Biographical details | |
---|---|
Born | Moro Bottom, Arkansas | September 11, 1913
Died | January 26, 1983 Tuscaloosa, Alabama | (aged 69)
Playing career | |
1933–1935 | Alabama |
Position(s) | End |
Coaching career (HC unless noted) | |
1936 | Union (TN) (assistant) |
1936–1940 | Alabama (assistant) |
1940–1941 | Vanderbilt (assistant) |
1942 | Georgia Pre-Flight (assistant) |
1944 | North Carolina (defensive assistant) |
1945 | Maryland |
1946–1953 | Kentucky |
1954–1957 | Texas A&M |
1958–1982 | Alabama |
Administrative career (AD unless noted) | |
1954–1957 | Texas A&M |
1957–1983 | Alabama |
Head coaching record | |
Overall | 323–85–17 |
Bowls | 15–12–2 |
Accomplishments and honors | |
Championships | |
6 National (1961, 1964, 1965, 1973, 1978, 1979) 14 SEC (1950, 1961, 1964–1966, 1971–1975, 1977–1979, 1981) 1 SWC (1956) | |
Awards | |
3x AFCA Coach of the Year (1961, 1971, 1973) 12x SEC Coach of the Year (1950, 1959, 1961, 1964, 1965, 1971, 1973, 1974, 1977–1979, 1981) | |
College Football Hall of Fame Inducted in 1986 (profile) |
Paul William "Bear" Bryant (September 11, 1913 – January 26, 1983) was an American college football coach. He was best known as the head coach of the University of Alabama football team. During his twenty-five years as Alabama's head coach, his teams won six national championships and thirteen conference championships. When he retired in 1982 he held the record for most wins as head coach in college football history. At the University of Alabama, the Paul W. Bryant Museum, Paul W. Bryant Drive and Bryant-Denny Stadium are all named in his honor.
Before he worked at Alabama, Bryant was head football coach at University of Maryland, the University of Kentucky, and Texas A&M University.