Patrick Fain Dye (November 6, 1939 – June 1, 2020) was an American

football Football is a family of team sports that involve, to varying degrees, kicking a ball to score a goal. Unqualified, the word ''football'' normally means the form of football that is the most popular where the word is used. Sports commonly ...

player, coach, and college athletics administrator. He served as the head football coach at

East Carolina University East Carolina University (ECU) is a public university, public research university in Greenville, North Carolina. It is the fourth largest university in North Carolina. Founded on March 8, 1907, as a Normal school, teacher training school, East ...

(1974–1979), the

University of Wyoming The University of Wyoming (UW) is a public land-grant research university in Laramie, Wyoming. It was founded in March 1886, four years before the territory was admitted as the 44th state, and opened in September 1887. The University of Wyoming ...

(1980), and

Auburn University Auburn University (AU or Auburn) is a public land-grant research university in Auburn, Alabama. With more than 24,600 undergraduate students and a total enrollment of more than 30,000 with 1,330 faculty members, Auburn is the second largest ...

(1981–1992) compiling a career

college football College football (french: Football universitaire) refers to gridiron football played by teams of student athletes. It was through college football play that American football in the United States, American football rules first gained populari ...

record of 153–62–5. He served as the

Athletic Director An athletic director (commonly "athletics director" or "AD") is an administrator at many American clubs or institutions, such as colleges and universities, as well as in larger high schools and middle schools, who oversees the work of coaches and ...

at Auburn from 1981 to 1991 and was inducted into the

College Football Hall of Fame The College Football Hall of Fame is a hall of fame and interactive attraction devoted to college football. The National Football Foundation (NFF) founded the Hall in 1951 to immortalize the players and coaches of college football that were vo ...

as a coach in 2005. On November 19, 2005, the playing field in the stadium at Auburn University was named 'Pat Dye Field' in his honor.

Playing career

Pat Dye played high school football at Richmond Academy in Augusta, Georgia, from 1954-1956 where he was selected All-American and All-State while leading the team to the 1956 3A state championship, serving as team captain. He placed 2nd in the state tournament in shot-put and javelin, on the State Championship Track Team. Following this success, ''

The Atlanta Journal-Constitution ''The Atlanta Journal-Constitution'' is the only major daily newspaper in the metropolitan area of Atlanta, Georgia. It is the flagship publication of Cox Enterprises. The ''Atlanta Journal-Constitution'' is the result of the merger between ...

'' selected Dye as Georgia's 3A Lineman of the Year for 1956 before being recruited to the

University of Georgia , mottoeng = "To teach, to serve, and to inquire into the nature of things.""To serve" was later added to the motto without changing the seal; the Latin motto directly translates as "To teach and to inquire into the nature of things." , establ ...

where he followed his older brothers, Wayne and Nat. While playing for the

Bulldogs The Bulldog is a British breed of dog of mastiff type. It may also be known as the English Bulldog or British Bulldog. It is of medium size, a muscular, hefty dog with a wrinkled face and a distinctive pushed-in nose.Wally Butts, Dye was a first-team All-SEC lineman and two-time All-American (1959 and 1960). He was a two-way starter at offensive guard and linebacker, SEC Lineman of the Year in 1960, team Co-Captain in 1960, won the William K. Jenkins Award for the Most Valuable Lineman (1959,1960), and the JB Whitworth Award for the Outstanding Georgia Lineman 1960. He helped lead the team to the SEC Championship and the Orange Bowl in 1959, undefeated as a player against Georgia Tech. He played in 3 All-Star games: the Blue Gray Classic, Senior Bowl, and Coaches All-American Game in 1960. The Atlanta Touchdown Club named him the SEC's Most Valuable Lineman in 1960 where he served as co-captain with friend and NFL Hall of Famer Fran Tarkenton. Upon graduation from Georgia, Dye played three years of professional football as a two-way starter at tight end and

linebacker Linebacker (LB) is a playing position in gridiron football. Linebackers are members of the defensive team, and line up three to five yards behind the line of scrimmage and the defensive linemen. They are the "middle ground" of defenders, ...

for the

Edmonton Eskimos The Edmonton Elks are a professional Canadian football team based in Edmonton, Alberta. The club competes in the Canadian Football League (CFL) as a member of the league's West Division and plays their home games at the Brick Field at Comm ...

in the

Canadian Football League The Canadian Football League (CFL; french: Ligue canadienne de football—LCF) is a professional sports league in Canada. The CFL is the highest level of competition in Canadian football. The league consists of nine teams, each located in a c ...

. He then served from 1963-1964 in the US Army to fulfill an ROTC obligation where he played for the Ft. Benning 'Doughboys'. While playing there he received the Timmy Award for Armed Services Most Valuable Player in 1964.

Coaching career

Alabama

Dye's first coaching job came as an assistant head coach at the

University of Alabama The University of Alabama (informally known as Alabama, UA, or Bama) is a public research university in Tuscaloosa, Alabama. Established in 1820 and opened to students in 1831, the University of Alabama is the oldest and largest of the publ ...

in 1965, under

Bear Bryant Paul William "Bear" Bryant (September 11, 1913 – January 26, 1983) was an American college football player and coach. He is considered by many to be one of the greatest college football coaches of all time, and best known as the head coach of ...

. Dye served as a defensive assistant at Alabama through the 1973 season.

East Carolina

Dye moved into his first head coaching job at

in 1974. Over six seasons, he achieved a record of 48–18–1. He guided the

Pirates Piracy is an act of robbery or criminal violence by ship or boat-borne attackers upon another ship or a coastal area, typically with the goal of stealing cargo and other valuable goods. Those who conduct acts of piracy are called pirates, v ...

to the Southern Conference championship in 1976 and posted at least seven wins in all six seasons in Greenville. In 2006, Dye was inducted into the East Carolina Athletics Hall of Fame. As of 2006, his 72.4% win rate is the second highest of any coach in East Carolina University history.

Wyoming

In 1980, Dye took over for one season as head coach at the

. In the decade prior to his arrival, the Cowboys had had only one winning season (winning 35% of their games). In Dye's first year, he changed the culture into a winning program going 6–5 and paving the way for future success under coaches

Al Kincaid Al Kincaid (born July 26, 1947) is a former American football player and coach. He served as the head football coach at the University of Wyoming from 1981 to 1985 and at Arkansas State University from 1990 to 1991, compiling a career college fo ...

(Dye's offensive coordinator) and Dennis Erickson. In an interview many years later, Dye revealed that the athletic administration at Wyoming failed to have him sign his contract when they hired him. Consequently, when Auburn hired Dye to be their new head coach, Wyoming had no recourse to demand compensation for Auburn hiring him away.

Auburn

During Dye's interview for the head coaching job at Auburn, he was asked by a member of the search committee, "How long will it take you to beat Alabama?" Dye's reply was "60 minutes," although it took him 120 minutes. At Auburn, Dye achieved a record of 99–39–4 (71.1% win rate) over 12 seasons. His 99 wins are behind only Mike Donahue and

Ralph Jordan Ralph (pronounced ; or ,) is a male given name of English, Scottish and Irish origin, derived from the Old English ''Rædwulf'' and Radulf, cognate with the Old Norse ''Raðulfr'' (''rað'' "counsel" and ''ulfr'' "wolf"). The most common forms ...

for the most in school history. Under Dye's leadership, the Tigers won four

Southeastern Conference The Southeastern Conference (SEC) is an American college athletic conference whose member institutions are located primarily in the South Central and Southeastern United States. Its fourteen members include the flagship public universities o ...

championships (1983, 1987, 1988, 1989) and Dye became the fourth coach in SEC history to win three straight (1987, 1988, 1989). He received SEC Coach of the Year honors in 1983, 1987 and 1988. Dye was also Auburn's

athletic director An athletic director (commonly "athletics director" or "AD") is an administrator at many American clubs or institutions, such as colleges and universities, as well as in larger high schools and middle schools, who oversees the work of coaches and ...

from 1981 to 1991, a perk Ralph "Shug" Jordan did not enjoy during his 25-year tenure (1951–75), which saw the

stadium A stadium ( : stadiums or stadia) is a place or venue for (mostly) outdoor sports, concerts, or other events and consists of a field or stage either partly or completely surrounded by a tiered structure designed to allow spectators to stand o ...

named in his honor. Dye coached 1985

Heisman Trophy The Heisman Memorial Trophy (usually known colloquially as the Heisman Trophy or The Heisman) is awarded annually to the most outstanding player in college football. Winners epitomize great ability combined with diligence, perseverance, and har ...

winner

Bo Jackson Vincent Edward "Bo" Jackson (born November 30, 1962) is an American former professional baseball and American football player. He is the only professional athlete in history to be named an All-Star in both baseball and football. Jackson's el ...

, as well as

Tracy Rocker Tracy Quinton Rocker (born April 9, 1966) is an American football coach and former player who is the defensive line coach for the Philadelphia Eagles of the National Football League (NFL). Rocker played college football at Auburn University an ...

, winner of both the

Outland Trophy The Outland Trophy is awarded to the best college football interior lineman in the United States as adjudged by the Football Writers Association of America. It is named after John H. Outland. One of only a few players ever to be named an All-Am ...

and the

Lombardi Award The Rotary Lombardi Award is an award for college football in the United States. Awarded by the Rotary Club of Houston, Texas annually to the college football player "who best embodies the values and spirit of NFL's legendary coach Vince Lomba ...

in 1988. The 1983 team, led by quarterback Randy Campbell and a stifling defense, is generally considered Dye's best. They bounced back from an early season loss to Texas to win 10 consecutive games, including five over bowl teams. Auburn was ranked #1 in the nation by the New York Times at the end of the 1983 season but ended up #3 in the AP and UPI polls, behind Miami and Nebraska. Dye's tenure on the Plains ended due to an NCAA investigation involving a member of the team. The NCAA found that Dye was not personally responsible for rules violations, but that he should have known about and prevented them. The fallout from the investigation eventually led Dye to step down as Athletic Director in 1991, and as head coach the following year. On November 19, 2005, the playing surface at Jordan–Hare Stadium at Auburn was named Pat Dye Field in the former coach's honor. The dedication ceremony was held immediately before the Iron Bowl, which Auburn went on to win 28–18. This was especially appropriate since Dye led the Tigers to a 30–20 victory over the Tide on December 2, 1989, in the first installment of the Iron Bowl, to be played at Auburn after 41 consecutive meetings at Legion Field in

Birmingham Birmingham ( ) is a city and metropolitan borough in the metropolitan county of West Midlands in England. It is the second-largest city in the United Kingdom with a population of 1.145 million in the city proper, 2.92 million in the We ...

. The permanent move of Auburn's home games against Alabama to Jordan–Hare Stadium is considered one of Dye's most important achievements as AU's Athletic Director. Dye's tenure was also notable for the November 27, 1982 victory over arch-rival Alabama, when Dye's team defeated Alabama 23–22 in Bryant's last regular-season game. That game snapped a 9-game Tide winning streak and reignited the rivalry.

Writing

Dye's autobiography, ''In The Arena'', written with John Logue, was published in 1992. In September 2006, Dye partnered with publisher Mascot Books to release his first children's book, ''War Eagle!''. Dye's third book, ''After The Arena'', published in 2013, details his life after leaving coaching in 1992.

Life after coaching

During the latter part of his life, Dye spent most of his time on his farm in Notasulga, Alabama, where he was involved in the day-to-day activities of his two businesses: Crooked Oaks Hunting Preserve and Quail Hollow Gardens Japanese Maple Farm & Nursery. Many activities on his farm are made available to the public, including horse boarding and trail rides, quail hunts, and garden tours. Dye's family includes 4 children and 9 grandchildren. In 2005, Dye was inducted into the College Football Hall of Fame. In 2014, he was inducted into the Georgia-Florida Hall of Fame. From 2013 until 2020, Dye hosted "The Coach Pat Dye Show" with co-host Tim Ellen and producer Lynn Huggins. The show was a weekly sports interview and opinion program that aired on radio stations around the southeast, online and on tune-in radio.

Death

On May 21, 2020, Dye was hospitalized in

Atlanta Atlanta ( ) is the capital and most populous city of the U.S. state of Georgia. It is the seat of Fulton County, the most populous county in Georgia, but its territory falls in both Fulton and DeKalb counties. With a population of 498,7 ...

for

kidney The kidneys are two reddish-brown bean-shaped organs found in vertebrates. They are located on the left and right in the retroperitoneal space, and in adult humans are about in length. They receive blood from the paired renal arteries; blo ...

-related problems. He was also diagnosed with

COVID-19 Coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) is a contagious disease caused by a virus, the severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2). The first known case was identified in Wuhan, China, in December 2019. The disease quick ...

but was asymptomatic. He died at a hospice care facility in Auburn on June 1, 2020, from kidney and liver failure complications.

Head coaching record

References

External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Dye, Pat 1939 births 2020 deaths American football defensive linemen American football linebackers Alabama Crimson Tide football coaches Auburn Tigers football coaches Auburn Tigers athletic directors East Carolina Pirates football coaches Edmonton Elks players Georgia Bulldogs football players People from Burke County, Georgia People from Richmond County, Georgia Wyoming Cowboys football coaches College Football Hall of Fame inductees Coaches of American football from Georgia (U.S. state) Players of American football from Georgia (U.S. state) Writers from Georgia (U.S. state) Deaths from liver failure Deaths from kidney failure Deaths from the COVID-19 pandemic in Alabama