Bobby Bowden: Why he’s the greatest college football coach of all time

Influence

The influence Bobby Bowden had on college football is immeasurable. Bowden’s teams became what every team wanted to emulate.

The Bowden coaching tree spawned some great coaches: Jimbo Fisher, Mark Richt, Chuck Amoto, Rich Rodriguez, and Dabo Swinney, to name a few.

Several current coaches got their start at FSU football under Bobby Bowden as a graduate assistant.

Before there was “SEC speed” there were Bobby Bowden football teams. Every coach wanted to feature explosive offensives, ferocious defenses, and great special teams.

Bobby Bowden was the architect of modern college football teams. He also wasn’t afraid to take chances, as evidence of his array of trick plays deep in his own territory.

Some of them worked, and some didn’t, but he had faith in his players to execute under pressure.

However, for all of the things, Bobby Bowden accomplished on the football field. We have to come back to how much he influenced his players off the football field.

The way his former players talk about him and react to stories about him still amazes me. The reverence and respect people have for Bobby Bowden is one of a kind. I don’t think I’ve ever read or heard one person say anything bad about him.

That’s an accomplishment in and of itself in today’s times, but to be able to do that while operating at an elite level for so long puts him in another stratosphere.