Charley Pell Charles Byron Pell ( February 17 , 1941 – May 29 , 2001 ) was an American college football player and coach . Pell was an Alabama native and an alumnus of the University of Alabama , where he played college football . He is most notably remembered as the head coach of the Clemson University and the University of Florida football teams . Pell was credited with laying the foundation for the later success of both programs , but his coaching career was tainted by National Collegiate Athletic Association ( NCAA ) rules violations . Early life and education . Charley Pell was born in Albertville , Alabama in 1941 . Neither of his parents had completed any education beyond the fifth grade . He did not play football until his senior year of high school . After graduating from high school , he attended the University of Alabama , having been recruited to play football for the Crimson Tide by coach Bear Bryant . Pell was undersized at 187 pounds , but he became an all - Southeastern Conference guard and defensive tackle . Pell played for Bryant ' s Crimson Tide from 1961 to 1963 , including Bryant ' s first national championship team in 1961 . Coaching career . After graduating from the University of Alabama , Pell stayed in Tuscaloosa , serving as a graduate assistant under Bryant in 1964 . Charlie Bradshaw , a former Alabama assistant and current Kentucky Wildcats football head coach , offered Pell a position as the defensive line coach at the University of Kentucky . While coaching at Kentucky , Pell met his future wife , Ward Noel . Jacksonville State . Pell earned his first head coaching job at age 28 when he was hired by Jacksonville State University in 1969 . He coached the Gamecocks to four consecutive winning seasons , including a 10 – 0 record and a Gulf South Conference championship in 1970 . His overall record as head coach was 33 – 13 – 1 . In 1974 , Pell left NAIA Jacksonville State to become defensive coordinator for Division I Virginia Tech Hokies . He stayed for just two seasons . Clemson . After taking the defensive coordinator position of the Clemson Tigers football team in 1976 , he was elevated to be the new head coach of the Tigers in 1977 when Red Parker was fired . In his first year , he led the Tigers to the 1977 Gator Bowl — their first bowl invitation in eighteen years . A year later , his Tigers won their first Atlantic Coast Conference ( ACC ) championship in eleven years , and were ranked seventh in the final AP Poll — the highest final ranking in school history at the time . Pell was named ACC Coach of the Year in 1978 , and compiled an 18 – 4 – 1 record . He also recruited many of the players who helped lead the Tigers to the national championship in 1981 . Pell left Clemson after the 1978 regular season to accept the open coaching job at the University of Florida . He was succeeded at Clemson by assistant coach Danny Ford , who led the Tigers in the Gator Bowl . In 1982 , it emerged that Pell and his staff had committed major NCAA infractions in player recruiting , for which the NCAA placed the Clemson football program on two years ' probation . The Tigers , however , were allowed to keep the 1978 ACC title . Florida . Pell coached the Florida Gators football team from 1979 to 1984 , posting a 33 – 26 – 3 record . The 1979 Gators suffered an 0 – 10 – 1 record — still the worst in school history . However , Pell ' s Gators quickly improved , with winning records and bowl invitations during the next four years . The Gators ' improvement from 0 – 10 – 1 in 1979 to 8 – 4 in 1980 was the largest one - year turnaround in major college football history at the time . His 1983 Gators finished 9 – 2 – 1 and were ranked sixth in the final Associated Press football poll — the Gators ' first - ever top - ten finish , and the highest final ranking in school history at the time . NCAA investigation and resignation . After the 1982 season , the National Collegiate Athletic Association ( NCAA ) began an investigation into possible rule violations by Pell and his staff at Florida . Pell took full responsibility for the violations in August 1984 and announced he would resign at the end of the season . However , on September 16 , only three games into the season , the NCAA announced that Florida was alleged to have committed 107 major infractions - - including spying on other teams ' practices , payments and gifts to players , and allowing walk - ons to stay in the athletic dorm . That night , university president Marshall Criser fired Pell and named his offensive coordinator , Galen Hall , as interim coach . Hall and the 1984 Gators won Florida ' s first - ever Southeastern Conference ( SEC ) football championship , but the SEC university presidents voted to vacate the Gators ' 1984 SEC title after the season was over . In January 1985 , after it was ultimately determined that Pell and the Gators coaching staff had actually committed fifty - nine infractions , the NCAA placed Florida on two years ' probation and banned the Gators from bowl games and live television in 1985 and 1986 . The NCAA also reduced the Gators ' football scholarships by twenty over three years . The loss of scholarships proved to be the most crippling sanction in the long - term ; with a depleted roster , the Gators did not win more than seven games from 1986 to 1989 . During his time at the University of Florida , Pell led the fund - raising efforts to make several major facility improvements at Florida Field , including the construction of a world - class training facility ( the Ben Hill Griffin , Jr . Athletic Training Center ) , a major expansion of the south end zone seating and the construction of the first luxury skyboxes . Pell is credited by many with returning the Florida football program to national prominence and for rehabilitating the finances of the school ' s athletic department , but at the same time condemned for being responsible for NCAA violations and sanctions that hobbled the program for the rest of the decade . Later life . After being fired by Florida , Pell was unable to secure another coaching job , a frustration that was a factor in a suicide attempt in 1994 . Pell was treated for clinical depression and became a spokesman for depression awareness . He coached one season of high school football at the newly built Lake Region High School in Eagle Lake , Florida , but his new players were undersized and inexperienced , and the team finished 1 – 9 . He worked as a real estate broker and auctioneer for several years before dying of lung cancer in 2001 . Charley Pell was married to the former Ward Noel . Pell was survived by his wife , their three children , and two grandchildren . External links .