Johnny Majors Johnny Majors ( born May 21 , 1935 ) is a former American football player and coach . A standout halfback at the University of Tennessee , he was an All - American in 1956 and a two - time winner of the Southeastern Conference Most Valuable Player award , in 1955 and 1956 . He finished second to Paul Hornung in voting for the Heisman Trophy in 1956 . Majors served as the head football coach at Iowa State University ( 1968 – 1972 ) , the University of Pittsburgh ( 1973 – 1976 , 1993 – 1996 ) , and Tennessee ( 1977 – 1992 ) , compiling a career college football record of 185 – 137 – 10 . His 1976 Pittsburgh squad won a national championship after capping a 12 – 0 season with a victory in the Sugar Bowl . Majors was inducted into the College Football Hall of Fame as a player in 1987 . Playing career . Majors played high school football for the Huntland Hornets of Franklin County , Tennessee . They won the state championship in 1951 . Majors ' father , Shirley Majors , was the head coach at Huntland from 1949 to 1957 and then head coach at The University of the South , Sewanee , from 1957 to 1977 . Majors also played alongside his brother , Joe , at Huntland . Another brother , Bobby , also played at Tennessee and professionally for the Cleveland Browns . In all , Majors had four brothers , who all played football . Johnny was the oldest . A triple - threat tailback at the University of Tennessee , one of the last schools to use the single - wing rather than some version of the T formation , Majors was an All - American and runner - up for the Heisman Trophy in 1956 . Majors lost the Heisman Trophy to Paul Hornung , who starred for Notre Dame , which had a losing record ( 2 – 8 ) . To date , this is the only time the Heisman Trophy has been awarded to a player on a losing team . Many fans of college football , particularly Tennessee fans , believe that Hornung won the Heisman because he played for the storied Notre Dame program , although Hornung did lead his team in passing , rushing , scoring , kickoff and punt returns , punting , and passes broken up and was second in interceptions and tackles made . Majors is a member of the Sigma Chi fraternity . He played for the Montreal Alouettes of the Canadian Football League in 1957 and then became an assistant coach at several schools . Coaching career . Iowa State . Majors was the 24th head football coach for the Iowa State University Cyclones located in Ames , Iowa and he held that position for five seasons , from 1968 until 1972 . His career coaching record at Iowa state was 24 – 30 – 1 . Majors ranks seventh at Iowa State in total wins and 16th in winning percentage . Pittsburgh . After Iowa State , Majors found his greatest success as coach of the University of Pittsburgh Panthers in 1973 . In Pittsburgh he recruited such greats as Heisman Trophy winner Tony Dorsett and Matt Cavanaugh , among others . The Panthers won the national title in 1976 , after which Majors went back to his alma mater . Majors also received National Coach of the Year honors for that season . Tennessee . At Tennessee , Majors achieved success in the 1980s and early 1990s winning three SEC championships ( in 1985 , 1989 , and 1990 ) , but falling short of a national title . In 1989 , the Majors - led Vols followed a 5 – 6 season with a 11 – 1 season , the largest turnaround of the year . Majors was forced to resign as Tennessee ' s football coach during the closing weeks of the 1992 football season . The Vols racked up a 3 – 0 record under interim coach Phillip Fulmer , a longtime Majors assistant , who steered the team while Majors was recovering from heart surgery . After the Vols went 2 – 3 following Majors ' return , he suddenly was asked to resign during the week leading up to Tennessee ' s game at Memphis State . Some believe that Majors was forced out in order to make room for Fulmer , who had become more popular with a majority of fans following his success as interim coach . A " Knoxville News Sentinel " story reported that Fulmer allegedly exchanged 26 telephone calls while Majors was recuperating from heart surgery with Tennessee Athletics Board member , Bill Johnson , who had played with Majors in the mid - 1950s at Tennessee . A strong contingent within the Tennessee fan base believe that the Majors firing was the result of behind the scenes maneuvering on the part of Fulmer , Johnson , athletics director Doug Dickey , university president Joe Johnson . The other strong contingent believes that Majors created his own problems in the summer of 1992 by , among other things , complaining about his current contract with during a preseason publicity tour across the state . In reality , it was likely a combination of all those circumstances . Return to Pittsburgh . After being forced to resign at Tennessee , he returned to his second home of Pittsburgh to once again coach the Panthers . Throughout the mid - 1990s Majors tried to recreate the magic of 1976 at Pitt but achieved little success . He retired from coaching following the 1996 NCAA season and served at Pitt in the position of Special Assistant to the Athletic Director and Chancellor until the summer of 2007 . A room on the second floor of the Pittsburgh Athletic Association adjacent to Pitt ' s campus is dedicated to him and displays memorabilia from his career . Majors now resides in Knoxville , Tennessee with his wife Mary Lynn . Honors . Knoxville named a street after Majors . The street is on the campus of the University of Tennessee and is the location of the school ' s practice facility . Actor Lee Majors borrowed Majors ' last name to form his stage name . According to one published account , Lee , whose real name is Harvey Lee Yeary , met Majors in his youth while Majors was a football player at Tennessee , and they became friends . The two are not actually related , although Lee Majors was regularly seen on the sidelines during Johnny Majors ' first tenure at Pittsburgh and during the early days at Tennessee . Head coaching record . < nowiki > * < / nowiki >