When was the last time a sitting P5 coach passed away?

[dawgman42]

I was racking my brain and googling but couldn't' find anything. Bear Bryant was the only one that came to mind, but that can't be the last one, right?

RIP Coach

 

[onewoof]

 

[GloryDawg]

LSU had one die in plane crash years ago.

 

[Maroon Eagle]

Randy Walker at Northwestern

Joe Morrison passed away in '89 before South Carolina joined the SEC.

 

[patdog]

Bryant had retired a couple of months before he died, but of course the impact was huge. As GloryDawg mentioned, LSU has a coach die in a plane crash on a recruiting trip in the late 70s. They had just hired him and he never coached a game there. South Carolina coach Joe Morrison died before they joined the SEC.

 

[She Mate Me]

It's actually kind of amazing it doesn't happen more frequently considering the extremely high stress levels and constant travel.

 

[Dawgzilla2]

Bryant died less than a month after coaching his final game. He had retired from coaching, but was still the Alabama AD.

Bama"s basketball and baseball teams wore black bands on their jerseys that Spring, and opponents did the same when playing against them.

 

[dawgman42]

Bryant had retired a couple of months before he died, but of course the impact was huge. As GloryDawg mentioned, LSU has a coach die in a plane crash on a recruiting trip in the late 70s. They had just hired him and he never coached a game there. South Carolina coach Joe Morrison died before they joined the SEC.

I had forgotten Bear stepped down (I was young at the time). Still, such a rare occurrence, and I agree with SMM that you would think it would happen more often given the intense stress level with the position.

 

[Dawgzilla2]

I had forgotten Bear stepped down (I was young at the time). Still, such a rare occurrence, and I agree with SMM that you would think it would happen more often given the intense stress level with the position.

Forget the stress, just the sheer number of coaches out there makes you think, statistically, death on the job would happen more often. Add in the fact that a lot of guys coach well into their 70s.

Maybe having access to an excellent medical staff improves their odds?

 

[Del B Vista]

Last FBC coach to tie during a season was TCU's JIm Pittman, who had a heart attack on the sidelines during the game against Baylor in 1971. He was an MSU grad.

 

[She Mate Me]

Last FBC coach to tie during a season was TCU's JIm Pittman, who had a heart attack on the sidelines during the game against Baylor in 1971. He was an MSU grad.

And Marshall HC Rick Tolley was killed in that awful plane crash the previous season.

 

[patdog]

And Marshall HC Rick Tolley was killed in that awful plane crash the previous season.

The Marshall plane that crashed was scheduled to pick up the Mississippi State football team that night in Baton Rouge and fly them back to Starkville.

 

[She Mate Me]

The Marshall plane that crashed was scheduled to pick up the Mississippi State football team that night in Baton Rouge and fly them back to Starkville.

I didn't know that.

 

[Anon1668191032]

I was racking my brain and googling but couldn't' find anything. Bear Bryant was the only one that came to mind, but that can't be the last one, right?

RIP Coach

View attachment 279235

Coach Dave McClain of Wisconsin died 2 days after spring practice ending in 1986. He suffered a heart attach in a sauna after lifting weights. McClain led a resurgence in Football at Wisconsin that was continued by Barry Alverez. I believe the Badgers had suffered through at least a dozen losing seasons before McClain's arrival. He had a great impact at Wisconsin.

 

[Maroon13]

I can't imagine the stress Coaches experience now a days. Every move you make is public and we have a 24 hour news cycle. Then the portal and social media ..... my first thought when I heard Coach Leach had a heart attack is if the stress was too much.

not blaming anyone. It was Gods time.

RIP Coach Leach

 

[bsquared24]

I think it was Randy Walker at Northwestern in the mid-90s.

 

[The Peeper]

Forget the stress, just the sheer number of coaches out there makes you think, statistically, death on the job would happen more often. Add in the fact that a lot of guys coach well into their 70s.

Maybe having access to an excellent medical staff improves their odds?

Maybe not having time to sit around on their arses playing video games and being out in the heat and being active helps.

 

[willi13]

Rex Dockery in ‘83

 

[Lucifer Morningstar]

I hear this talk about stress and the life of a coach being brought up across different threads. I also am not aiming blame at anybody, but the current life of a college football coach is so overwhelming it is insane. All we see is the money they get paid with most people not seeing or having any clue about the hours or stress involved. I can tell you guys as a head high school coach the work is sometimes overwhelming. You rarely get enough sleep, you eat like **** most of the time due to there being no time, you rarely spend time with family and kids during and not during the season, you get no chance to think about your own wellness or do anything about it even if you did, and you love being around your players as much as possible.

This is far from a healthy lifestyle one that is not geared toward long term life. The year after I changed coaching jobs and became an assistant again my wife told me I literally thought you were going to keel over after several years as a head coach. Now that is just at the high school level. I could not imagine the pressure and stresses placed on a college coach, and especially one in the times of the portal and the seeming free for all in terms of money.

 

[Dawgzilla2]

Maybe not having time to sit around on their arses playing video games and being out in the heat and being active helps.

Maybe, but have you SEEN Brett Bielema? There's plenty of head coaches with even worse physiques.

 

[FlotownDawg]

Indiana head coach Terry Hoeppner died of brain cancer in June 2007, although he missed spring practice and had already been placed on medical leave for the 2007 season due to his condition worsening so I guess he wasn’t technically acting head coach when he died.

 

[graddawg]

I think it was Randy Walker at Northwestern in the mid-90s.

Summer 2006

 

[dawgman42]

Maybe, but have you SEEN Brett Bielema? There's plenty of head coaches with even worse physiques.

Yes, there are/were:

 

[eddieb85]

Terry Hoeppner died in 2007 while still coach of Indiana. The Big Ten lost two coaches in the span of a year.

Condolences from a Boilermaker.