| No. 7 | |||||||||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Position | Quarterback | ||||||||||||||
| Personal information | |||||||||||||||
| Born | (1950-01-18)January 18, 1950 Birmingham, Alabama, U.S. | ||||||||||||||
| Died | December 1, 2019(2019-12-01) (aged 69) Birmingham, Alabama, U.S. | ||||||||||||||
| Height | 6 ft 0 in (1.83 m) | ||||||||||||||
| Weight | 198 lb (90 kg) | ||||||||||||||
| Career information | |||||||||||||||
| High school | John Carroll (Birmingham, Alabama) | ||||||||||||||
| College | Auburn (1969–1971) | ||||||||||||||
| NFL draft | 1972: 2nd round, 40th overall pick | ||||||||||||||
| Career history | |||||||||||||||
Playing | |||||||||||||||
* Offseason and/or practice squad member only | |||||||||||||||
Coaching | |||||||||||||||
| Awards and highlights | |||||||||||||||
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| Career NFL statistics | |||||||||||||||
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| Head coaching record | |||||||||||||||
| Regular season | 71–85–1 (.455) | ||||||||||||||
| Postseason | 0–2 (.000) | ||||||||||||||
| Career | 71–87–1 (.450) | ||||||||||||||
Patrick Joseph Sullivan (January 18, 1950 – December 1, 2019) was an American professionalfootball player andcollege coach. AnAll-Americaquarterback for theAuburn Tigers, he won theHeisman Trophy in 1971 and then played six seasons in theNational Football League (NFL) with theAtlanta Falcons andWashington Redskins. Sullivan was a head football coach atSamford University, a position he held from 2007 to 2014. He was previously the head football coach atTexas Christian University (TCU) from 1992 to 1997 and theoffensive coordinator at theUniversity of Alabama at Birmingham (UAB) from 1999 to 2006. He was inducted into theCollege Football Hall of Fame as a player in 1991.
Born inBirmingham, Alabama, Sullivan began his athletic career as a three-sport star at Birmingham'sJohn Carroll Catholic High School. Although a talented baseball and basketball player, he chose to play football forAuburn University where he would become the startingquarterback in 1969 under the tutelage of head coachRalph Jordan. Over the next three seasons, the 6 ft 0 in (1.83 m) tall and 190 lb (86 kg; 14 st) Sullivan would break school andNCAA records for passing while leading the team to a 26–7 record.
In 1970, he led the NCAA in total offense with 2,856 yards and set an NCAA record for most yards per play with 8.57. In his career, he was responsible for 72 touchdowns (54 passing/18 rushing) to tie the NCAA record. In his senior season, Sullivan completed 162 passes on 281 attempts for 2,012 yards and 20 touchdowns. This performance was enough to edge outEd Marinaro for the 1971 Heisman Trophy. Also an excellent student, Sullivan was named an Academic All-American and graduated with a Bachelor of Science in business administration in 1972. Sullivan finished his college career with 6,284 passing yards and 54 touchdowns, along with another 18 touchdowns on the ground. He was selected to play in theSenior Bowl, where he led the South to victory over the North and was given the game's Most Valuable Player award.
After college, Sullivan had a six-season professional NFL football career. He was a second-round selection (40th overall pick) of the1972 NFL draft by theAtlanta Falcons. Sullivan played with the Falcons from 1972 to 1975. He played in 30 games. In 1974, Sullivan started three games for the Atlanta Falcons, losing all three. He completed 48 of 105 passes and one touchdown. In 1975, he threw for 3 touchdowns, completing 28 of 70 passes. He signed with theWashington Redskins as a free agent in 1976 but was cut before the start of the season.[1][2][3][4] He signed with theChicago Bears in March 1977 but was sold to theSan Francisco 49ers in June, and then cut by the 49ers before the start of the 1977 season.[5][6][7] Sullivan left football to enter private business in Birmingham, where he worked in insurance and as a tire company executive.
Sullivan spent five seasons doing radio color commentary forAuburn football games before joining the staff at Auburn in 1986 as quarterbacks coach under head coachPat Dye. He worked with Auburn quarterbacks Jeff Burger,Reggie Slack, andStan White during his six years at Auburn. During his time as an assistant Auburn won, or shared, three Southeastern Conference championships and had a four-game winning streak against archrival Alabama.
On January 2, 1992, Sullivan became the 27th head football coach ofTexas Christian University. He inherited a team still reeling from probation imposed by the NCAA in 1986. Most seriously, the Frogs had been limited to 25 scholarships in 1987 and 1988. By the time Sullivan arrived in Fort Worth, the sanctions had taken their full effect; TCU would not have a full complement of scholarships until 1993.
After two losing seasons, he led TCU to a 7–5 mark in 1994 to win a share of theSouthwest Conference championship, the school's first SWC title since 1959. Following the 1994 season, prior to the Horned Frogs' appearance in theIndependence Bowl versusVirginia, Sullivan agreed to become the head coach atLouisiana State University (LSU). However, LSU refused to pay the $400,000 buyout of Sullivan's TCU contract, and the Tigers hiredVanderbilt University coachGerry DiNardo three days later.
The next season produced another winning record of 6–5 before TCU joined theWestern Athletic Conference in 1996 and fell once again on hard times. Losing seasons in 1996 and 1997 resulted in Sullivan's resignation in October 1997 with an overall record of 24–42–1. However, he is best known for having recruitedLaDainian Tomlinson to play at TCU.
In January 1999, Sullivan became the offensive coordinator and quarterbacks coach of UAB. He helped developDarrell Hackney into the best quarterback in UAB history who was able to make it to the NFL as an undrafted free agent picked up by theCleveland Browns. UAB's offense also featured wide receiverRoddy White, who later played for theAtlanta Falcons.
After neck surgery in September 2003, Sullivan was diagnosed with throat cancer by Dr. William R. Carroll (squamous cell carcinoma) and began chemotherapy and radiation treatments in December. In April 2004, doctors told him he was clear of cancer, but he continued to be monitored for recurrence. Sullivan missed only one game coaching in the 2003 season due to treatment, but lost around 50 pounds over the course of his cancer treatment.
On December 1, 2006, Sullivan was named head coach atSamford University, replacing Bill Gray. In 2008, the Bulldogs joined the Southern Conference and won the championship in 2013. He resigned after the 2014 season, his eighth season as coach.
Sullivan was married to the former Jean Hicks of Birmingham and they had three children – Kim, and twins Kelly and Patrick Jr.
Pat Sullivan died on December 1, 2019, after a long battle with cancer. On January 1, 2020, Auburn players wore "7" decals on the left side of their helmets during the Outback Bowl to commemorate Sullivan.[8]
Sullivan is one of at least 345NFL players to be diagnosed after death with chronic traumatic encephalopathy (CTE),[9] which is caused by repeated hits to the head.[10][11]
He was cremated at Ridout's Valley Chapel Funeral Home inHomewood, Alabama. His celebration of life was held at Church of the Highlands within the Grants Mills campus on December 6, 2019.[12]
Sullivan was selected to the Alabama Sports Hall of Fame, class of 1981. In 1988, he was also a charter member of the Senior Bowl Hall of Fame. The football field house at Samford University was renamed in his honor. In 2016, Sullivan's High School Alma Mater renamed the John Carroll High School Football Field in honor of Pat Sullivan.
| Year | Team | Overall | Conference | Standing | Bowl/playoffs | Coaches# | AP° | ||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| TCU Horned Frogs(Southwest Conference)(1992–1995) | |||||||||
| 1992 | TCU | 2–8–1 | 1–6 | 8th | |||||
| 1993 | TCU | 4–7 | 2–5 | 6th | |||||
| 1994 | TCU | 7–5 | 4–3 | T–1st | LIndependence | ||||
| 1995 | TCU | 6–5 | 3–4 | 5th | |||||
| TCU Horned Frogs(Western Athletic Conference)(1996–1997) | |||||||||
| 1996 | TCU | 4–7 | 3–5 | T–5th(Mountain) | |||||
| 1997 | TCU | 1–10 | 1–7 | 8th(Mountain) | |||||
| TCU: | 24–42–1 | 14–30 | |||||||
| Samford Bulldogs(Ohio Valley Conference)(2007) | |||||||||
| 2007 | Samford | 4–7 | 2–6 | T–7th | |||||
| Samford Bulldogs(Southern Conference)(2008–2014) | |||||||||
| 2008 | Samford | 6–5 | 4–4 | T–4th | |||||
| 2009 | Samford | 5–6 | 3–5 | 6th | |||||
| 2010 | Samford | 4–7 | 2–6 | 7th | |||||
| 2011 | Samford | 6–5 | 4–4 | 5th | |||||
| 2012 | Samford | 7–4 | 5–3 | T–4th | |||||
| 2013 | Samford | 8–5 | 6–2 | T–1st | LNCAA Division I First Round | ||||
| 2014 | Samford | 7–4 | 5–2 | T–2nd | |||||
| Samford: | 47–43 | 31–32 | |||||||
| Total: | 71–85–1 | ||||||||
| National championship Conference title Conference division title or championship game berth | |||||||||
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