Dick Bestwick ( August 18 , 1930 – January 4 , 2018 ) was an American football coach , scout , and college athletics administrator . He served as the head football coach of the University of Virginia from 1976 to 1981 , compiling a record of 16 – 49 – 1 . A native of Grove City , Pennsylvania , he played college football at the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill , graduating from the school in 1952 . Bestwick received his Masters in Education from Pennsylvania State University . Prior to his tenure at Virginia , Bestwick spent 1954 to 1962 as a high school football coach at three different schools including his alma mater , Grove City High School , and 1967 to 1975 as an assistant coach at Georgia Institute of Technology . Bestwick was hired as the head football coach at Marshall University in 1971 after the 1970 plane crash that took the lives of most of the university 's football team and coaching staff . He left the position after two days on the job and returned to Georgia Tech
1970 plane crash
Southern Airways Flight 932
Dick Bestwick