Hall of Fame college football coach Bobby Bowden died at 91 early Sunday morning.
“Coach Bowden was one of the greatest coaches ever, but more than that he was an incredible man. He was a special human being who earned an enduring legacy because of his wonderful heart, faith and values he lived. It was the honor of my lifetime to know him and beyond anything I could dream to have a relationship with him,” Florida State University head coach Mike Norvell said in a release.
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The name Bobby Bowden is synonymous with Florida State football. After stints at Samford University and West Virginia University, Bowden took over the coaching job at FSU in 1976.
Coach Bowden was a special human being who earned an enduring legacy because of his wonderful heart, faith and values he lived -- @coachnorvell
Posted by Florida State Seminoles Football on Sunday, August 8, 2021
The program was struggling for success, winning just four games the previous three seasons. Bowden would change the program quickly.
He won more than 300 games with FSU including two national titles and 12 Atlantic Coast Conference titles. He was a national coach of the year six times and the only coach in NCAA to win 11 consecutive bowl games.
Bowden’s coaching pedigree has a family tree.
His sons Tommy and Terry would go on to become head coaches.
Last month, the Bowden family announced Bobby Bowden was diagnosed with a terminal medical condition.
In a statement to the Tallahassee Democrat:
“I’ve always tried to serve God’s purpose for my life, on and off the field, and I am prepared for what is to come. My wife Ann and our family have been life’s greatest blessing. I am at peace.”
Bowden had several health battles over the past 18 months. He tested positive for COVID-19 in October 2020. He also spent several days in the hospital this past June and had recently been under supervised care.