admitting his less-than-stellar record in the win-loss department, Bryant still believed he had something to be proud of from those days. "I think we made a difference, mostly negative, in the lives of some young people," he said. "We did not win enough ball games. We were not good enough athletically to win enough games for them to be able to keep me, and I totally understand that." Though his won-loss record wasn't anywhere near the best in the nation, he said, the academic performance and graduation rates of his players were. One of his fondest memories, he said, was of a game against Eastern Michigan. "It was toward the end of the year, and kids had final exams," he recalled. "I had to call a timeout, so they could go take final exams. And that included starters! But the expectation was the same - win the game." Personal life and death Bryant was married to Jean Bryant, a long-time academic advisor to the University of Texas football program. Bryant died on January 31, 2023, at the age of 75. Head coaching record References 1947 births 2023 deaths American football quarterbacks Illinois Fighting Illini football coaches Miami RedHawks football coaches New England Patriots coaches North Carolina Tar Heels football coaches Ohio Bobcats football coaches Ohio Bobcats football players Texas Longhorns football coaches Players of American football from Canton, Ohio African-American coaches of American football African-American players of American football 21st-century African-American people 20th-century African-American sportspeople