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Bobby Bowden, whose homespun charm and coaching savvy turned the Florida State Seminoles into a football superpower, died on Sunday morning. He was 91. Terry Bowden, son of the legendary coach, confirmed to The Associated Press that his father died at home surrounded by family. “It was truly peaceful,” Terry Bowden said in a text message to AP. Bowden won more major-college games than anyone except Penn State’s Joe Paterno. He retired following the 2009 season with a record of 377-129-4, but the numbers don’t reflect the impact he had on college football in general and FSU in particular. The...

SOUTH BEND, Ind. - Bobby Bowden believes the greatest accomplishment in his Hall of Fame career is he's never been fired. "I know that sounds odd, but you look around every day at coaches who have been fired - coaches who last two years, coaches who last four years," he said. "I ain't never been fired. But I've nearly been fired." The 77-year-old Florida State coach also has been successful enough that the National Football Foundation changed its rules so he could be inducted into the College Football Hall of Fame while he's still coaching. Instead of requiring a coach...

Every preseason for 30 years, Coach Bobby Bowden has taken his Florida State football players to a church in a white community and a church in a black community in the Tallahassee area in an effort, he said, to build camaraderie. He writes to their parents in advance, explaining that the trips are voluntary, and that if they object, their sons can stay home without fear of retaliation. He remembers only one or two players ever skipping the outing. Since becoming the football coach at Georgia in 2001, Mark Richt, too, has taken his team to churches in the preseason....

QUINCY, Fla. -- A grandson and a former son-in-law of Florida State football coach Bobby Bowden were killed when their car was hit a by a utility truck that was helping to restore power outages caused by Hurricane Frances. John Allen Madden, a 45-year-old former Florida State lineman who played under Bowden, and his 15-year-old son, Bowden Madden, were killed instantly Sunday when the passenger side of their car hit the front of the truck, Florida Highway Patrol Lt. Robert Mills said Monday. Mills said the Bowden family had been informed of the deaths. "Most of us have been around...

Tactfully avoiding politics in a key swing state, Vice President Dick Cheney encouraged Florida State University graduates Saturday to take advantage of surprise opportunities in life and to be grateful for those who unexpectedly help them. "Don't let your doubts get the best of you," he said during a brief commencement address at the Civic Center. "I've met some very successful people in my day, men and women of talent and character who have risen to the very top of their fields. It's the rare person who hasn't had a taste of failure or a false start along the way."...

Florida State Coach Bobby Bowden has faced criticism for what he has said or for his decisions during football games. He now is in hot water over something he has written. Last month, Bowden wrote a letter of reference for former FSU running back Michael Gibson, who received six life sentences in 1994 for his attack on a woman in late 1993. The woman was raped, robbed, shot and left for dead in her apartment.... Gibson received six life sentences: four for rape, one for armed burglary and one for attempted felony murder. But the Florida Supreme Court recently ruled...

For education and discussion only. Not for commercial use.BIRMINGHAM, Ala. -Steve Bowden, eldest son of Florida State football coach Bobby Bowden, pleaded guilty Tuesday to conspiring with former Alabama quarterback Brian Burgdorf in a scheme prosecutors said swindled $10 million from investors, including the FSU coach. Steve Bowden admitted to being part of a scam to sell unregistered securities through The Millennium Fund, which billed itself as being for "the privileged few." Assistant U.S. Attorney Adolph Dean said Steve Bowden brought in his father and three other investors who lost a total of $4.4 million. Bobby Bowden invested $1.6 million,...

The school spokesman was working damage control on the telephone, insisting, "There's no more patriotic person than coach Bowden," and you could see this coming all the way from Tallahassee: Florida State's coach was determined to wrap himself in the Stars and Stripes as a defense for his dreadful declaration of "Let's Roll" as the rallying cry for the Seminoles this season. As criticism grew louder for turning something sacred into something sleazy, this good old boy turned out to be as predictable as wide right in a big game. "They have to be unpatriotic to say what they are...