University of Tennessee Athletics
Fomer Vol Football Assistant Jim Dyar Passes Away
July 08, 2005 | Football
July 8, 2005
Jim Dyar, who coached under Johnny Majors on Pittsburgh's national championship team of 1976 and served on the Tennessee staff from 1977 through 1979, has passed away after a two-year bout with cancer.
The 61-year-old Dyar retired from coaching in 1980 and later established his own insurance business in Knoxville as a State Farm Co. agent, remaining with the firm until the time of his death.
He died Thursday afternoon in Seattle, Wash., where he had gone for treatment of cancer.
Dyar played football at the University of Houston and was a graduate assistant coach for the Cougars. He was hired by Majors in 1969 for a decade-long period of service under the former Tennessee All-America tailback.
Dyar coached defensive linemen for Majors at Iowa State from 1969 to 1972, at Pittsburgh from 1973 to 1976 and then for three years at Tennessee, from 1977 to 1979.
As a coach Dyar transmitted a high level of energy that earned praise from Majors for its salutary effect on the Tennessee players. "Jim is mentally tough, an attitude he communicates to the squad," Majors said at the time Dyar became a Vol coach. "He's dedicated to winning the battle up front."
Dyar was raised in Enterprise, Ala., was named all-state in football and baseball and accepted a scholarship to Houston where he was a two-year football letterman under Coach Bill Yeomans. One of his teammates with the Cougars was country music legend Larry Gatlin, with whom Dyar maintained a friendship long after graduation.
His coaching career was placed on hold after college when he joined the Atlanta Falcons for a two-year stint, 1967-68. He was named most valuable player on Atlanta's farm club in Huntsville.
Dyar is survived by his wife, Charlie, and three sons, David, Wade and Zach.
Funeral plans were incomplete Friday, but it was understood they will include a memorial service in Knoxville on Tuesday with burial in Enterprise on Thursday.
Tennessee defensive coordinator John Chavis, a close friend who had played for Dyar at UT, was with the family in Seattle at the time of death.
"Jim and I had a longtime friendship, beginning with my playing days at Tennessee. We had many opportunities to discuss football. His passion for the game and for coaching remained part of his makeup throughout life. He was truly a caring and loving person who behind the scenes and without public knowledge gave a helping hand to countless young people, in sports and other areas. In a lot of ways, Jim was like a father to me."
Said former Vol and Minnesota Vikings tackle Tim Irwin, who with Dyar coached a youth league football team: "I can't tell the number of people he has helped. He would never accept credit for the things he did to help others. That wasn't his nature. He put family, friends and often even strangers ahead of himself. In youth football, where he gave unselfishly in helping me coach, he was excellent. The kids all loved him. Like the rest of us, they will miss him greatly."
