Calling Pat Dye a “great father, great mentor, great coach and great man,” Bo Jackson took to social media Thursday night to pay respects to his former Auburn coach who died Monday.
Dye passed away from “complications of renal and hepatic failure” at the Compassus Bethany House in Auburn. On Tuesday, Dye was laid to rest beneath a tree on his farm in Notasulga that was grown from a trimming from the original Toomer’s oaks.
Jackson, the 1985 Heisman Trophy winner, attended the funeral.
On Thursday night, the former running back expressed his love for his coach, via Twitter.
“The Auburn community, and the nation lost a great man with the passing of Coach Pat Dye,” Jackson tweeted. “He was a great father, great mentor, great coach and great man. My thoughts and prayers go out to his family. May he rest in peace. God Bless.”
Dye has the third-most wins in Auburn football history after going 99-39-4 during 12 seasons (1981-1992). The beloved former coach recruited Bo Jackson to the Plains and won four SEC championships during his tenure at Auburn. He was inducted into the College Football Hall of Fame in 2005.
He was named SEC Coach of the Year three times (1983, 1987 and 1988) with the first coming during Auburn’s 11-1 season that included a share of the national championship after defeating Michigan in the Sugar Bowl. Auburn finished third in the Associated Press and Coaches polls though The New York Times awarded it a national championship.
Mark Heim is a sports reporter for The Alabama Media Group. Follow him on Twitter @Mark_Heim.