GARY GAINES WILL BE THE FIRST ONE TO TELL YOU that nothing comes easy – especially in coaching. In fact, the Abilene Christian University head football coach wouldn’t have it any other way. Gaines, who led teams to nine playoff appearances in 17 years as a high school coach, gained national attention as the head coach of Odessa Permian after being featured in H.G. Bissenger’s best-selling book Friday Night Lights. Gaines went on to lead Odessa Permian to the 1989 Class 5A state championship in Texas and the mythical national championship. However, Bissenger’s book loomed larger than the accomplishments of the team and the coach written about. Bissenger painted a dark, bleak portrait of high school football in Texas, but Gaines showed tremendous character and resolve in the midst of negative press surrounding the players, coaches and fans of West Texas. Gaines, a 1971 graduate of
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