The football world has been left in mourning following the death of legendary Texas high school coach Freddie James at the age of 89.James – who helped establish Dallas’ Carter High School into a football dynasty, inspiring the film Friday Night Lights in the process – passed away on October 29. Following his death, Carter High School football paid tribute to the coaching icon on the field, according to NBC 5. The Dallas school’s current head coach, Spencer Gilbert, said: ‘Coach James was more than a football coach. He was a mentor, he was a father, a grandfather. Everything you asked a man to do.’He continued by claiming James ‘let me know it’s not about the wins and losses. It’s about the legacy of people you impact along the way.’ He was the head coach at Carter High School from 1982 to 1995, racking up a total of 139 wins and transforming the football program into the most dominant in Texas. Legendary Texas high school football coach Freddie James has died at the age of 89 James – who helped establish Dallas’ Carter High School into a football dynasty, inspiring the film Friday Night Lights in the process – passed away on October 29James’s championship-winning team in 1988 is widely regarded as the greatest high school football team in Texas history, despite controversy that later emerged regarding an ineligible player.The school was stripped of the title in 1991 by the University Interscholastic League, however, James said at the time he wasn’t bothered by the decision.In an interview with The Dallas Morning News, he said: ‘It didn’t worry me. We proved on the field who was the best. I wasn’t worried about the trophy. ‘That’s just a thing, in the mind of the people, Carter High School was the best team. We were the greatest that particular night.’ James was inducted into the Dallas ISD Athletic Hall of Fame in 2018 and was named in the inaugural Texas Black Sports Hall of Fame class in 1996.His legacy was also honored with two films: 2004’s Friday Night Lights and 2015’s Carter High, where James was played by Julius Tennon and Charles S Dutton respectively. James is survived by his son, Frenanda, three grandchildren and a great-granddaughter, according to The Dallas Morning News.