LOS ANGELES — Terry Donahue, who served as the 49ers’ general manager for four years after a highly successful coaching career at UCLA and as a broadcaster, died Sunday. He was 77.
The school said Donahue, the winningest coach in Pac-12 Conference and UCLA football history, died at his home in Newport Beach after a two-year struggle with cancer.
“The 49ers organization is deeply saddened to learn of the passing of Terry Donahue,” the team said in a statement. “Terry was a man of integrity who left an indelible impact on so many across both the collegiate and pro level. Our thoughts and prayers are with his wife, Andrea, and the entire Donahue family.”
Donahue has the most wins (98) of any coach in Pac-12 history and also the most wins (151) in UCLA history. He coached the Bruins from 1971-75, working as an assistant under Pepper Rodgers and then Dick Vermeil, before taking over as head coach at age 31 and serving from 1976-95.
Donahue had a 151-74-8 coaching record at UCLA and a 98-51-5 mark in Pac-12 play. The Bruins won or shared five league titles during Donahue’s tenure. He coached such future Hall of Famers as quarterback Troy Aikman, safety Kenny Easley and outside linebacker Jonathan Ogden.
“Terry Donahue was everything I’ve ever wanted to be as a man,” Aikman wrote in an Instagram post. “A great husband, father and friend. Although no one is perfect, he was as close to perfect as one could get. At least in my eyes. I held no one in higher regard. Rest in peace Coach. I love you.”
After retiring from coaching, Donahue went into broadcasting and called games for CBS, Fox, and the NFL Network. According to reports, Donahue in 1998 was being courted by Jerry Jones to coach the Dallas Cowboys, where he would be reunited with Aikman. But talks with Jones broke down over money, and Donahue joined the 49ers organization — at the behest of then-general manager Bill Walsh — in 1999.
Donahue served as the 49ers’ director of player personnel for two years before he succeeded Walsh as the 49ers’ GM in 2001.
“I’m excited about my future here and looking forward to the day when I become the general manager,” Donahue told this newspaper in Sept. 2000. “At the same time, I don’t want to make it uncomfortable for Bill. I don’t want to make it sound as if I’m trying to push him out the door. I’m kind of like the second-string quarterback who wants to play, but has to wait for the first-string quarterback to retire.”
Sustained success in the NFL with the 49ers, though, proved to be elusive for Donahue.
San Francisco made the playoffs in Donahue’s first two seasons as GM, going 22-10 under coach Steve Mariucci in 2001 and 2002. But Mariucci was fired on Jan. 15, 2003, just three days after a 31-6 loss to Tampa Bay in an NFC divisional playoff game, starting the team’s downward spiral.
Mariucci was replaced by Dennis Erickson, who had a 9-23 record in two seasons, including a 2-14 mark in 2004, a franchise-worst mark later matched by the 2016 team. The 49ers at that time had run into salary cap issues, forcing them to dismantle their playoff-caliber roster, and fared poorly with a handful of their early-round draft picks.
Erickson and Donahue were both fired by John York in Jan. 2005.
Donahue was the first to appear in a Rose Bowl game as a player, assistant coach, and head coach. The Bruins won the New Year’s Day game in 1983, ’84, and ’86 during his coaching tenure. He was the first college coach to earn bowl game victories in seven consecutive seasons, from 1983 to 1989.
Born in Los Angeles, Terrence Michael Donahue graduated from Notre Dame High in Sherman Oaks. He played freshman football at San Jose State before he transferred to UCLA as undersized, walk-on defensive tackle in 1965, and helped lead the Bruins to their first-ever Rose Bowl win in 1966 with an upset of previously undefeated and top-ranked Michigan State.
Donahue was inducted into the College Football Hall of Fame in 2000. He joined the Rose Bowl Hall of Fame in 1997, and the press box at the Rose Bowl was named for him in 2013.
In a statement, Archie Manning, chairman of the National Football Foundation, said, “Coach Donahue was truly a great man, and it’s hard to put into words how much he meant to the game. His contributions are endless, and his legacy will live on through the countless players and assistant coaches he mentored.”
“He epitomizes everything you strive to be as a coach and as a human being,” current UCLA football coach Chip Kelly said. “Since the moment I stepped on campus, he’s been an incredible mentor and one of the most authentic, humble and toughest men I’ve ever met. He loved UCLA with all he had, and I can’t express how important his guidance and friendship has been for me.”
Donahue underwent surgery for an undisclosed form of cancer in May 2019. At the time, the UCLA athletics department said Donahue would begin chemotherapy once he recovered.
Donahue is survived by Andrea, his wife of 52 years; daughters Nicole, Michele, and Jennifer; and 10 grandchildren.
Staff writer Curtis Pashelka contributed to this story.