Terry Donahue

Terrence Michael Donahue (June 24, 1944 – July 4, 2021) was an American football coach and executive. He served as the head coach at the University of California, Los Angeles (UCLA) from 1976 to 1995, compiling a record of 151–74–8. His 151 wins are the most in UCLA Bruins history, and his 98 wins in the Pac-10 Conference—now known as the Pac-12 Conference—remain the most in the conference's history. Donahue's Bruins won five Pac-10 titles and appeared in four Rose Bowls, winning three. He became the first head coach to win a bowl game in seven consecutive seasons.

Donahue played college football for UCLA as an undersized defensive tackle. He left coaching after the 1995 season to become a college football color commentator. Donahue was inducted into the College Football Hall of Fame as a coach in 2000. From 2001 to 2005, he was the general manager for the San Francisco 49ers of the National Football League (NFL).

Early life and playing career Born in Los Angeles, After not being recruited in high school, he was a walk-on at San Jose State University, Los Angeles Valley College and then the University of California, Los Angeles. He played two seasons for the Bruins as an undersized , defensive tackle. In the season opener, the Bruins won a nationally televised Thursday night game over third-ranked Arizona State, and finished 9–2–1 in his first season. The Los Angeles Times attributed his coaching success to his being "a pioneer in national recruiting". He coached 34 first-team All-Americans, and 14 UCLA players from his era were chosen in the first round of the NFL draft. He was the first person to participate in the Rose Bowl as a player, assistant coach and head coach. He compiled a record of 8–4–1 in bowl games and was the first coach to win a bowl game in seven consecutive seasons. The Bruins won four New Year's Day bowl games in a row from 1983 to 1986. He was inducted into the College Football Hall of Fame in 2000. In 2015, Donahue lamented that he "quit too early" from UCLA; he had wanted the program to be more aggressive to pursue a national championship, but felt that unspecified differences with UCLA athletic officials hampered his effectiveness, prompting his departure.

In 1998, Donahue was offered an opportunity to coach in the NFL with the Dallas Cowboys. He would have re-united with Aikman. However, negotiations broke down with owner Jerry Jones, who instead hired Chan Gailey.

Broadcasting and executive career Donahue was the lead college football analyst for CBS Sports from 1996 to 1998. He left CBS to join the San Francisco 49ers front office in 1999. He was hand-picked by Bill Walsh to succeed him as general manager. During his first two years in San Francisco, Donahue served as Walsh's director of player personnel. When Walsh retired in 2001, Donahue was elevated to the general manager position, which he held for four seasons. In his first two seasons, the 49ers were 22–10 under coach Steve Mariucci. However, Mariucci was fired after the 2002 season following a 31–6 loss to Tampa Bay in a divisional playoff game. Dennis Erickson was hired as his replacement, but he went 9–23 in two seasons, including a franchise-worst 2–14 in 2004. San Francisco faced salary cap issues during that span, prompting the break up of their playoff-caliber roster, while their high draft picks did not pan out. Donahue and Erickson were fired in January 2005.

In 2006, Donahue became a game analyst for the NFL on Fox and worked on their Bowl Championship Series coverage as well. He served as an analyst on College Football Now on NFL Network. He was also an analyst for Dial Global.

Donahue helped found the California Showcase in 2013. The free annual one-day football combine provides high school seniors and junior college sophomores the opportunity to showcase their skills to college coaches from Division II, Division III and NAIA schools. He was also on the board of directors of the Lott IMPACT Trophy.

Personal life Donahue met his wife, Andrea, on a blind date during his first year as a graduate assistant at the University of Kansas and her junior year as an undergraduate. They married two weeks after her graduation in 1969. They had three daughters and ten grandchildren.

On July 4, 2021, Donahue died at his home in Newport Beach, California, following a two-year battle with cancer. He was 77.

Awards and honors Rose Bowl Hall of Fame (1997) College Football Hall of Fame (2000) The press box at the Rose Bowl was dedicated as the Terry Donahue Pavilion in 2013.

Head coaching record