Tributes from across college football for ‘one of a kind’ Bobby Bowden

TALLAHASSEE, Fla. (WCTV) - Bobby Bowden’s colossal impact and lasting legacy on college football can be seen in the outpouring of tributes Sunday from those who played for him, those who coached alongside him and those who competed against him from the other sideline.

“Bobby was a great friend and mentor to me, and his impact transcended the coaching profession in so many ways,” tweeted Urban Meyer, the former University of Florida and Ohio State coach who now leads the NFL’s Jacksonville Jaguars.

“We lost a great man in Coach Bowden today,” Texas A&M coach Jimbo Fisher told the media Sunday morning. Fisher succeeded Bowden at FSU, leading the team to a third national championship.

“One of the finest gentlemen and coaches to ever walk the sideline,” Fisher said.

Alabama coach Nick Saban called Bowden a “wonderful friend” in a statement on Twitter, saying Bowden’s “accomplishments as a coach were only surpassed by the character and class he displayed as a husband, father, mentor and friend.“

Saban shared a story going back to Bowden’s time coaching at West Virginia. After Saban‘s father died, Bowden called him up and offered to make a place for him on the WVU coaching staff should he want to move closer to home.

”How many coaches would do that? How many people would do that?” Saban said, “For me that story is the personification of the true character of Bobby Bowden.”

Former player Charlie Ward wrote on Twitter, “Today as we mourn the passing of Coach Bobby Bowden, I reflect on his amazing legacy not just as a coach, but as a man, a mentor and an incredible person of faith. Please join me in keeping his family in prayer during this difficult time.”

Clemson University wrote that “All of college football mourns this loss.”

“Our condolences to the Bowden Family and the Florida State football program on the passing of Bobby Bowden, who was instrumental in making the UM-FSU rivalry one of the greatest in college football. Rest in peace, Coach,” University of Miami Football Tweeted.