Erk Russell Erskine " Erk " Russell ( July 23 , 1926 – September 8 , 2006 ) was an American football , basketball , and baseball player and coach in the United States . He was also the defensive coordinator for the University of Georgia Bulldogs for seventeen years ( 1964 – 1981 ) and head football coach ( 1981 – 1989 ) of the Georgia Southern Eagles . He was also the head coach at Grady High School in Atlanta , Georgia in the 1950s . He graduated from Auburn University in Alabama where he earned ten varsity letters . He was the last four - sport letterman in the college ' s history . As the first head coach of Georgia Southern Eagles football team after a 40 - year dormancy , Russell established a standard of excellence during his tenure , bringing them to three NCAA Division I - AA championships . Under his guidance the Georgia Southern Eagles became the first 15 – 0 of the 20th century . His motto was " Just one more time . " Erk Russell was the Georgia Sports Hall of Fame Coach of the Year for 1984 – 1986 ; was inducted into the Georgia Sports Hall of Fame in 1987 ; inducted into the Alabama Sports Hall of Fame in 1991 ; became USA Today ' s Georgia Coach of the Year and Coach of the Decade for 1989 ; In 1989 he also became the Chevrolet - CBS Sports I - AA Coach of the Year ; and in 1996 he was an Olympic torch bearer for the Atlanta Games . Russell died in Statesboro , Georgia on September 8 , 2006 following a stroke at age 80 . His funeral took place two days later at Paulson Stadium with over 2 , 000 fans , friends , family , and former players present . He was cremated . Biography . The Junkyard Dawgs . After talking with a fan , Jimmy Matthews , Erk decided to use the phrase “ Junkyard Dawgs ” as motivation for his defense after an uncharacteristically poor season in 1974 . After Erk received Vince Dooley ' s okay , Russell called Roger Dancz , the director of Georgia ' s Redcoat Marching Band , and suggested that if the Bulldogs ever did something good on the field , how about cranking up a few bars of Jim Croce ' s " Bad , bad Leroy Brown . " From the American Football Coaches Association ' s Defensive Football Strategies , the chapter penned by Erk defines the Junkyard Dawgs , " By our own definition , a Junkyard Dog is a dog completely dedicated to his task , that of defending his goal line . Further , he is very often a reject ( from the offense ) or the runt of the litter . Nobody wants him , and he is hungry . We had three walk - ons , four QBs , and three running backs in our original Junkyard Dog starting cast , which averaged 208 pounds across the front . In short , a Junkyard Dog is one who must stretch and strain all of his potential just to survive . Then he can think about being good . " Georgia went 9 - 3 in 1975 and brought home the third SEC title for Dooley in 1976 . During the 17 years that Erk served as Georgia Bulldogs ' defensive coordinator , the ' Dawgs played 192 games and held the opposition to 17 or fewer points in 135 of them . In 74 of those contests , the defense kept the other team ' s scoring in the single digits , including 27 shutouts . Coach Russell ' s Georgia defenses allowed more than 28 points just 18 times in 17 seasons . The Godfather of Soul , James Brown , even recorded " Dooley ' s Junkyard Dawgs " , and belted out the tune during the half time of the Georgia Florida game in the Gator Bowl stadium . Player communication . Russell was notorious for his communication and motivational nature among his players . He was known for sending out calendars to his players over the summer , reminding them to be in shape for the start of practice and suggesting a humorous workout regimen that would include entries such as : " Run three miles , hate Georgia Tech four times . " He also came up with all sorts of folksy sayings that somehow seemed to work on the younger generation . Russell was the one who coined the phrase " Junkyard Dawgs " for Georgia ' s undersized defense . He came up with T - shirts that had " TEAM " printed in large letters and " me " in small letters . And he always told his players , " If we score , we may win . If they never score , we ' ll never lose . " Erk Russell other inspirational quotes consist of , " The best way to win a game is not to lose it . " and " The brotherhood of football . . . is the strongest brotherhood known to man as far as I ' m concerned . " During a road game at Georgia Tech , Coach Russell saw a Yellow Jacket trainer in a sweatshirt reading " G . T . A . A . " - - - " Georgia Tech Athletic Association " - - - and came up with the idea of rearranging the letters to produce a memorable slogan : " G . A . T . A . " - - - " Get After Their Asses " . Perhaps the most lasting impression was Russell ramming his bald dome into a helmeted player to celebrate a turnover or key play , leaving his forehead drenched in blood . Coach Russell was a master motivator who did not forget that , as someone who molded young men in a university setting , he was a teacher first and foremost . He passed along life lessons , and not just defensive techniques , to his players and he knew how to get his message across to them . While Vince Dooley was still contemplating the dismissal of several Bulldogs after the infamous hog incident of 1980 , Coach Russell was the one who saw how it could be used to bring the team together . When Len Bias died of an overdose in 1986 ; as head coach of Georgia Southern , Coach Russell conveyed the dangers of drug use by throwing a rattlesnake on the floor in a team meeting to make sure his analogy would be remembered . The Miracle Worker . Russell appeared in line to take over as Georgia ' s head coach when Dooley got a lucrative offer from Auburn , their alma mater . But Dooley decided to stay at Georgia , and Russell was lured to what was then Georgia Southern to restart a program dormant for 40 years . After three years as a club team , Russell led the program into Division I - AA in 1984 . In only its second year of existence , the Eagles won the national title . They would add two more under Russell ' s watch , in 1986 and 1989 . Paul Johnson , future head coach of Georgia Southern , Navy , and Georgia Tech , served as offensive coordinator for the first two championship teams . Len Gravelson handled the defense , although Russell was arguably the man in charge . Both men would leave following the 1986 championship . Russell ' s bald head , coupled with the fact that he coached the Eagles , gave him the nickname " The Bald Eagle " . After the Eagles moved to Division I - AA in 1984 , he fashioned a 70 – 14 ( . 825 ) mark . Russell averaged 10 . 4 wins per season . He entered the 1989 season as America ' s winningest coach , orchestrator of two national championships , 68 wins and 14 All - America selections — all during a seven - year period . In the ensuing 105 days , extended Division I ' s longest home win streak from 26 to 37 games , en route to winning a third national title and becoming the only 15 – 0 college team of the 20th century . Russell retired after that season with a record of 83 – 22 – 1 ( . 788 ) . Russell briefly cut his ties with Georgia Southern after head coach Mike Sewak fired his son Rusty from the coaching staff . In 2006 , with the hire of new Head Coach Brian VanGorder , he was reunited with the program . He addressed the team the night before his shocking and sudden death on September 8 , 2006 . Posthumously . Georgia Southern University and thousands of friends , family , and fans gathered at Paulson Stadium to mourn the passing of Erk Russell , one of America ' s most exciting and successful college football coaches . The cause of death was a stroke while pulling out of a gas station on the west side of Statesboro . He was 80 . Victory cigars . Cigar s were a staple of Erk Russell ' s image . Russell claimed that his favorite brand of cigars were " OPs " , which he joked stood for " other people ' s " . He made a point to smoke a cigar after every Eagle victory that he was involved in . Eagle fans around the U . S . are known to celebrate in the same manner as a tribute to Russell . Memorials . In honor of Russell , Georgia Southern University renamed the area encompassing Allen E . Paulson Stadium , the Gene Bishop Field House , Cowart Building and the soccer and track stadium " Erk Russell Athletic Park . " Furthermore , a bronze bust of Russell is now displayed at the stadium . The Georgia General Assembly also passed a resolution honoring coach Russell and naming U . S . 80 from its intersection with U . S . 25 in the community of Hopeulikit to the eastern city limits of Statesboro as the " Erk Russell Memorial Highway . " Books . Russell co - authored two books :