As the final season of “Friday Night Lights” fades into memory, critics and colleagues are giving it a loving send-off. First, Emmy nominations were doled out for outstanding drama, writing, lead actor and actress. Then last week, the DirecTV/NBC show won “Program of the Year” from the Television Critics Assn. Sadly, not many viewers gave it a chance, thinking it was merely a show about a high school football team.

A lot of drama did unfold around the weekly games, but its main focus was the tightly knit community off the football field. At the center stood Coach Eric Taylor and his wife, Tami, played by nominees Kyle Chandler and Connie Britton. Life in the fictional town of Dillon, Texas, was a struggle. Too many dreams were pinned on a team of boys and their talents. When those boys stumbled, Coach Taylor was there.

When looking back on the show and his role on it, Chandler is as open and gregarious as Coach Taylor was reserved. He occasionally slips into the present tense; even a year later, it’s not easy letting “Lights” go.

How did you go about making Coach so taciturn?

Out there in West Texas people don’t open their mouths too much. It’s almost like their teeth stay together when they talk, and when they do talk they don’t say much. You can imagine a farmer on the plains out there, and it’s windy and hot, and the dust blows; you don’t want to have to open your mouth any more than you have to. I sort of ran with that with Coach Taylor.

Coaches aren’t very loquacious. They don’t say more than they have to. He gets out the words he has to say, and expects it to be followed.

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