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.
[1] After graduating from UCLA with a bachelor's degree in history,[1] Donahue became an assistant coach at the University of Kansas under Pepper Rodgers.
When Rodgers left after 1973, Donahue remained as an assistant under Dick Vermeil and succeeded him in February 1976.
[5] In the final regular-season game of 1995, the Bruins defeated the USC Trojans, their fifth straight win against their crosstown rival.
Afterwards, Donahue announced that he would retire from coaching after their Aloha Bowl game to become a college football analyst with CBS.
[5][9] He coached 34 first-team All-Americans,[10] and 14 UCLA players from his era were chosen in the first round of the NFL Draft.
[21] During his first two years in San Francisco, Donahue served as Walsh's director of player personnel.
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.
[24] In 2006, Donahue became a game analyst for the NFL on Fox and worked on their Bowl Championship Series coverage as well.
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.
[33] On July 4, 2021, Donahue died at his home in Newport Beach, California, following a two-year battle with cancer.