, with 25 of those earning Consensus status.
Among those named as Consensus All-Americans includedRon Simmons, Deion Sanders, Charlie Ward and Derrick Brooks. Bowden also coachedtwo Heisman Trophy winners as well: Ward, and quarterback Chris Weinke.
The culture of dominant, winning football and playerdevelopment established under Bowden resulted in 177 of his players being draftedinto the NFL. He also coached Myron Rolle, who bypassed playing in the NFL tobecome a Rhodes Scholar.
Coach Bowden’s impact on others in the coachingprofession is evident in his coaching tree, which includes Mark Richt (headcoach at Georgia and Miami), Kirby Smart (assistant coach at Alabama, current headcoach at Georgia) and Manny Diaz (head coach at Miami and of the 2025 ACCchampions, the Duke Blue Devils).
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Jimbo Fisher, a head coach in waiting as offensivecoordinator on Bowden’s staff, took over as head coach of Florida State uponBowden’s retirement at the conclusion of the 2009 season, a 7-6 campaign thatended with a win in the Gator Bowl. Fisher posted an 83-23 (.783) record atFlorida State, winning the 2013 BCS National Championship.
Coach Bowden led one of the most dominant programs incollege football out of the tunnel at Doak Campbell Stadium every Saturday for overthree decades. The Seminoles, under Bowden, were a model of consistency thatother football programs wanted to emulate.
SEC powerhouses like Alabama, Auburn and LSU offered theirhead coaching positions to Bowden, hoping he would say yes and lead them to thepromised land. Bowden turned them all down.
Under current coach Mike Norvell, the Seminoles are38-34, and have lost 17 of their last 24 games. So, the spirit of coach Bowdenlooms large over the Florida State program. The desire to get back to theBowden’s legacy of dominant, winning football is palpable. Coach Bowden’s careerwin total of 346 (adjusted by the NCAA) is second all-time in college footballhistory.
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Bowden’s Seminole teams left their opponents bloodiedand battered, lying defeated on gridirons across this great country. The legacyof success that coach Bowden left behind at Florida State may never be matched.
