Nick Saban remembers the time Bobby Bowden was there for him

Not many coaches in college football had the character of Bobby Bowden. The former Florida State football coach passed away Sunday at 91, leaving behind a legacy in Tallahassee and beyond.

He impacted several people in his 55-year career, many of whom have already shared stories of the late legend. Alabama coach Nick Saban addressed Bowden’s death in a Sunday press conference. Saban told of the time Bowden, then head coach at West Virginia, reached out to him in a time of need.

Saban was born in Fairmont, West Virginia, which is 25 miles from the WVU campus. He was then a graduate assistant at Kent State looking to break into the coaching ranks. Saban’s father, who coached Pop Warner in West Virginia, had just passed away.

Bowden recruited the area that Saban grew up in, so the two had some contact in high school. Saban said shortly after his father’s passing, his phone rang with none other than Bobby Bowden on the line.

“I know your father passed away,” Bowden told him. “I know your mom might be struggling. If you feel like you need to come closer to home, I have a job for you here. If you need to do that.”

Saban ultimately would become defensive backs coach at West Virginia, though not until after Bobby Bowden had moved on to FSU. He said the coach’s kindness during a hard time in his life touched him nonetheless.

“I was like, ‘Wow, this guy is the head coach of West Virginia University and he has that much compassion for my family and our situation and our circumstance and my mother,'” Saban said. “Not very many people would do something like that. I think that was a reflection of what kind of person he was.”

Many years later, Saban has already cemented himself as one of the greatest ever. He ranks sixth in career wins among college football coaches with 261. Bobby Bowden (357) is one of the five names above him. More than the success, Saban said he always admired the character of the Seminole great.

“I’ve always tried to emulate Coach Bowden, in terms of the class that he represented his organization with,” he said. “Seldom said a bad word about anybody, was always very kind and upbeat to everybody that he ever met, and was always that way with me.

“I would talk to him on occasion about things that you know I had questions about professionally, and there’s probably not many in this profession that I have more respect for than coach Bowden. Not only as a coach. Not only what he sort of accomplished on the field, but the kind of person he was. The kind of character he had and the class that he sort of exemplified as a college football coach.”

College football lost a great one in Bobby Bowden, but stories like Saban’s will ensure his name lives on long after his passing.

Photo courtesy of Thearon W. Henderson/Getty Images.