The Southeastern Conference has lost another football coaching legend.
Johnny Majors, who guided the University of Tennessee to three SEC championships, died Wednesday morning at 85. His death comes on the heels of Monday’s announcement that former Auburn coach Pat Dye, an annual foe of Majors but also a close friend, died at 80.
Majors coached the Volunteers from 1977 to 1992, leading them to a 116-62-8 record and league crowns in 1985, 1989 and 1990. He took the program to two Sugar Bowls and a Cotton Bowl, winning all three of those matchups, including a shocking 35-7 blowout of No. 2 Miami in New Orleans after the 1985 season.
(Read more: Johnny Majors had his share of monumental triumphs with the Vols)
“The ’85 team is one of the most favorite teams in Tennessee history among the fans,” Majors said in a 2015 interview with the Times Free Press. “We overcame considerable adversity after losing Tony Robinson, who was the most talented quarterback I’ve ever coached. Daryl Dickey came off the bench and did a great job, and the only player off that defense who was drafted was Richard Cooper, who was a pretty average defensive lineman who wound up playing on the offensive line in the pros.