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RIP, Johnny Majors
Johnny Majors passed away today. He was a legendary football player and coach. Majors was well respected and a very good man. He will be missed.
Legendary Tennessee football player, coach Johnny Majors dies
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Legendary Tennessee coach and player Johnny Majors reflects on his first game during an interview on July 24, 2018. Knoxville News Sentinel
Johnny Majors, a legendary coach for the Tennessee football team and member of the College Football Hall of Fame, has died. He was 85.
“It’s with a sad heart that we make this announcement,” Mary Lynn Majors, his wife of 61 years, said in a statement shared with Knox News. “John passed away this morning. He spent his last hours doing something he dearly loved: looking out over his cherished Tennessee River.”
Majors guided Pittsburgh to a national championship and undefeated season in 1976 before becoming Tennessee's coach. In 16 seasons at Tennessee from 1977-92, Majors compiled a 116-62-8 record.
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“I think Johnny Majors’ name is synonymous with Tennessee football," said longtime WNML sports talk host Jimmy Hyams, who covered Majors' coaching career while he was a sportswriter at The News Sentinel.
Majors compiled a 185-137-10 record in 29 seasons as a head coach at Iowa State, Pittsburgh and Tennessee.
A native of Lynchburg, Tennessee, Majors began his playing career with the Vols in 1953, joining the team as a single-wing tailback. He was named the SEC Player of the Year in 1955 and 1956.
Majors rushed for 549 yards and seven touchdowns and passed for 552 yards and five touchdowns in 1956, leading Tennessee to a 10-1 season and an SEC championship. He finished as the runner-up for the Heisman Trophy, losing out to Notre Dame's Paul Hornung.
He was elected into the College Football Hall of Fame as a player in 1987.
After stints as an assistant at Tennessee, Mississippi State and Arkansas, Majors landed his first head coaching gig at Iowa State in 1968. In five seasons, he led the Cyclones to a 24-30-1 record. The Cyclones totaled just four wins in the two seasons prior to Majors' arrival. Iowa State played in bowl games in each of his final two seasons there. The program had never played in a bowl game before Majors' tenure.
Majors became Pittsburgh's coach in 1973, inheriting a program that went 1-10. Majors led Pittsburgh to a national championship in 1976 with a 12-0 season, and he received national coach of the year honors.
Tennessee pried him loose with a six-year contract worth $50,000 annually to coach his alma mater.
“I know that you expect a lot from the football coach at Tennessee, but I will expect more from myself and my staff," Majors said at his introductory news conference at Tennessee. "You can win here and win big, but I also have to say that there will be ups and downs. I am no miracle worker.”
Tennessee hired Majors in December 1976. He stayed on to coach the Panthers to a victory over Georgia in the Sugar Bowl to cap their undefeated season.
"When they got him to come back off of a national championship at Pittsburgh ... it was certainly one of the great, triumphant moments in Tennessee football," said former News Sentinel sportswriter Mike Strange, who covered much of Majors' coaching tenure at UT.
During his 16 seasons at UT, Majors led the Vols to three SEC championships (1985, 1989, 1990). He also won the Sugar Bowl in 1986 and 1991.
"Dynamic on the field. Fierce on the sidelines. Distinguished Tennessean," the Tennessee football program tweeted in a statement. "We mourn the loss of legendary player and coach Johnny Majors – a man who left an indelible mark on Tennessee Football."
Majors was forced out as coach in 1992 and replaced by Phillip Fulmer, his former assistant. Majors then returned to Pittsburgh for four seasons. After retiring from coaching in 1996, he served as the assistant athletics director and chancellor at Pittsburgh until 2007.
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Johnny Majors, a legendary coach for the Tennessee football team and member of the College Football Hall of Fame, has died. He was 85. Wochit
He was inducted into the Pittsburgh Athletics Hall of Fame.
"He led us to our greatest glory and changed Pitt forever," the Pittsburgh football program said in a statement on Twitter. "Thank you, Coach. Rest in peace."
Majors played in high school for his father, Shirley, at Huntland High in Franklin County, Tennessee. After going 1-9 in Majors' freshman year of high school, Huntland won 70 of its next 71 games — most with Majors or one of his three brothers leading the way.
For years during his retirement, Majors teamed with sportswriter Jay Searcy to organize lunch gatherings, where they'd bring in guest speakers to discuss a variety of topics, including history, science, the arts, and symphony.
"He was so interested in so many things," Strange said. "He loved college football, knew everything about it, but he was just interested in so many things – the arts. I saw him at concerts. He loved to travel. He just loved to do so many things. He was a very interesting man to me. I feel certain he led a life well-lived."
A memorial service at St. John’s Cathedral will be held at a later date. In lieu of flowers, the family has asked for contributions to the Knoxville Symphony Orchestra or a charity.
SOURCE: Toppmeyer, Blake and Blackus, Will. Contributions by Clouse, Allie and Lesar, Al. "
Legendary Tennessee football player, coach Johnny Majors dies." Knoxville News Sentinel, 3 June 2020,
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