Called to Coach offers an up-close and personal look at one of the winningest coaches in football history. From his boyhood in Alabama to his fifty-five-year career in college football, Boowden reveals never-before-published details of his life, including the tragic death of his grandson and son-in-law in a 2004 accident, and the details of his retirement in 2009. Called to Coach is an inspiring story of a remarkable man, and the unwavering faith in God that sustained him.

Coach Bobby Bowden is an icon of college football who ran his legendary, top-ranking program with a trademark southern charm. With his recent retirement, Bowden is ready to give fans and readers the behind-the-scenes story of his 55-year career and the path that helped him become one of college football's most successful coaches and patriarch of the sport's most famous coaching family. 

In this book, Bowden will reveal never-before-published details of the moments and events that have defined his life, including: 

* The tragic death of his grandson and son-in-law in a 2004 automobile accident.

* The details of his retirement as FSU's coach at the end of the 2009 season.

Bobby Bowden is known as much for his affable charm as he is for his championship teams. Having coached young men in seven decades, he is the second-winningest coach in major college football history. Bowden guided Florida State University to more than three hundred victories, two national championships, twelve Atlantic Coast Conference titles, finishing in the top five in the country in fourteen straight seasons, and he also led the Seminoles to Bowl Games in twenty-eight consecutive seasons during his thirty-four-year tenure. The patriarch of college football’s most famous coaching family, Bowden remains heavily involved in the Fellowship of Christian Athletes, annually awarding The National Bobby Bowden Award to a student-athlete for achievement on and off the field, including his conduct as a faith model in the community. Bowden was inducted into the College Football Hall of Fame in 2006. He and his wife of sixty-one years, Ann, live in Tallahassee, Florida. Mark Schlabach is coauthor of the New York Times bestselling book Called to Coach: Reflections on Life, Faith, and Football and The Duck Commander Family. He is one of the most respected and popular college football columnists in the country. He and his wife live in Madison, Georgia, with their three children. Tony Dungy and his wife Lauren Dungy are active members of a number of family, faith, and community-based organizations, including All Pro Dad, iMom, Fellowship of Chrstian Athletes, Mentors for Life, Family First, Big Brothers Big Sisters of America, and the Boys and Girls Club of America. Tony is a former NFL player and retired head coach of the 2006 Superbowl Champions, the Indianapolis Colts of the National Football League.

"We all know Bobby has been incredibly successful on the football field, but I believe his real success lies in how many lives he has touched as a mentor, teacher, and friend! I know he has touched my life and I am better for it."

"When I was a young coach, Bobby Bowden was a hero to me. As I got older, he became an example. For all of us, he has been a benchmark. He did things the right way and reached out to help so many of us through the years. He left anyone who was fortunate enough to be around him with a true understanding of what it means to be a coach."

"When Bobby speaks, I listen. When he writes, I read. You will be grateful you read this book. Then you will know why I, and millions of people, love and respect Bobby Bowden."

"Bobby Bowden was coach and mentor to thousands of young men throughout his remarkable 55-year career, and he took that responsibility very seriously. He provided a living example of character and integrity; nurturing not only great football players, but also fine husbands, fathers and role models for future generations. Called to Coach is a story about one of our true national treasures."

"Coach Bowden has had an enduring impact on an untold number lives for such a long period of time. Aside from my father, Coach Bowden is the most influential man in my life. I’m certain there are countless others who could say the same thing. Any success I have in the coaching business I owe mostly to Coach Bowden."

"Coach Bowden transcends football. He is a man who leveraged his position as a winning football coach into a living example of the Christian values he believed in. Then he shared them with his players. He personifies the ultimate father in that he inspired us to be the best that we could be, helping us build our mind, body, and spirit through the game he loved. This book will deliver his message to others who will benefit—just like I have, from the life, the wisdom, and the grace, that is, Coach Bobby Bowden."

"I’ve had the privilege of knowing Bobby Bowden for more than thirty years. During my years of coaching at Nebraska, between 1980 and my last year of coaching in 1997, we played Florida State eight times. We won only twice and lost six times. Many of the games were very close and the winner would win the National Championship. Through all of those years of competition, I always respected and admired Bobby Bowden greatly. He stands for the right things, is a man of principle, was always honest in recruiting and exemplifies all that a Christian person should be. Called to Coach is a very interesting narrative of life in the coaching profession spanning nearly fifty years. I recommend the book highly."

"Where would college football be without men like Bobby Bowden? I have long been a fan of his tireless dedication to athletic excellence, but it is his work off the field that makes me admire him even more. It is impossible to count the number of lives that have been influenced for the better by this great man. His leadership of young men made them champions both on and off the field."

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