BERKELEY, Calif. — Mike White, who had a profitable profession as a school coach with California and Illinois, and later coached the NFL’s Oakland Raiders, has died. He was 89.
Cal mentioned White’s household confirmed that he died Sunday in Newport Seaside, California.
White helped the Golden Bears win a share of the Pac-8 title in 1975, led the Illini to their first Rose Bowl in 20 years within the 1983 season and coached the Raiders of their first two seasons again in Oakland in 1995-96 after they left Los Angeles.
He additionally labored as an assistant for the San Francisco 49ers and was on Dick Vermeil’s employees with the St. Louis Rams after they received the Tremendous Bowl following the 1999 season.
“Mike was particular,” mentioned Burl Toler Jr., a linebacker who performed at Cal below White from 1974 to 1977. “He handled us like males and with quite a lot of respect. Mike was a really gifted and sensible coach who cherished Cal and cherished being a coach, and he surrounded himself with quite a lot of like minds who instilled in us a will to succeed.”
White was a four-sport student-athlete at Cal within the Nineteen Fifties and hung out as an assistant with the Bears and at rival Stanford earlier than getting the pinnacle teaching job at his alma mater in 1972.
White had a 35-30-1 file in six seasons at Cal, together with his greatest success coming in 1975 when he was named coach of the 12 months after the Bears completed tied with UCLA for first place within the convention. Cal completed 14th within the nation with an offense that featured Chuck Muncie and quarterback Joe Roth.
White additionally coached quarterback Steve Bartkowski earlier at Cal and helped develop him into the No. 1 decide within the 1975 NFL draft.
He then left for the NFL, spending two seasons as an offensive line coach for the 49ers, earlier than returning to varsity in 1980 with Illinois. He led the Illini to a 47-41-3 file with three bowl journeys, together with a loss within the 1984 Rose Bowl to UCLA.
That 1983 Illinois staff went 9-0 within the Huge Ten and is the one staff in convention historical past to beat each different convention opponent in the identical season.
White then returned to the NFL in 1990, spending 5 seasons as an assistant with the Raiders earlier than taking on as head coach. He had a 15-17 file earlier than getting fired after the 1996 season.
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