Auburn legend Pat Dye passes away

Auburn University football coaching legend Pat Dye passed away at the age of 80 on Monday, June 1.

The cause of Dye’s death has not yet been released but the legendary coach had recently been hospitalized due to complications regarding his kidneys. He also tested positive for COVID-19 last week.

Dye coached Auburn from 1981 through 1992 with a career Auburn record of 99-39-4 with four SEC Championship’s and one National Championship.

“On behalf of our family, I want to thank all of the people from around the country who have offered their support and admiration for Dad these past several days,” Pat Dye Jr. said in a statement. “Dad would be honored and humbled to know about this overwhelming outreach. The world has lost a pretty good football coach and a great man. He was beloved, he touched so many lives and he will be missed by many, especially our family.”

Alabama Gov. Kay Ivey, who graduated from Auburn, released a statement after the passing of Dye.

“I am saddened to hear of the passing of Coach Pat Dye – a great man, coach and member of the Auburn family,” Ivey said. “Not only was he a phenomenal football coach, but an even better person. For years, I have known Pat personally and have always valued his friendship and colorful commentary.

“He had great takes on both football and life. Coach Dye truly embodied the Auburn spirit. He will be missed not only by the Auburn family, but the entire state of Alabama. War Eagle, Coach. Your life and legacy lives on.”

Former Auburn baseball coach – and friend of Dye – Hal Baird said that Dye left a last impression on the entire country.

“Coach Dye was a mentor and a friend for 46 years,” Baird said. “I was with him when he coached his first football game at East Carolina and his last game at Auburn.

“He was a giant of a man and touched hundreds if not thousands of people. Everyone that he touched would say the same thing, that his life was built on a core of values that he taught his players, coaches and staff. It’s a huge loss. He left an indelible impression on college football, on Auburn and really the entire country.”

Current Auburn coach Gus Malzhan said that impact is still felt at Auburn today.

“Coach Dye’s impact on Auburn is endless and will stand the test of time,” Malzahn said. He had a great and deep love for Auburn and he displayed that with affinity daily. I’m very appreciative of his support and friendship through the years.

“It’s a sad day. Coach Dye was a treasure and will be missed. My thoughts and prayers are with his family, his former players and coaches and the entire Auburn family.”

After a successful high school football career at Richmond Academy in Georgia, Dye was selected All-State and All-American before earning a scholarship to play for Georgia.

Dye played for Georgia coaching legend Wally Butts and was a two-time All-SEC lineman and All-American in 1959 and 1960. Dye started at both offensive guard and linebacker on defense and earned SEC Lineman of the Year in 1960.

Dye traveled north after graduating from Georgia and played tight end and linebacker for the Edmonton Eskimos of the Canadian Football League. Dye also spent two years in the U.S. Army before jumping into the coaching world.

While Dye is most known for his successful stint at Auburn, he was also one of legendary Alabama coach Paul “Bear” Bryant’s assistant coaches for a number of years.

Dye served as an assistant coach at Alabama from 1969 until 1973 and during that time became close friends with Bryant. The two shared a strong friendship – including annual hunting trips – until Bryant’s death in 1983.

Dye departed Alabama in 1974 to accept the head coaching position at Eastern Carolina, where he guided the school to the 1976 Southern Conference Championship and posted a 48-18-1 record during his tenure there.

In 1980, Dye moved on to Wyoming and turned a struggling program around into a winning program in his first year. After just one year, however, Dye was hired by Auburn in 1981.

Auburn is where Dye became a legend as he led the Tigers to their first national championship since 1957. Dye’s Auburn teams went 6-2-1 in bowl games and the legendary coach was intimately involved in moving the annual Iron Bowl game between Alabama and Auburn onto each school’s campus. The game was held in Birmingham annually since 1948 because Legion Field dwarfed both Cliff-Hare Stadium and Denny Stadium.

“When I saw Coach Bryant when I first got to Auburn, the first thing he said to me, very first thing, he said, ‘Well, I guess you’re going to want to take that game to Auburn,’” Dye recalled in an interview with AL.com last year. “I said, ‘We’re going to take it to Auburn.’ He said, ‘Well, we’ve got a contract through ’88,’ and I said, ‘Well, we’ll play ’89 in Auburn.’”

The Iron Bowl has been played in Tuscaloosa or Auburn every year since 1989.

Dye retired in 1992 with an overall coaching record of 99-39-4. Following his retirement, Dye ran a hunting preserve in Notasulga and co-hosted “The Coach Pat Dye Show” from 2013 until earlier this year that aired around the Southeast on the radio. In 2005, Dye was inducted into the College Football Hall of Fame and Auburn named the playing surface at Jordan-Hare Stadium (formerly Cliff-Hare Stadium) Pat Dye Field.