Former Auburn coach Pat Dye, who took over a downtrodden football program in 1981 and turned it into a Southeastern Conference power, died Monday.
He was 80. Lee County Coroner Bill Harris said Dye died at a hospice care facility in Auburn from complications of kidney and liver failure.
Dye’s son, Pat Dye Jr., had told ESPN.com recently that the former coach had been hospitalized in Atlanta for kidney-related issues.
He also said his father had tested positive for the coronavirus but had been asymptomatic. When Dye came to Auburn, he inherited a program that was deeply divided after only three winning seasons in the previous six years.