Few, if any, figures in Auburn history were as iconic as Pat Dye.
The former coach and athletics director who spent a dozen years on the Plains, won four SEC titles and was instrumental in bringing the Iron Bowl to Auburn, passed away Monday morning due to renal and hepatic failure. He was 80.
As news of Dye’s passing spread on Monday, those in the Auburn community mourned the loss of the SEC icon who was a two-time All-American at Georgia, served as an assistant coach at Alabama under Bear Bryant and rejuvenated Auburn’s program in the 1980s.
“Coach Dye was much more than a hall of fame coach and administrator at Auburn," coach Gus Malzahn said in a statement Monday afternoon. "He was an Auburn leader and visionary. He not only returned the football program back to national prominence during his tenure, but was a key figure in bringing the Iron Bowl to Auburn and made an impact on the university and in the community. He embodied what Auburn is about: hard work, toughness and a blue collar mentality.
"Coach Dye’s impact on Auburn is endless and will stand the test of time. He had a great and deep love for Auburn and he displayed that 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.”
A native of Blythe, Ga., Dye was a two-way star at Georgia, where he played offensive guard and linebacker and was named an All-American in 1959 and 1960. Following a brief professional career in the CFL and a stint in the U.S. Army, Dye began his coaching career as an assistant at Alabama under the legendary Bryant.
Following nine seasons in Tuscaloosa, Dye got his first head coaching opportunity at Eastern Carolina, where he went 48-18-1 in six seasons before leaving for a one-year stop at Wyoming.
After taking over at Auburn as head coach and athletics director in 1981, Dye went on to accrue the third-most wins in program history while going 99-39-4, posting a 71.1 percent winning percentage. He led Auburn to new heights, winning four SEC championships -- the first in 1983 and then a three-peat from 1987-89; prior to his arrival on the Plains, Auburn had just one SEC title in the previous 48 years.
He was a three-time SEC Coach of the Year (in 1983, 1987 and 1989) and earned National Coach of the Year honors in 1983. He was also responsible for recruiting eventual-Heisman winner Bo Jackson to Auburn, coached Outland Trophy and Lombardi Award winner Tracy Rocker, as well as 21 All-Americans, 71 All-SEC players and 48 academic All-SEC players.
Along with his success on the field, Dye also served as Auburn’s athletics director from 1981-91 and was instrumental in bringing the program’s annual rivalry game with Alabama, which was traditionally played in Birmingham’s Legion Field, to the Plains for the first time ever in 1989. In the years since, the Iron Bowl migrated away from Birmingham and is now played annually, altering between Jordan-Hare Stadium and Bryant-Denny Stadium in Tuscaloosa.
“Pat Dye will always be one of the more significant people in the history of football in Alabama," former Auburn athletics director and longtime sports information director David Housel told AL.com. "By getting that game to Auburn, he improved and made Auburn better and made Alabama better. Alabama would not have that wonderful facility they have if they were still playing Auburn in Birmingham, so they benefited from that move just as we did.”
Following his retirement in 1992, Dye remained a fixture at Auburn, where the field at Jordan-Hare Stadium was named after him in 2005. That same year, he was inducted into the College Football Hall of Fame.
Dye spent most of his post-coaching career at his farm in Notasulga and locally hosted a radio show beginning in 2013. He maintained a presence around Auburn’s practices and athletics facility over the years.
“For four decades, Coach Dye showed all of us what it looks like to be an Auburn person," Auburn athletics director Allen Greene said in a statement. "His coaching exploits are well known, securing his induction into the College Football Hall of Fame. His skills as an administrator were equally formidable, resulting most notably in bringing the Iron Bowl to Jordan-Hare Stadium.
"Just like his football teams, Pat Dye the athletic director was tenacious, never backing down from a fight when he believed Auburn’s good name and best interests demanded it. Thanks to his tenacity, I’ll always treasure my first home Iron Bowl, celebrating victory on the field that bears his name.
"It’s been a blessing to get to know Coach Dye in his retirement years in his role as a passionate supporter of all of Auburn Athletics. Ever the coach, I’ve witnessed him on countless occasions pouring into our student-athletes. In that sense, he never stopped being Coach Dye. On behalf of the Auburn Family, we extend our deepest condolences to the family of Patrick Fain Dye, whose love and loyalty for Auburn rendered a contribution we can never fully measure or repay.”
Along with Auburn’s coaches and administrators, several current and recent Auburn players took to Twitter on Monday afternoon to mourn Dye’s passing:
Buck/defensive end Big Kat Bryant:
Offensive lineman Nick Brahms:
Wide receivers coach Kodi Burns:
Linebacker K.J. Britt:
Wide receiver Anthony Schwartz:
Linebacker Zakoby McClain:
Former defensive end Marlon Davidson:
Former running back Kerryon Johnson:
Former defensive tackle Derrick Brown:
Former defensive back Javaris Davis:
Defensive back Jordyn Peters:
Running back Mark-Antony Richards:
Linebacker OC Brothers:
Former Buck/defensive end Carl Lawson:
Defensive back Traivon Leonard:
Tom Green is an Auburn beat reporter for Alabama Media Group. Follow him on Twitter @Tomas_Verde.