Ex-Alabama player, college football coach Steve Sloan dies

Steve Sloan, who emerged as Joe Namath's backup at Alabama before going on to become a coach in college football, has died.

Vanderbilt quarterback Steve Lainhart (18) is watching the Commodores new head coach Steve Sloan, / Frank Empson / The Tennessean / USA

Former two-time national champion Alabama quarterback and long-time college football head coach Steve Sloan has died at the age of 79.

Sloan started his football career playing quarterback at Alabama, where he served as the backup to Joe Namath, although he did earn some playing time of his own during the 1964 season when Namath dealt with a knee injury.

Led by head coach Paul "Bear" Bryant, Alabama won the SEC championship that year and was named the consensus national champion after going 10-1, including wins over top-10 ranked teams Florida, LSU, and Georgia Tech before losing to Texas in the Orange Bowl.

Sloan returned to the Crimson Tide as the starting quarterback in the 1965 season, and despite losing to Georgia by one point in the opener and tying with Tennessee, Alabama beat Nebraska in the Orange Bowl and won a second straight national championship.

Following a brief tenure in the NFL, Sloan began his coaching career, initially as an assistant at Alabama in 1968, and in 1971 earned his first regular gig at Florida State, spending one season there before moving on to Georgia Tech.

Sloan became head coach at Vanderbilt in 1973 and went 12-9-2 overall, departing for Texas Tech in 1975 and the following season, 1976, led the Red Raiders to a Southwest Conference title.

He spent five years at Ole Miss, going 20-34-1, closing out his coaching career at Duke from 1983-86. Sloan served as athletic director at Alabama, UCF, and Chattanooga from 1987-2006.

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