Pat Dye

Playing career

Pat Dye played high school football at Richmond Academy where he was selected All-American and All-State while leading the team to the 1956 3A state championship serving as team captain. Following this success, The Atlanta Journal-Constitution selected Dye as Georgia's 3A Lineman of the Year for 1956 before being recruited to the University of Georgia. While playing for the Bulldogs under head coach Wally Butts, Dye was a first-team All-SEC lineman and two-time All-American (1959 and 1960). The Atlanta Touchdown Club named him the SEC's Most Valuable Lineman in 1960. Upon graduation from Georgia, Dye played three years of professional football as a linebacker for the Edmonton Eskimos in the Canadian Football League.

Alabama

Dye's first coaching job came as an assistant head coach at the University of Alabama in 1965, under Bear Bryant. Dye served as a defensive assistant at Alabama through the 1973 season.

East Carolina

Dye moved into his first head coaching job at East Carolina University in 1974. Over six seasons, he achieved a record of 48–18–1. He guided the Pirates 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 University of Wyoming. In the decade prior to his arrival the Cowboys had only one winning season (winning 35% of their games), but 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 (Dye's offensive coordinator) and Dennis Erickson. Interestingly, 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." At Auburn, Dye achieved a record of 99–39–4 (71.1% win rate) over twelve seasons. His 99 wins are behind only Mike Donahue and Ralph Jordan for the most in school history. Under Dye's leadership, the Tigers won four Southeastern Conference championships (1983, 1987, 1988, 1989) and Dye became only the fourth coach in SEC history to win three straight (1987, 1988, 1989). In 1987, his infamous decision to kick a field goal as time expired made him responsible for the only tie in Sugar Bowl history. He received SEC Coach of the Year honors in 1983, 1987 and 1988. Dye was also Auburn's athletic director from 1981 to 1991, a perk Ralph "Shug" Jordan did not enjoy during his 25-year tenure (1951–75) which saw the stadium named in his honor.

Dye coached 1985 Heisman Trophy winner Bo Jackson, as well as Tracy Rocker, winner of both the Outland Trophy and the Lombardi Award in 1988. The 1983 team, led by quarterback Randy Campbell and a stifling defense, is generally considered Dye's best squad. 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 a NCAA investigation involving a current player. The NCAA found Dye was not personally responsible for rules violations. Though the fallout from the investigation eventually lead 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. 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 nine-game Tide winning streak and reignited the rivalry again.

Writing and broadcasting

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.

In 2011, Dye took part in a weekly segment on the nationally syndicated the Rick and Bubba Show. In the segment on Friday mornings, Rick, Bubba and Dye would talk about the upcoming weekends college football games, focusing mainly on the game in the SEC. Since August 2013, Dye has hosted the Coach Pat Dye Show, a weekly sports interview and opinion program that airs online and on radio stations in Alabama and Georgia.

Life after coaching

Dye now spends most of his time on his farm in Notasulga, Alabama, where he is involved in the day-to-day activities of his two businesses: Crooked Oaks Hunting Preserve and Quail Hollow Gardens Japanese Maple Farm & Nursery.

In 2005 Pat Dye was inducted into the College Football Hall of Fame.