Former Alabama All-American QB and Vanderbilt football coach Steve Sloan dies at 79
Steve Sloan, who posted a winning career record as a Vanderbilt football coach, died Sunday. He was 79 and had been in memory care in Orlando, Florida, the past three months. according to an obituary written by former Alabama sports information director Wayne Atcheson,
Sloan, a native of Austin, Texas, who grew up in Cleveland, Tennessee, coached the Commodores two seasons from 1973-74 and posted a career record of 12-9-2. Vanderbilt was 5-6 in 1973 and 7-3-2 in 1974. The only other Vanderbilt coach to post a winning career record since 1952 is James Franklin, who was 24-15 from 2011-2013.
Under Sloan the Commodores earned a berth in the 1974 Peach Bowl, in which they tied Texas Tech 6-6. It was Vanderbilt's first bowl game since 1955 and only its second in history. Sloan was named the SEC coach of the year in 1974.
Sloan left Vanderbilt after the 1974 season to become the coach at Texas Tech. Fred Pancoast replaced Sloan as Vanderbilt's coach in 1975.
Sloan returned to Vanderbilt as offensive coordinator in 1990 on coach Watson Brown's staff.
Sloan was inducted into the Tennessee Sports Hall of Fame in 2000.
Sloan was an all-state quarterback on the Bradley Central football team, guard on the basketball team and among the top high school golfers in Tennessee in 1961. He signed to play football for Bear Bryant at Alabama.
Sloan backed up Joe Namath at quarterback early in his career at Alabama. He replaced Namath in 1965 and led the Crimson Tide to the national championship, defeating Nebraska 39-28 in the Orange Bowl. Sloan was the game's most valuable player. He also was a consensus All-American, the SEC most valuable player and won the Sammy Baugh Trophy as the nation’s best passer.
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After spending two seasons with the Atlanta Falcons, Sloan began his coaching career as an assistant at Alabama before being named the offensive coordinator at Florida State in 1971, then at Georgia Tech in 1972.
His first head coaching position was at Vanderbilt when he was only 27 and the nation's youngest head coach.
When Sloan left Vanderbilt for Texas Tech, he took with him Bill Parcells, who had served as the Commodores' defensive coordinator both years Sloan was the coach. Other members of Sloan's first staff at Texas Tech included Romeo Crennel and Mike Pope, who like Parcells would go on to coach in the NFL.
Sloan spent three seasons as the coach at Texas Tech, leading the Red Raiders to winning records each year and a combined record of 23-12. Texas Tech went to bowl games in each of Sloan's last two seasons.
Sloan then spent five seasons as the coach at Ole Miss and four as the coach at Duke. His career coaching record was 68-86-3.
When Sloan's former Alabama teammate Ray Perkins moved from Alabama to the Tampa Bay Buccaneers, Sloan returned to Alabama as athletic director from 1987-89.
Sloan returned to coaching in 1990 at Vanderbilt, then spent several stints as an athletic director at North Texas State (1991-93), Central Florida (1993-2002) and Chattanooga (2002-2006).
In 2019 Sloan was selected for the Paul W. Bryant Alumni-Athlete Award, which recognizes former lettermen whose accomplishments since leaving the University of Alabama are outstanding.
Reach Mike Organ at 615-259-8021 or on X @MikeOrganWriter.
This article originally appeared on Nashville Tennessean: Former Vanderbilt football coach Steve Sloan dies at 79
