Paterno not alone in passing soon after end of coaching career

By Ed Koch

Monday, Jan. 23, 2012 | 2 a.m.

With the death of Penn State coaching legend Joe Paterno on Sunday, nearly three months after he set the record for major college football victories with 409, we are reminded of other coaching greats who died weeks or months after coaching their final game. Including Paterno, here are five coaches (and one player) who did not live to see the first game of the next season.

• Joe Paterno, 85, Penn State: On Oct. 29, 2011, Paterno’s Nittany Lions defeated the University of Illinois 10-7. He was fired before the next game over his perceived inaction in the Jerry Sandusky scandal. Paterno’s death came just a few months after he was diagnosed with lung cancer.

• Paul “Bear” Bryant, 69, primarily Alabama: On Dec. 29, 1982, Bryant’s Crimson Tide beat the University of Illinois 21-15. After the game, when asked what he planned for retirement, Bryant told an interviewer, “probably croak.” Prophetically, he died about four weeks later on Jan. 26, 1983.

• Knute Rockne, 43, Notre Dame: After leading the Fighting Irish to a 10-0 record and a second straight national title in 1930, Rockne coached the Notre Dame All-Stars in an exhibition game against the NFL’s New York Giants on Dec. 14, 1930. He died in an airplane crash on March 31, 1931.

• George Allen, 72, several college and pro teams, ending his career as coach of Long Beach State: On Nov, 17, 1990, Allen’s 49ers defeated UNLV 29-20. A contributing factor in Allen’s Dec. 31, 1990, death is believed to have been the icy “Gatorade shower” from some of his players after the game.

• Vince Lombardi, 57, primarily Green Bay: After a hall-of-fame career with the Packers, Lombardi coached the Washington Redskins for one year. He led the 1969 Redskins to their first winning season in 15 years. Lombardi died Sept. 3, 1970. (George Allen took over as Redskins coach in 1971.)

• George “The Gipper” Gipp, 25, Notre Dame: Not a coach. He died on Dec. 14, 1920, of a throat infection. Gipp played his last game on Nov. 25, 1920, a 25-0 victory over Michigan State, capping a 9-0 season and becoming the school’s first All American. In 1928, coach Knute Rockne repeated Gipp’s deathbed request to “win one for the Gipper” to an underdog Fighting Irish squad, inspiring a comeback victory over then-undefeated Army.

Ed Koch is a retired Sun reporter