Pat Sullivan (American football)

College career

Born in Birmingham, Alabama, Sullivan began his athletic career as a three-sport star at Birmingham's John Carroll Catholic High School. Although a talented baseball and basketball player, he chose to play football for Auburn University where he would become the starting quarterback in 1969 under the tutelage of head coach Ralph Jordan. Over the next three seasons, the 6 ft 0 in (1.83 m) tall and 190 lb (86 kg; 14 st) Sullivan would break school and NCAA records for passing while leading the team to a 26–7 record. In 1970, he led the NCAA in total offense with 2,856 yards and set an NCAA record for most yards per play with 8.57. In his career, he was responsible for 71 touchdowns (53 passing/18 rushing) to tie the NCAA record. In his senior season, Sullivan completed 162 passes on 281 attempts for 2,012 yards and 20 touchdowns. This performance was enough to edge out Ed Marinaro for the 1971 Heisman Trophy. Also an excellent student, Sullivan was named an Academic All-American and graduated with a Bachelor of Science in business administration in 1972. Sullivan finished his college career with 6,284 passing yards and 57 touchdowns, along with another 18 touchdowns on the ground. He was selected to play in the Senior Bowl, where he led the South to victory over the North and was awarded the game's Most Valuable Player.

Professional career

After college, Sullivan had a short professional football career. He was a 2nd round selection (40th overall pick) of the 1972 NFL Draft by the Atlanta Falcons. He played with the Falcons from 1972 to 1976 and then the Washington Redskins in 1976 and 1977. He played in only 30 games. In 1974, he started three games for the Falcons, losing all three. He completed 48 of 105 passes and one touchdown. In 1975, he threw for 3 touchdowns, completing 28 of 70 passes. He finished his career with the Washington Redskins in 1977. He left football to enter private business in Birmingham where he worked in insurance and as a tire company executive.

Coaching career

Sullivan spent five seasons doing radio color commentary for Auburn football games before joining the staff at Auburn in 1986 as quarterbacks coach under head coach Pat Dye. He worked with AU quarterbacks Jeff Burger, Reggie Slack, and Stan White during his six years at Auburn. During his time as an assistant Auburn won, or shared, three Southeastern Conference championships and had a four-game winning streak against archrival Alabama.

On January 2, 1992, Sullivan became the 27th head football coach of Texas Christian University, inheriting a probation-racked team. After two losing seasons, he led TCU to a 7–5 mark in 1994 to win a share of the Southwest Conference championship, the school's first SWC title since 1959. Following the 1994 season, prior to the Horned Frogs' appearance in the Independence Bowl versus Virginia, Sullivan agreed to become the head coach at Louisiana State University (LSU). However, LSU officials could not negotiate a buyout of Sullivan's TCU contract, and the Tigers hired Vanderbilt University coach Gerry DiNardo three days later.

The next season produced another winning record of 6–5 before TCU joined the Western Athletic Conference in 1996 and fell once again on hard times. Losing seasons in 1996 and 1997 resulted in Sullivan's resignation in October 1997 with an overall record of 24–42–1. However, he is best noted for recruiting LaDainian Tomlinson to play at TCU.

In January 1999, Sullivan became the offensive coordinator and quarterbacks coach of UAB. He helped develop Darrell Hackney into the best quarterback in UAB history who was able to make it to the NFL as an undrafted free agent picked up by the Cleveland Browns. UAB's offense also featured wide receiver Roddy White, who later played for the Atlanta Falcons.

After neck surgery in September 2003, Sullivan was diagnosed with throat cancer by Dr. William R. Carroll (squamous cell carcinoma) and began chemotherapy and radiation treatments in December. In April 2004, doctors told him he was clear of cancer cells but he continues to be monitored for recurrence. Sullivan missed only one game in the 2003 season due to treatment but lost around 50 pounds over the course of his treatment.

On December 1, 2006, Sullivan was named head coach at Samford University, replacing Bill Gray. In 2008, the Bulldogs joined the Southern Conference and won the championship in 2013. He resigned after the 2014 season, his eighth season as coach.

Personal life

Sullivan is married to the former Jean Hicks of Birmingham and they have three children — Kim, and twins Kelly and Patrick, Jr.

Honors

Sullivan was selected to the Alabama Sports Hall of Fame, class of 1981. In 1988, he was also a charter member of the Senior Bowl Hall of Fame. The football field house at Samford University was renamed in his honor.

Coaching tree

Assistant coaches under Pat Sullivan who became NCAA head coaches:

Honors and awards