Former SEC coach passes away

Longtime SEC coach Joe Lee Dunn passed away Tuesday at the age of 75. 

Dunn spent time at several SEC schools including South Carolina, Ole Miss, Arkansas and Mississippi State. He was the head coach at Ole Miss for a year in 1994, and his longest stint in the SEC was at Mississippi State from 1996-2002 as the defensive coordinator. His first head coaching job was at New Mexico from 1983-1986.

In 1998, Dunn helped lead the Bulldogs to their only SEC West title. An early pioneer of the 3-3-5 defense, he was a finalist for the Broyles Award, given annually to the nation’s best assistant coach, in 1999 while in Starkville. The Bulldogs were 44-38 while he was there.

“For two seasons at South Carolina, his name was synonymous with defense,” a 1991 article in Columbia’s The State said, per the Charlotte Observer. “Blitzing, reckless, kick-butt defense. In the cult of personality that surrounded Joe Morrison’s black-clad football teams, Joe Lee Dunn commanded a following all his own. Swarming linebackers, gambling cornerbacks; Dunn’s defenses were often dominating, never dull.”

Dunn was known for his old-school coaching style, often standing on the sidelines without a headset. He rebuked the idea of email and cell phones to recruit, instead preferring the old fashioned method. Dunn was born in Ozark, Ala. and played college football at UT-Chattanooga.

Former players took to Twitter to pay tribute

Following the news of his passing, people across the college football world showed support and gratefulness to have been part of Dunn’s life.

“It was truly an honor to play for one of the best defensive coordinators college FB has ever seen,” tweeted Derek Jones, current Texas Tech co-defensive coordinator and former Ole Miss player during Dunn’s tenure. “Coach Joe Lee Dunn demanded that you play hard and if you weren’t mentally and physically tough, you couldn’t play for him. His mentality helped to mold many men. RIP coach.”

Cole Cubelic, current ESPN college football analyst and former Auburn center from 1996-2001, remembers taking on Dunn from the opposite sideline. 

“Joe Lee Dunn coordinated defenses caused us more misery & failure than any other group we played against,” Cubelic tweeted Tuesday. “I cannot think of a better compliment. He made college football better. Rest easy coach.”