Gary Gaines, football coach for the Texas high school team made famous by Buzz Bissinger’s 1990 book “Friday Night Lights: A Town, a Team and a Dream” and the 2004 film adaptation, died Monday. He was 73.
Gaines’ family confirmed his death after a long struggle with Alzheimer’s disease in a statement to the Associated Press.
The coach was best known for his highly-publicized run as head coach of Odessa Permian high shcool football team. The 1988 team was the subject of Bissinger’s best-selling book, which exposed systemic issues in the school district’s attempt to balance football and academics, while also revealing racially charged attitudes from members of the coaching staff.
Gaines had previously told the AP that he had never read the book and did not like how Bissinger conveyed certain elements of the team.
“I said, ‘What’s so bad about it?’” Gaines said recounting a conversation he had with his wife, Sharon. “She said, ‘[Bissinger] acted like we’re a bunch of racists.’”
Retired coach Ron King, who worked under Gaines at Permian, told the Odessa American that Gaines’ death was a “big loss.”
“I just can’t find the words to pay respects,” King told the outlet. “It’s a big loss for the coaching profession. There are a lot of coaches he took under his wing and mentored.”
Billy Bob Thornton starred as Gaines in the 2004 film and, in 2006, a TV series loosely inspired by the book and film debuted on NBC. The show would run for five seasons.
Gaines left Permian following the undefeated 1989 season to become an assistant coach at Texas Tech, but returned in 2009 to finish out his 30-plus year coaching career across high school and college. Other professional stops included five years as the head coach of the Abilene Christian college program beginning in 2000.
He retired from coaching in 2012 and was diagnosed with Alzheimer’s in 2017.
