Deion Sanders on the passing of Bobby Bowden

Deion Sanders played for Bobby Bowden at Florida State from 1985 to 1988. This morning, Sanders remembered his former head coach following his passing.

God bless the Bowden Family,Friends & Loved ones. My Prayers are with u. I’ve lost 1 of the best coaches I’ve ever had. pic.twitter.com/aNvkMJ704c

— COACH PRIME (@DeionSanders) August 8, 2021

“God bless the Bowden family, friends and loved ones,” tweeted Sanders. “My prayers are with you. I’ve lost one of the best coaches I’ve ever had.”

Sanders was a stand-out for Bowden’s teams in Tallahassee. While Bowden helped Sanders hone his craft on the football field, he also helped mold him into an impressive man off of it.

Earlier the summer, Sanders spoke in his love for his former head coach, sending prayers and well-wishes his way.

“Coach Bowden I love you, appreciate you and you blessed me as a player and helped me become a man,” tweeted Sanders. “I’m truly praying for your health and your family. God bless you Coach.”

When Sanders chose to play his college career at Florida State, it was known that Bowden wasn’t fond of playing true freshman. Former university booster Walter Grace spoke on Bowden making an exception for Sanders, via Fanbuzz.com.

“He didn’t like starting freshmen,” Grace said of Bowden. “But he was going to have to figure out a way to start Deion.”

Sanders was one of the most important players of Bowden’s time at Florida State, and the head coach made a lasting impact on the player. 

Currently, Sanders is the head coach of Jackson State’s football program. When it was announced that Sanders was joining the ranks as a college football head coach, Bowden expressed his belief in his former player.

“When you think about it, anything Deion said he would do, he’d back it up,” Bowden said via Jim Henry of the Tallahassee Democrat. “I got a feeling he will do just fine. That’s good to hear and it’s nice to see him in college football.”

Bobby Bowden always believed in Deion Sanders. The player, the person and the coach.

Bobby Bowden’s Legacy

Bobby Bowden amassed a 315-98-4 record during his 34-year tenure in Tallahassee. When he took over at Florida State, the team had gone 4-29 in its previous three seasons.

By his second year, they won 10 games. Over the next 14 years leading up to FSU’s ACC debut, they won at least nine games nine times.

When they joined their new conference, then-ACC commissioner Gene Corrigan commented how valuable they had become in the college football world.

“Their football team had more national television exposure last year than all our teams had together,” Corrigan said. 

Not only did he turn the Seminoles into a competitive program, he twice reached the pinnacle of college football, winning national titles in 1993 and 1999. Bowden was inducted into the College Football Hall of Fame in 2006 before retiring in 2009.

Image courtesy of Scott Halleran / Allsport via Getty Images