Paul Davis, a Knoxville native who coached football at several SEC schools, has died at 87 in Opelika, Ala.
Mr. Davis was coach at Mississippi State from 1962-66 and later served as an assistant at both Auburn and Alabama.
"Paul Davis was a darn good football coach,'' former Tennessee coach Johnny Majors said Tuesday.
Majors coached with and for Mr. Davis at Mississippi State and remained a close friend.
"Paul knew football,'' Majors said. "He knew both sides of the line of scrimmage. He was a great motivator and was very innovative.
"The players liked him and respected him.''
Mr. Davis was a captain at Young High School in 1940 and '41. He played college ball at Ole Miss after serving in Europe during World War II.
He coached at several schools, including Memphis State, before going to Mississippi State on Wade Walker's staff, which is when he met Majors.
The two coached a year under Walker, then Mr. Davis took over as head coach when Walker moved to athletic director.
Majors and Ken Donahue were on Mr. Davis' staff in 1963 when the Bulldogs went 7-2-2 and Mr. Davis was named SEC coach of the year by United Press International.
State went to the Liberty Bowl that year, its first postseason trip since 1939. Majors left for Arkansas the next year and Donahue departed to Alabama.
Mr. Davis went 20-28-2 and was let go after the 1966 season.
"He did a heckuva job,'' Majors said. "I think Mississippi State made a big mistake when they fired him.''
Mr. Davis landed at Auburn and was defensive coordinator and in charge of the kicking game, among other duties, from 1967-80 and again from 1987-90. He also coached at Alabama under Paul "Bear" Bryant during Bryant's final seasons (1981-83).
"He and Bryant got to be very good friends,'' Majors said. "Paul was just great to be around. He was fun. He was just a great friend.''
Jeffcoat-Trant Funeral Home in Opelika is handling arrangements. Visitation is Saturday at 1 p.m. followed by funeral services at 2.
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Comments » 3
ncvol17 writes:
Heaven's team gets another coach
mattingly writes:
Many folks don't know that Paul Davis was one of four coaches the KNS reported to be in line for the Tennessee head coaching position in December 1963. The others were Jim Owens at Washington, Clay Stapleton at Iowa State, and Murray Warmath at Minnesota. None of them got the job, however, what with Arkansas assistant Doug Dickey being Bob Woodruff's choice.
Remember Paul Davis as a good coach, but a better man.
Volunatic writes:
Thanks for the added info-- keep up the good work. I love your articles, too!
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