Bobby Bowden lost his fight to cancer on Sunday at 91 years old.
Fans and loved ones have honored his legacy all week, and they gathered at the Florida Capitol on Friday morning for the public viewing of his body. As a native of Birmingham, Ala., Bowden was a head coach at Samford, West Virginia, and Florida State.
RELATED: Nick Saban talks Bill O’Brien early in fall camp, says Tide players have responded well to him
He took over the coaching job at FSU in 1976 and turned it into a national power. When the Seminoles joined the Atlantic Coast Conference in 1992, Bowden led the program to ten seasons of at least 10+ wins. He was a 12-time ACC Champion and two-time national champion in 1993 and 1999. Bowden influenced many coaches, but none bigger than Nick Saban.
An iconic picture still floats on social media with Bowden, Saban, and Joe Paterno in it. Saban is now the one that remains, and he spoke about Bowden’s compassion for others during Alabama football’s media day.
“When Coach Bowden was an assistant coach at West Virginia University, he recruited the area I grew up in at West Virginia,” Saban said. “We had three players from my era that played at West Virginia, and they were good players. My first year of being a graduate assistant was when my father passed away, and I was at Kent State as a graduate assistant for Don James. One day the phone rings and it’s Coach Bowden. He says ‘I know your father passed away, I know your mom might be struggling, if you feel like you need to come closer to home, I have a job for you here.’ I was like ‘wow, this guy is the head coach of West Virginia and he has that much compassion for my family and our situation and my mother.’ Not many people would do something like that.”
RELATED: Alabama OL Chris Owens reveals what he wants to do after football
Saban said he’s always tried to emulate the class that Bowden showed the people in his organization.
In paying tribute to someone that looked out for him, Nick Saban and Terry Saban honored Bowden with a bouquet of beautiful roses at the public viewing. The card attached to the roses read “Forever Friend … Nick and Terry Saban, and Your Alabama Football Family.” Bowden meant a lot to college football, but he also meant a lot to Saban.
The bouquet of roses in the back right were sent by @AlabamaFTBL coach Nick Saban and his wife. pic.twitter.com/QpA4YpEI23
— Alicia Devine, Photojournalist (@alicia_c_devine) August 13, 2021
Nick and Terry Saban sent the roses you see in the far right corner for Bobby Bowden’s honoring at the Florida Capitol today 🙏
(📸 via @alicia_c_devine) pic.twitter.com/7h4mFJTv8V
— Touchdown Alabama (@TDAlabamaMag) August 13, 2021
The passing of a legend will motivate Saban to continue paying homage by forging on and winning championships.
*Get the BEST Alabama football insider information, message board access, and recruiting coverage today! SIGN UP HERE to unlock our subscriber-only content!*
Stephen M. Smith is the managing editor and senior writer for Touchdown Alabama Magazine. You can “like” him on Facebook or “follow” him on Twitter, via @CoachingMSmith.
