KNOXVILLE, Tenn. — College Football Hall of Famer Johnny Majors, the coach of Pittsburgh’s 1976 national championship team and a former coach and star player at Tennessee, died Wednesday. He was 85.

Majors died at his home in Knoxville, according to his wife, Mary Lynn Majors. “He spent his last hours doing something he dearly loved: looking out over his cherished Tennessee River,” she said in a statement first given to Sports Radio WNML.

Majors compiled a 185-137-10 record in 29 seasons as a head coach at Iowa State (1968-72), Pitt (1973-76, 1993-96) and Tennessee (1977-92). That followed a standout playing career at Tennessee during which he finished second to Notre Dame’s Paul Hornung in the 1956 Heisman Trophy balloting.

He was inducted into the College Football Hall of Fame in 1987. Tennessee retired Majors’ No. 45 jersey in 2012.

Majors began his head coaching career in 1968 at Iowa State. Three years later, he led the Cyclones to their first bowl bid in school history. He posted a 24-30-1 record at Iowa State from 1968-72 before Pitt hired him away.

“Johnny Majors is one of college football’s all-time greatest coaches,” Iowa State head coach Matt Campbell said. “Johnny came back every year and it was a pleasure for our players to get to know him and understand his legacy at Iowa State. He was one of the most important figures in Iowa State football history.”

At the age of 33, Majors was hired to take over the Iowa State football program prior to the 1968 season. Majors improved the Cyclone recruiting efforts yearly in his tenure in Ames, and behind four All-Americans and many future NFL players, the Cyclones had the talent to compete in the rugged Big Eight Conference heading into the 1971 campaign.

Iowa State raced out to a 5-1 mark and ended the season at 8-3, securing a bid to the Sun Bowl, the school’s first-ever postseason appearance.

In Majors’ final season in 1972, the Cyclones made it to their second-straight bowl game by participating in the Liberty Bowl, finishing the season with a 5-6-1 mark. Majors announced his resignation following the Liberty Bowl contest vs. Georgia Tech to take over the head coaching duties at Pittsburgh.

Majors ended his five-year coaching tenure at Iowa State with a 24-30-1 record.

Majors continued his coaching excellence at Pittsburgh (1973-76, 1993-96), winning the 1976 national title with a perfect 12-0 record. He later coached at his alma mater Tennessee for 16 seasons (1977-92).

In all, Majors was a head coach for 29 seasons, leading his teams to 16 bowl berths and capturing three SEC titles at Tennessee. Twice he was honored as the national coach of the year: Walter Camp (1973) and AFCA/Sporting News (1976).

An All-American at Tennessee in 1956, Majors was a two-time SEC MVP. He was the runner-up to Paul Hornung in the 1956 Heisman Trophy balloting.

Majors was inducted in the College Football Hall of Fame as a player in 1987 and was enshrined into the Iowa State Athletics Hall of Fame in 1999.

Majors never wavered on his admiration of Iowa State throughout the years. The coaching legend annually made a return trip to Ames to reunite with his former players and staffers.

“When we left our driveway on Ontario, before going to Pittsburgh in a station wagon and a U-Haul trailer behind us, I will never forget Mary Lynn (Majors’ wife) saying, ‘John, I don’t know what the rest of your career will be like, but nothing can ever top the last five years at Iowa State,’ and to this year it is true,” Majors recollected during one of his many visits to Ames.