Called to Coach: Reflections on Life, Faith, and Football

In this New York Times bestseller, legendary coach Bobby Bowden gives readers an inside look at the path that led him to become one of college football’s most successful coaches.

Coach Bobby Bowden was an icon of college football who ran his legendary, top-ranking program with a trademark southern charm. Here, Bowden gives 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 shares 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 was known as much for his affable charm as for his championship teams. Having coached young men over seven decades, he was the second-winningest coach in major college football history. The patriarch of college football’s most famous coaching family, Bowden was heavily involved in the Fellowship of Christian Athletes. Bowden was inducted into the College Football Hall of Fame in 2006. He died in 2021.

Mark Schlabach is the coauthor of the New York Times bestselling books, Happy, Happy, Happy, Si-cology 1, 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.