Gary Gaines, coach of the Texas high school football team made famous in the book and movie Friday Night Lights, has died.
The book, which portrayed Gaines as a compassionate coach caught in the win-at-all-costs culture of a high school program in football-crazed Texas, was also turned into a TV series.
Friday Night Lights has been hailed as one of the best sports books of all time.
Gaines’ family said in a statement the former coach died on Monday in Lubbock after a long battle with Alzheimer’s disease.