Gary Gaines (the Friday Night Lights coach) is coming back to Odessa-Permian

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http://www.gosanangelo.com/news/2009/mar/10/gaines-returns-to-permian/

Gaines returns to Permian
high school football
By Jeff Wick (Contact)
Tuesday, March 10, 2009

The nation's most famous high school football coach is coming back to the place that helped make him famous.

Gary Gaines, who was the Permian head football coach during the 1988 season that was featured in the national best-selling book "Friday Night Lights," is coming back to Odessa to be the new Permian coach.

Ector County ISD officials confirmed Monday that Gaines has accepted the position, and he's going to be recommended to the school board for hiring Thursday night for the position that was vacated when previous coach Darren Allman left for Austin Westlake two weeks ago.

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The 1988 season was the one chronicled in the book (Gaines was played by Billy Bob Thornton in the movie version of "Friday Night Lights"), but it was the year after, 1989, where Gaines had the most success, winning a state title (and USA Today National Title).

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