Pure Gold

Book excerpt: Pure Gold brings together 25 former players, staff members, and coaches to provide first-person insight into the all-time winningest coach in NCAA Division 1-A college football: readers travel the interstates and back roads with Barnes and Bobby Bowden as they spread the word of FSU football; longtime secretary Sue Hall describes the so-called CEO of Florida State football; Tom Osborne, a legendary college football coach himself, reveals what it is like to coach against Bobby Bowden; former Bowden assistant and Georgia head coach Mark Richt retells the life-changing effect Bowden's first meeting with FSU players following the death of Pablo Lopez had on him. FSU president T. K. Wetherell, who once played football under assistant coach Bowden, remembers what it was like to take orders from Bobby. Wetherell reflects on his playing days and on the time he saw Bowden at his most vulnerable, in the days that followed the tragic death of his grandson, Bowden Madden.He and others who know the veteran coach well take readers from the Bowden Era of rebuilding to the celebration of two national championships and beyond -- through recent seasons in which Bowden has faced more criticism and received more accolades than at any time during his career.Wetherell summarizes Bobby's legacy thusly: "Ultimately, you remember him not for a football win, but for the character he brings to the table."