STARKVILLE, Miss. (AP) -Former Mississippi State head football coach Paul Davis, who led the Bulldogs from 1962-66, has died. He was 87.
Davis died Tuesday at Bethany House, a hospice in Auburn, Ala., according to a hospice spokeswoman and an official at Jeffcoat-Trant Funeral Home in Opelika, Ala. The cause of death was not given.
Davis, a native of Knoxville, Tenn., played at Ole Miss. He was Auburn’s defensive coordinator and assistant head coach under Shug Jordan from 1967-75, an assistant for Doug Barfield from 1975-80 and was a member of Pat Dye’s staff from 1987-90.
In 1963, Davis’ Mississippi State team went 7-2-2 and battled North Carolina State and frigid temperatures to capture the Liberty Bowl in Philadelphia.
Davis’ teams were 20-38-2 overall and 9-22-2 in the Southeastern Conference in his five seasons at Mississippi State. He was later an assistant at Auburn and Alabama.
During his 17-year career at Auburn, Davis coached seven All-Americans and participated in nine bowl games.
Survivors include two children and two grandchildren. A funeral will be Saturday at Jeffcoat-Trant Funeral Home.
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