Gary Gaines, head coach of the famous ‘Friday Night Lights’, dies at 73

Gary Gaines, the Texas high school football coach, became famous in both the book and the movie. Friday Night Lights, died. He was 73 years old.

Gaines’ family said the former coach died Monday in Lubbock after a long battle with Alzheimer’s.

Gaines made numerous stops in West Texas during his 30-year coaching career, but became most famous for his four years on the hit show Odessa Permian. Gaines returned to the Permian after his run.

His 1988 team was portrayed in Buzz Bissinger’s bestselling book, which depicted a program and school that prioritized football over academics and made racist remarks about assistant coaches.
Gaines, played by Billy Bob Thornton in the 2004 film, said he never read the book and felt betrayed by Bissinger after the author spent the entire 1988 season with the team.

The book, which portrays Gaines as a compassionate coach involved in a football-mad Texas high school transfer culture, has also been adapted into a television series.

Permian lost in the state semifinals in 1988, a season that included the loss of star James “Bubby” Miles to a knee injury in a preseason game. Miles’ character played an important role in the film.

The book showed scenes of “For Sale” signs posted in the front yard of Gaines’ house. His 1986-89 record was 47-6-1.

Gaines led Permian to five of the show’s six state championships with a stellar season in 1989, then left to become an assistant coach at Texas Tech.

He later coached two of Perm’s rivals, Abilene High and San Angelo Central, before returning to college to coach Abilene Christian. Another four-year tenure as Permian coach began in 2009, with Gaines also serving as the school district’s athletic director in Odessa and Lubbock.

“I can’t find the words to express my respect,” said retired coach Ron King, a former Permian assistant. American Odessa. “This is a huge loss for the coaching profession. There are many coaches who took the curriculum and taught it.