He served as an assistant coach first under Pepper Rodgers, then Dick Vermeil. Donahue became the first coach to win a bowl game in seven straight seasons, and his teams finished ranked in the top 10 nationally five times. In what capacity did Terry Donahue earn a livelihood? His 98 Pacific 10 victories still stand as the most in conference history. LOS ANGELES - Former football coach Terry Donahue -- the winningest coach in UCLA history -- has died at age 77 after a two-year battle with cancer. Before becoming head coach, Donahue spent five seasons as an assistant. Donahues first job was in 1967 as an unpaid assistant under Rodgers at Kansas, where Donahue received only a movie pass to every theater in town as well as an invitation to eat with the football players. After graduating, Donahue entered the world of coaching where he would solidify his legacy in college football. Terry Donahue, UCLAs winningest football coach, died Sunday of cancer at his home in Newport Beach, California at the age of 77. She died of Parkinsons Disease on March 14, 2019. Donahue finished with a record of 151-74-8 record with the Bruins, with the team winning three Rose Bowls in 1983, '84, and '86. He died following a two-year battle with cancer. "He epitomizes everything you strive to be as a coach and as a human being. UCLAs Terry Donahue remembered as giving and caring person Donahues 98 conference wins are still the most in conference history. The UCLA Bruins also won five Pacific-10 Conference titles throughout the 1980s and 1990s. Donahue also has the most wins of any coach in Pac-12 history. One tweeted: "One of the greatest coaches of my childhood. Former football coach Terry Donahue, the winningest coach in UCLA history, has died at age 77 after a two-year battle with cancer Sunday night at his Newport Beach home. Donahue, the perpetually tanned, self-effacing and seemingly ageless coach who guided the Bruins to their longest run of football glory under a single coach, died He played football at Sherman Oaks Notre Dame High but was not a coveted prospect, leading to one unhappy season as a walk-on at San Jose State. Terry Donahue, the winningest coach in Pacific-12 Conference and UCLA football history, passed away on Sunday evening, July 4, at his home in Newport Beach, Calif., surrounded by family, following a two-year battle with cancer. Tommy Prothro, then UCLAs coach, didnt even know Donahues name, calling him Donny Donovan. He coached such future Hall of Famers as Troy Aikman, Kenny Easley and Jonathan Ogden. LEGENDARY football coach Terry Donahue has died after a two-year battle with cancer, it has been announced. The former Bruins head coach registered a win-loss record of 144-81-8 and a bowl game record of 8-4-1. He was 77. Donahue was inducted into the College Football Hall of Fame in 2000 and joined the Rose Bowl Hall of Fame in 1997. He also had a winning record where it mattered most against crosstown rival, USC. As a coach, he rose from an untested 31-year-old to universally esteemed veteran, his 151 victories more than doubling the total of anyone else in school history. A kind Valley boy from SO Notre Dame.