Steve Sloan Stephen Charles Sloan ( born August 19 , 1944 ) is a former American football player , coach , and college athletics administrator . He played college football as a quarterback at the University of Alabama from 1962 to 1965 and then played for two seasons in the National Football League with the Atlanta Falcons ( 1966 – 1967 ) . Sloan served as the head football coach at Vanderbilt University ( 1973 – 1974 ) , Texas Tech University ( 1975 – 1977 ) , the University of Mississippi ( 1978 – 1982 ) , and Duke University ( 1983 – 1986 ) , compiling a career record of 68 – 86 – 3 . He also served as the athletic director at the University of Alabama , the University of North Texas , University of Central Florida , and the University of Tennessee at Chattanooga before his retirement in 2006 . In 2000 , Sloan was inducted into the Tennessee Sports Hall of Fame . Playing career . Sloan played college football at the University of Alabama under legendary coach Paul " Bear " Bryant between 1962 – 1965 . He arrived in Tuscaloosa in 1962 , though was not eligible to play with the varsity team due to NCAA rules at the time . In his sophomore season , Sloan was a backup to quarterback Joe Namath , but played in most games at defensive back . Sloan quaterbacked the Tide ' s final regular season game and the Sugar Bowl when Bryant benched Namath for disciplinary reasons . The 1963 Crimson Tide went 9 – 2 with a 12 – 7 victory over Ole Miss in the Sugar Bowl . Sloan was the primary quarterback in his junior season in 1964 while Namath was injured . The 1964 team finished 10 – 1 , won the Southeastern Conference title , and was named the consensus national champion . However , in the 1965 Orange Bowl versus Texas , Sloan was forced out of the game with injury . Namath came off the bench to win MVP honors despite Alabama losing , 21 – 17 . Following the departure of Namath to the American Football League , Sloan became Alabama ' s full - time starter for the 1965 season , in which Alabama repeated as SEC and national champions . The team finished 9 – 1 – 1 with a 39 – 28 victory over Nebraska in the 1966 Orange Bowl . After college , Sloan was selected by the NFL ' s Atlanta Falcons in the 11th round of the 1966 NFL Draft . He played sparingly as a back - up over the course of two seasons . In his brief NFL career , he only appeared in eight games , and only one as a starter . During those eight games , he completed 10 of 31 passes , for no touchdowns and four interceptions . Coaching career . In 1971 , Sloan received his first coaching job as an offensive coordinator for the Florida State Seminoles . The following year , he moved to the Georgia Tech Yellow Jackets for the same position . In 1973 , Sloan took his first job as a head coach of the Vanderbilt Commodores . In his first season , Vanderbilt finished at 5 – 6 , including a 1 – 6 record in conference play . During his second season , however , Vanderbilt finished at 7 – 3 – 1 and qualified for a post - season bowl game . The team was placed in the Peach Bowl against the Texas Tech Red Raiders . The two teams played to a 6 – 6 tie in the game . It was Vanderbilt ' s first bowl game since 1955 and second in school history . The Texas Tech University athletic department offered Sloan head football coaching position in January 1975 . Though Sloan originally declined , he took the job on January 2 , 1975 . Texas Tech was believed to have offered him a $ 30 , 000 per year contract , as well as $ 11 , 000 from television show income . He took five of his assistant coaches with him to the Red Raiders program , including defensive coordinator Bill Parcells . In his three seasons with Texas Tech , Sloan compiled a 23 – 12 record . In late 1977 , Sloan took his third head coaching job with the Ole Miss Rebels football program . Sloan was head coach for five seasons at Ole Miss , winning 20 games , losing 34 , and tying one . His best season came in 1978 when the Rebels finished at 5 – 6 . In December 1982 , Sloan decided to leave Ole Miss to become the head football coach for the Duke Blue Devils football program . In his first season at Duke , Sloan led the Blue Devils to a 3 – 8 record , despite beginning the season 0 – 7 . In his remaining three seasons , he compiled a 10 – 23 record before resigning . Steve Spurrier was named as his successor .