As a junior, he caught 15 passes for 189 yards and one score. Bowden remained at West Virginia for the 1977 season and began his coaching career, serving as a graduate assistant on Signetti’s staff. His interest in coaching only became more intense after that first year as a graduate assistant. His father then hired him as a secondary coach at Florida State for the 1978 season.

That experience confirmed to Bowden that he was in a profession that would be his life’s work. The Seminoles posted a 19-4 mark in his two seasons at Florida State.

In 1980, Bowden joined the staff at East Carolina, where he coached for the spring-practice session of 1980. That spring, he moved to Auburn and served as the Tigers running backs coach for the 1980 season. Among the players he coached was James Brooks, who went on to a 13-year NFL career and is still second in Auburn history in rushing.

In 1981, Bowden returned to Tallahassee as the tight ends coach. In two more years at Florida State, the Seminoles posted a 15-8 mark. The 1982 team ranked 13th in the final poll, claimed a 9-3 record, and won a Gator Bowl championship.

From 1983-86, Bowden served under Steve Sloan at Duke as the Blue Devils’ quarterbacks coach. He was named coordinator in 1985. It was as a Duke assistant that Bowden made his first trip to Death Valley as a coach. Among the players Bowden tutored was Anthony Dilweg, who went on to the NFL.

After four years at Duke, Bowden became the wide receivers coach at Alabama under Bill Curry. It was there that Bowden refined his offensive coaching prowess under noted offensive mind Homer Smith, then the Tide offensive coordinator.

In 1990, Bowden returned to a coordinator role, serving Kentucky as its offensive coordinator and wide receivers coach. That season, he helped the Wildcats to their first upper division SEC finish since 1984.

In 1991, Bowden joined Pat Dye at Auburn. He would remain with Auburn for six years, his longest stint as a college assistant coach. During his tenure, Auburn was a combined 46-20-2, including a perfect 11-0 season in 1993. Auburn had four Associated Press top-25 seasons, including a #4 final ranking in 1993 and a #9 final rating in 1994. The Tigers were 20-1-1 in 1993-94 combined. Bowden worked under his brother, Terry, for his last four years at Auburn and the Tigers had a 36-9-1 record with both Bowdens on the staff.

Born on July 10, 1954, in Birmingham, AL, Bowden is married to the former Linda Joan White, who he first met when the two were in school together at Morgantown High in West Virginia. The couple has two children, Ryan (21), a senior at Clemson, and Lauren (18) a freshman at Clemson.