Alabama football: Ex-Crimson Tide assistant coach Larry 'Dude' Hennessey dies at 81

Coached defensive line at Bama 1960=76

ASSOCIATED PRESS

TUSCALOOSA, Ala. -- Former Alabama assistant football coach Larry “Dude” Hennessey has died. He was 81.

The university said the longtime Bear Bryant assistant died Wednesday at his Tuscaloosa home.

Hennessey played for Bryant at Kentucky and was a defensive line coach at Alabama from 1960-76. He worked in various capacities for Alabama’s athletic department.

Athletic director Mal Moore described him as “a great friend in the truest sense.”

Hennessey’s recruits to Alabama included eventual head coaches Ray Perkins and Mike DuBose, along with defensive ends John Mitchell and John Croyle.

Hennessey accompanied the Crimson Tide to the 2004 Alabama-Kentucky game when former teammate Babe Parilli was an honorary captain for the Wildcats.

This story was originally published March 3, 2011 at 12:00 AM with the headline "Alabama football: Ex-Crimson Tide assistant coach Larry 'Dude' Hennessey dies at 81."