LOS ANGELES — Terry Donahue, the winningest coach in Pac-12 and UCLA football history who later served as general manager of the NFL’s San Francisco 49ers, has died. He was 77.
The school said he died Sunday at his home in Newport Beach after a two-year fight with cancer.
Donahue has the most wins (98) of any coach in Pac-12 history and also the most wins (151) in UCLA history. He worked as an assistant coaching the Bruins under Pepper Rodgers and then Dick Vermeil from 1971-75, before taking over as head coach at age 31 and serving from 1976-95. His first job out of college was as an assistant to Rodgers at Kansas for a year.
Donahue was the first to appear in a Rose Bowl game as a player, assistant and head coach. The Bruins won the New Year’s Day game in 1983, ’84 and ’86 during his tenure. He was the first college coach to earn bowl game victories in seven consecutive seasons (1983-89).
Archie Manning, chairman of the National Football Foundation and father of retired NFL quarterbacks Peyton and Eli Manning, paid tribute to the College Football Hall of Famer.
“Coach Donahue was truly a great man, and it’s hard to put into words how much he meant to the game,” Manning said. “His contributions are endless, and his legacy will live on through the countless players and assistant coaches he mentored.”
Born in L.A., Terrence Michael Donahue graduated from Notre Dame High in Sherman Oaks before going to UCLA. He joined the football team as a walk-on defensive lineman in 1965. He helped lead the Bruins to their first-ever Rose Bowl win in 1966 with an upset of top-ranked Michigan State.
He had a 151-74-8 coaching record at UCLA and a 98-51-5 mark in Pac-12 play. The Bruins won or shared five league titles during his tenure. He coached such future Hall of Famers as Troy Aikman, Kenny Easley and Jonathan Ogden.
