Pat Dye, the most decorated, successful and beloved head coach in the history of Auburn’s storied football program, passed away Monday. He was 80.

Dye was hospitalized last month while dealing with long-standing kidney issues. He also was diagnosed with COVID-19 while being treated.

Born Patrick Fain Dye on Nov. 6, 1939, the coach and athletics leader affectionately referred to by Auburn fans as “Coach Dye” won 99 games on the Plains as head coach from 1981-92. That following an All-American playing career at Georgia, an assistant coach position at Alabama and head-coaching gigs at both East Carolina and Wyoming.

The Georgia native also served as Auburn’s athletic director for all but the final year of his coaching tenure with the Tigers.

Under Dye’s direction, Auburn won four Southeastern Conference titles, saw 21 players earn All-American accolades and Bo Jackson won the Heisman Trophy in 1985. Dye went 6-2-1 in bowl games, including a Sugar Bowl victory over Michigan during the 1983 season when the Tigers were ranked No. 3.

Perhaps most important, however, was how quickly and effectively Dye improved the program and began challenging Alabama state supremacy. The Crimson Tide had won eight consecutive Iron Bowls prior to Dye's arrival, but the Tigers won in 1982, 1983 and then enjoyed a four-year streak beginning in 1986.

Dye also challenged the notion that the Iron Bowl should be contested annually in Birmingham. Alabama was forced to play inside Jordan-Hare Stadium in 1989 — a game that yielded an Auburn victory on the field and liberation from Crimson Tide influence off it.

The Iron Bowl has been a home-and-home series since 1998.

Following retirement, Dye remained a prominent figure in the Auburn area, with his weekly radio show on ESPN 106.7 and his Crooked Oaks hunting preserve and tree farm in Notasulga.