Mark Richt spent 11 seasons at Florida State, including the final 7 as the offensive coordinator under Bobby Bowden.

Richt, who left to take over the Georgia program, was among the speakers at Bowden’s “Celebration of Life” service on Saturday morning. He followed Charlie Ward and Derrick Brooks.

Richt shared several personal stories, and influences Bowden had on him as a coach, including being open to having children around the facility, and making sure each assistant coach saw their kids every day. Richt continued that practice at Georgia, and often drove his kids to school in the mornings.

Richt then recalled a time during Ward’s first season, 1992, as quarterback as Ward struggled with interceptions.

“He said, ‘Mark, Charlie’s been throwing a lot of interceptions this season, and I’d like to know, is that his fault, is that my fault or is that your fault?’ So I said, ‘I’ll get that straight, coach, it’s my fault.'”

Richt shared the Bowden did not motivate out of fear, but rather compassion and love.

“He loved us as coaches and he loved the players and we knew it, and we loved him for that,” Richt said. “When it came to winning games and stuff, we wanted to win for him as much as we wanted to win for us because we loved him so much.”

At the beginning of the 1994 season following the Seminoles winning the 1993 national championship, Bowden led the first devotional of the offseason workouts.

“Men, they said we couldn’t win the big one and we finally won the big one and he went around the field and he started asking everybody, ‘Do you feel different now that we’ve won the big one?,” Richt recalled Bowden saying. “I remember him asking Coach Andrews and Coach Gladden and Coach Sexton, I remember him asking me, and it had kind of worn off, and we’re like, ‘Not really coach, we don’t feel any different, they just want us to do it all over again.’ He said you know why you don’t feel different, because that’s not the big one. The big one is when you pray to receive Christ as your Lord and Savior. Another reason why I love him.”

Richt then shared how the death of Florida State player Pablo Lopez had an impact on him receiving Christ. Bowden shared with the team that he didn’t know where Lopez would spend eternity because he didn’t know where he was with his faith.

“The Holy Spirit was speaking to me as Coach Bowden said, it was like an arrow pierced my heart, I know where I’m going it’s not a good place,” Richt said.

The next day, he prayed to receive Christ in Bowden’s office.

“I need Jesus,” Richt said. “I’m eternally grateful for that.”