What Coach Bowden Taught Us – On and Off the Field

With the passing this week of Coach Bobby Bowden, the world has lost a man who boldly lived out his faith, a loving husband and father, a gifted strategist, a gritty competitor, and one of the most extraordinary leaders of men of a generation. Those of us who played for him learned from him and were mentored by him not only lost a teacher but a friend and a father figure. And as I reflect on his long and extraordinary life, I’ve given much thought to how his example and wisdom helped shape the futures of thousands of players, staff members, and fans, including me, both on and off the field.?

Over five years, I had the privilege of playing under Coach Bowden at Florida State University. When my playing career concluded, I was faced with a strange reality: that even if I had a wildly successful career in another field, I would probably never be more recognizable than when I was after we won the ACC Championship, my redshirt freshman year. That’s a startling realization for any athlete and one that I know we all struggle with at the end of our careers. The longer you play, and the more you pour into it, the harder it becomes to walk away.?

That moment very well could have been paralyzing. It could have made me scared to try anything else, insecure and fearful of being inadequate, and reluctant to find a new path or a new passion. How could anything live up to competing at the highest level of college football, then hearing the deafening sound of the Marching Chiefs leading 80,000 fans to the War Chant after you throw a game-winning touchdown??

In that moment of challenge, as I hung up my helmet after only one year of professional football, I will never forget the words that Coach Bowden left with me. He pulled me aside at a booster event and said, “Drew, you’re going to have a much bigger impact in this world outside of football than you will playing it. This is just the beginning for you.” It was Coach Bowden’s trademark to go out of his way to reinforce that he deeply cared for us and to make us feel that the best was always yet to come.?

The lessons Coach Bowden taught all of us helped guide my next steps just as surely as they had guided my football career – and today, his lessons have become cornerstones of the business that my brothers and I built together.?

First, Coach Bowden taught us to be process-oriented, not outcome-oriented. On the football field, that meant setting goals that weren’t about games won and lost, but instead about your own ability to do the right thing – to execute a strategy, perform at the highest standard, and meet your own potential. He encouraged us to avoid shiny distractions and keep our eyes trained on the fundamentals that drive day-to-day progress. In other words, he asked us to focus not on doing one exceptional thing in a moment but on doing the fundamentals consistently and well. He taught me that expectations and outcomes are a huge distraction in football and in life and that if you do the right thing, the desired outcomes will follow.?

Second, he taught us that success is a moment, not a continuum. Coach Bowden may have been known as one of the winningest coaches in college football, but he had just as much dignity when he lost as he did when he won. He recognized that you could acknowledge success without being taken in by it; that you could achieve great things without letting them change you; and that no matter what, it was important to wake up the next day with clear eyes, a full heart, and the humility and determination to get back to the basics that made the process work.

Third, he instilled in us a notion that was best expressed by President Theodore Roosevelt a century earlier: No one cares how much you know unless they know how much you care. Coach Bowden wasn’t a stoic who stayed aloof from his team. He wasn’t an impassive leader with ice in his veins. He was a human who believed in his players and his coaching staff and made sure we all knew it. His approach demonstrated to all of us that we weren’t just athletes and staff responding to a head coach; we were a family bound by a commitment to one another. He created a culture of values, faith, loyalty, trust, and excellence that made us more thoughtful individuals and a more powerful team.?

These are critical lessons. They have informed my athletic career and personal life, and they sit at the core of the business I built with my brothers, Will and Sam. When we founded Weatherford Capital as a family-owned private investment firm in 2015, we infused it with the principles and values that mattered to us – many of which I learned from Coach Bowden. We are driven by process, not outcome. We are focused on taking the right actions and doing the right thing rather than on chasing arbitrary markers of success. Our belief is that people are not a means to an end but an end in themselves. We recognize that we are playing a long game and that success can be fleeting if you let it go to your head. And we understand that caring about what we do, and about our team, investors, and our portfolio companies, isn’t a weakness – it’s a strength that drives us to achieve for the people who put their trust in us.?

Ultimately, the values Coach Bowden taught me and others are underscored by a deeper truth. Coach Bowden believed that life was not transactional but eternal. He recognized that he and his players would continue to exist after every play, every game, every season, and after we left football – and this earth – for good. His faith taught him that we were all called to be good stewards of the gifts and the abilities we have for the balance of our lives and that it was less important for the individuals on his team to be successful players than successful people capable of loving their families well and achieving significance in whatever field they entered.?

It was a blessing to spend a few years with Bobby Bowden as my coach – but I spent many more with him as a mentor and a friend. Over the near half-century he served in athletics, he guided thousands of people like me, imparting knowledge and insights that we will continue to carry with us and share with others long into the future. He built not just a football program but an ethos that advocated humility, kindness, and justice. And for those of us who were fortunate to know him, that is his greatest legacy.?

Coach Bowden was known for trusting his players and staff enough to watch practice high up in a nearby tower rather than on the field. I know that he will be watching us from above once again as we put the lessons he taught us into action.?