joe Lee Dunn dead at 75

[aubiefifty 17,030]

joe Lee Dunn, former SEC assistant, dead at 75 : ‘His mentality helped to mold many men’

By Mark Heim | mheim@al.com

2-3 minutes

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Mississippi State football coaches Jackie Sherrill, left, Joe Lee Dunn, center, and Curley Hallman, right, direct the Mississippi State defense during the first quarter against Kentucky, Saturday, Nov. 2, 2002, in Starkville, Miss. Kentucky won 45-24. (AP Photo/Jim Lytle)AP

Joe Lee Dunn, best known for his years as the defensive coordinator at Mississippi State, has died at the age of 75.

FootballScoop was the first to report the news. The cause of death wasn’t reported.

Texas Tech defensive coordinator Derek Jones, who played for Dunn at Ole Miss, took to social media with the news.

“It was truly an honor to play for one of the best defensive coordinators college (football) has ever seen,” Jones tweeted. “Coach Joe Lee Dunn demanded that you play hard and if you weren’t mentally and physically tough, you couldn’t play for him. His mentality helped to mold many men. RIP Coach.”

Dunn, who has been credited with the 3-3-5 defense, had coaching stints at eight different schools over four decades, including the SEC’s South Carolina, Ole Miss, Arkansas and Mississippi State.

The Ozark, Alabama native was a finalist for the Broyles Award, which honors the nation’s top assistant coach, in 1999 when he helped Mississippi State to a 10-2 season and a victory over Clemson in the Peach Bowl. He was also the defensive coordinator in 1998 when the Bulldogs won the program’s only SEC West title under head coach Jackie Sherrill.

Dunn head a head-coaching stint at New Mexico and spent one season as the head coach at Ole Miss after Billy Brewer was fired shortly before the 1994 season.

Mark Heim is a sports reporter for The Alabama Media Group. Follow him on Twitter @Mark_Heim.

[aubiefifty 17,030]

not sure where this one is supposed to go? maybe rivals? he is not our rival so i was not sure.

[aubiefifty 17,030]

was joe lee the guy that never wore socks? i remember writers and broadcasters both talking about it but my memory is hanky so i have no idea. i miss my memory..........

[VicTree 143]

9 minutes ago, aubiefifty said:

was joe lee the guy that never wore socks? i remember writers and broadcasters both talking about it but my memory is hanky so i have no idea. i miss my memory..........

That's him.  His defenses were fun to watch against other teams.  I seem to remember him giving Terry Bowden fits.

[Hank2020 3,222]

24 minutes ago, aubiefifty said:

was joe lee the guy that never wore socks? i remember writers and broadcasters both talking about it but my memory is hanky so i have no idea. i miss my memory..........

Maybe at the CBD store? (Ha)

[bdc81 90]

He didn't wear socks in school, none of the college guys did.

At University of Chattanooga he was a 5' 7" 165lb tailback and safety

Played Auburn that year, went to give his Experimental Cooking 101 class professor/AU grad 1948 a pass to be out of Friday's class to travel to the game with the football team.  Her response was "are you the water boy?"

No Ma'm, I am I the starting tailback"

"Oh my, you're in trouble!"

[WDE_OxPx_2010 5,319]

13 hours ago, aubiefifty said:

was joe lee the guy that never wore socks? i remember writers and broadcasters both talking about it but my memory is hanky so i have no idea

With a name like Joe Lee I can't imagine socks being an integral part of his upbringing.