Former Pitt Head Football Coach Dies

PITTSBURGH, PA — John Majors, who inherited a moribund University of Pittsburgh football program in 1972 and four years later won a national championship, died Tuesday in Tennessee. He was 85.

The university announced his passing via Twitter.

Mr. Majors took over a team that had a 1-10 record in 1972. By 1976, the Pitt squad - led by Heisman Trophy winning running back Tony Dorsett - won the national championship with a 12-0 record.

Mr. Majors left Pitt after that to coach at the University of Tennessee, where he spent 16 seasons before resigning. He returned as Pitt's head coach in 1993 but his second stint was not nearly as successful as his first - he went 12-32 in four seasons before retiring as coach and taking a position with the university's athletic department.