Former Georgia Southern coach dies after car crash

By The Associated Press

Posted 1:10AM on Friday, September 8, 2006

Erk Russell, the baldheaded coach who led Georgia's "Junkyard Dawg" defense under Vince Dooley and then built a small-college powerhouse of his own at Georgia Southern, died Friday after a car accident, a hospital official said. He was 80.East Georgia Regional Medical Center CEO Bob Bigley said Russell was brought by ambulance to the Statesboro hospital at about 9:10 a.m. and was pronounced dead on arrival. Bigley said Russell's death was "not from injuries" related to the wreck."There hasn't been a thorough examination, but the speculation is that he may have had a stroke," Bigley said.Georgia State Patrol Cpl. Chris Lacienski said Russell was in a single-vehicle accident at around 8:45 a.m.Russell was driving a Chevy Blazer near his home in Statesboro when the vehicle swerved off the road and struck a light pole along the side of the road, Lacienski said. However, he described the crash as minor."There was not much damage to the vehicle," Lacienski said.Russell, who coached on Dooley's staff for 17 years and came to prominence as his defensive coordinator, left the Bulldogs after their 1980 national championship to build Georgia Southern's first football team since 1941.He won Division I-AA championships in 1985, '86 and '89."I tried to get him to stay, but it was the right decision for him," Dooley said in 1989. "He has a charm about him that makes people really love him. But at the same time, he knows the game. He knows what it takes to win."Win he did, never having a losing season in Statesboro.Russell retired after winning the last title, but remained close to the school until a falling-out with former coach Mike Sewak two years ago. Russell cut all ties to Georgia Southern after his son, Rusty, was fired as the defensive coordinator.Sewak was dismissed after last season, and Russell again became a presence on the Georgia Southern campus with the encouragement of new coach Brian VanGorder, another former defensive coordinator at Georgia.In fact, Russell spoke to the team Thursday, school spokesman Patrick Osterman said. The Eagles open their season Saturday night against Central Connecticut."To Statesboro and the Georgia Southern community, he's irreplaceable," said Holmes Ramsey, a longtime Southern booster and friend of Russell's who routinely met him for morning coffee at Snooky's, a diner that sits across the street from the Eagles practice fields.Russell had some health problems and several surgeries in the past year but he seemed to be recovering, Ramsey said."He had gotten to playing golf again," said Ramsey, a regular golf partner of Russell's. "His golf score was terrible, but he had such a competitive nature he didn't let it keep him down."Born July 23, 1926, in Birmingham, Ala., Erskine Russell was a four-sport letterman at Auburn. He began his coaching career at Grady High School in Atlanta, then had stints as an assistant at Auburn and Vanderbilt before he joined Dooley's first staff at Georgia in 1964.A colorful character who got right in the middle of things at practice, Russell would go head-to-head with his helmeted players to make a point. He often wound up with blood streaming down his bald head, but didn't mind a bit if it inspired his defense.On the sideline, Russell was a wild-eyed presence who used all sorts of motivational techniques to fire up his players _ a striking contrast to Dooley's calm demeanor."If I was picking a list of top 10 coaches that I have ever met and wanted to play for, Erk Russell would be on that list. He is unsurpassed as a motivator," Florida State coach Bobby Bowden once said.The bald dome was his signature. Amazingly, Russell's thriftiness led him to shave his head early in life _ he didn't want to pay for a haircut after the cost went up to $1."For $1 a crack, I figured I could do what the barber did," Russell once said. "Now I can't start a day without shaving my head."Russell was the inspiration for the Georgia defense that helped the Bulldogs capture the national championship in 1980 with a perfect 12-0 record and the first of three straight SEC titles.He appeared in line to take over as Georgia's head coach when Dooley got a lucrative offer from Auburn, his alma mater. But Dooley decided to remain at Georgia, and Russell was lured to Georgia Southern to restart a football program that had been dormant for 40 years."The part of doing it all from nothing appealed to me," Russell said. "Good or bad, it's my doing. Did I lose my mind leaving Athens? I can't afford to look back. I'm too busy looking ahead."Russell compiled a record of 83-22-1 in eight seasons as the Eagles coach. He was a three-time I-AA national coach of the year and his final team went 15-0.His last game was a 37-34 victory over Stephen F. Austin. He retired four days later."I've done this for 40 years, and 40 is a good round number," said Russell, who was 63 at the time. "It's enough, I hope. This has been the greatest experience of my young life."Russell's presence still loomed large over the Georgia Southern program. The Eagles won three more championships under two of his former assistants, sticking with the run-oriented option offense that he used.Only after VanGorder was hired this season did the Eagles finally switch to a more conventional offensive scheme.Russell became a hit in Statesboro for reasons that went beyond winning. He tirelessly promoted the Eagles, to the point of christening a drainage ditch beside his practice field as "Beautiful Eagle Creek" and claiming its possessed mystical powers.He often sprinkled creek water on the field during road playoff games. When Western Kentucky dumped red dye in the creek in 1987, he took a bottle of the tainted water to a team breakfast."You can imagine how insulting it is to our people to have Beautiful Eagle Creek desecrated in this manner," Russell said.Georgia Southern beat the Hilltoppers 23-20.Asked about his reputation as a motivator, Russell once said, "I can't really speak for my so-called ability to communicate with players. I only know one way. And I don't even know what that is. I like 'em, if that means anything."----Associated Press Writers Paul Newberry and Doug Gross in Atlanta contributed to this report.