​He was a man with deep roots in his faith, respected among
his peers throughout college football, and displayed a love for his players.
The Florida State teams under his tutelage were disciplined, talented, and
feared, and he coached his players with honesty and class. Saturday marked the
fifth anniversary of the passing of Florida State coaching legend Bobby Bowden
at the age of 91. As a high school star, Bowden first accepted a
scholarship to Alabama, then later transferred to Howard College. Howard was
later renamed Samford University. At Samford, Bowden was a three-sport star, as
well quarterback and captain of the football team. Bowden went on to earn “Little
All-American” honors.After head-coaching stints at both Howard College and West
Virginia, coach Bowden took over the Florida State football program way back in
1976. Within a decade, according to a designation by the NCAA, Bowden had built
a dynasty in Tallahassee from 1987-2000. Over that time, Bowden coached the Seminoles to 10 or
more 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, going
wire-to-wire as the No. 1 team. A six-time National Coach of the Year, Florida State
won 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 included
Ron Simmons, Deion Sanders, Charlie Ward and Derrick Brooks. Bowden also coached
two Heisman Trophy winners as well: Ward, and quarterback Chris Weinke.  The culture of dominant, winning football and player
development established under Bowden resulted in 177 of his players being drafted
into the NFL. He also coached Myron Rolle, who bypassed playing in the NFL to
become a Rhodes Scholar. Coach Bowden’s impact on others in the coaching
profession is evident in his coaching tree, which includes Mark Richt (head
coach at Georgia and Miami), Kirby Smart (assistant coach at Alabama, current head
coach at Georgia) and Manny Diaz (head coach at Miami and of the 2025 ACC
champions, the Duke Blue Devils).  Jimbo Fisher, a head coach in waiting as offensive
coordinator on Bowden’s staff, took over as head coach of Florida State upon
Bowden’s retirement at the conclusion of the 2009 season, a 7-6 campaign that
ended with a win in the Gator Bowl. Fisher posted an 83-23 (.783) record at
Florida State, winning the 2013 BCS National Championship. Coach Bowden led one of the most dominant programs in
college football out of the tunnel at Doak Campbell Stadium every Saturday for over
three decades. The Seminoles, under Bowden, were a model of consistency that
other football programs wanted to emulate. SEC powerhouses like Alabama, Auburn and LSU offered their
head coaching positions to Bowden, hoping he would say yes and lead them to the
promised land. Bowden turned them all down. Under curr