Joe Lee Dunn, a Columbus football star who became great college coach, dies at 75
Joe Lee Dunn, the former Columbus High School star athlete who was head coach for two NCAA Division I football programs but gained prominence and respect throughout major college football as an innovative defensive coordinator at three Southeastern Conference schools, has died.
Dunn, who was battling Alzheimer’s disease, died Tuesday in his sleep at his Columbus home, brother-in-law Jay Sparks told the Ledger-Enquirer. He was 75.
Texas Tech defensive coordinator Derek Jones, who played at Mississippi while Dunn was defensive coordinator (1992-93) and head coach (1994) described him on Twitter as “one of the best defensive coordinators college FB has ever seen.”
Dunn “demanded that you play hard and if you weren’t mentally and physically tough, you couldn’t play for him,” Jones wrote. “His mentality helped to mold many men.”
At 5-foot-9 and 145 pounds, Dunn was an undersized but overachieving dual-threat quarterback at Columbus High School in the early 1960s. He set school records with 1,596 total yards and 23 touchdowns in 1963 and was named to the Southern and Georgia Class AAA all-star teams.
After playing for Tennessee-Chattanooga, Dunn worked an assistant coach at his alma mater (1971-79) and New Mexico (1980-82), then was head coach at New Mexico for four seasons (1983-86), compiling a 17-30 record.
Dunn was defensive coordinator at South Carolina (1987-88) when the Gamecocks were an independent program before playing their first SEC season in 1992. After a stop at Memphis State (1989-91), where he is credited with inventing the 3-3-5 defensive scheme, he got his first SEC job as defensive coordinator at Mississippi (1992-93) and head coach in 1994, when the Rebels went 4-7.
He returned to being defensive coordinator with stints at Arkansas (1995), Mississippi State (1996-2002), back to Memphis (2003-05), New Mexico State (2008) and McMurry (2009-12). In between, he coached Ridgeway High School in Tennessee (2006-07).
Dunn was inducted into the Chattahoochee Valley Sports Hall of Fame in 2013.
“We could not be more proud of him and his accomplishments,” Jim White, the hall’s chairman, told the L-E. “He was one of the best. We extend our sympathies to his family as their loss is our loss, too.”
Known for his unusual coaching style as well as his successful defenses, Dunn coached without a headset, without notes — and without socks.
Sparks laughed as he recalled TV broadcasters often talking more about Dunn than the head coach.
“That created interesting scuttlebutt,” he said.
In the wee hours of the morning, Dunn watched film of opponents, accompanied by only a bowl of popcorn and a cup of coffee.
“Nobody was bothering him then so he could write out his notes,” Sparks said, “but he never took them to a game.”
After the 2012 season, Dunn retired and returned to Columbus. He was married to Sparks’ sister, Susie. Their father, Joe, was an assistant coach at Columbus High while Dunn played for the Blue Devils.
Although he moved around the country for his career, Dunn always considered Columbus his home, Sparks said. And while he was home, Dunn showed a different side of his intense coaching persona.
“During football season, he was in the moment,” said Sparks, a former Columbus State University athletics director and women’s basketball coach and retired Brookstone School AD and coach. “I understand that. But outside of that, he was a funny, loving person. . . . He kidded around. He would break out in a dance with his children. He was so polar-opposite when he didn’t have the burden of competition.”
Visitation will be at McMullen Funeral Home from 2-4 p.m. Friday, followed by the funeral service Saturday at Calvary Baptist Church, starting at noon, Sparks said.
This story was originally published October 27, 2021 at 10:22 AM.
