Former Kentucky football coach Guy Morriss dies at 71

Former University of Kentucky head football coach Guy Morriss died Monday in Danville, Kentucky, after a six-year bout with Alzheimer's. He was 71 years old.

Morriss, a former NFL offensive lineman who led the Wildcats from 2001-02, was diagnosed with Alzheimer's in 2016, according to a 2017 interview with WKYT-TV. Morriss's death was first reported by Dick Gabriel of WLAP-AM, who conducted that interview with the former coach, and later confirmed by a UK Athletics spokeswoman.

"His wife Jackie says he was surrounded by his loved ones and went peacefully," Gabriel wrote in a tweet Tuesday morning. Morriss is also survived by his daughters, Colleen, Kerry, Savannah and Austin, and five grandchildren.

In the 2017 interview with WKYT, Morriss expressed some optimism about an Alzheimer's treatment regimen he was working through but said, "The prognosis of beating it is not gonna be there for me."

"We've all kind of accepted it," Morriss told Gabriel at the time. "Everybody knows what we're dealing with."

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Morriss arrived in Lexington in 1997 as an offensive line coach and assistant head coach under Hal Mumme. When Mumme resigned amid a recruiting scandal in 2001, Morriss was named his interim replacement and coached the Wildcats to a 2-9 record.

After Morriss had the interim tag removed, he led the 2002 Wildcats to a 7-5 record, including wins over rivals Louisville, ranked No. 17 at the time, and Indiana. UK was ineligible for a bowl game, however, due to NCAA probation.

In a statement, UK athletics director Mitch Barnhart said Morriss "provided steady leadership for our football program at a time of significant uncertainty."

"He was both liked and respected by the players, who responded to his fair, no-nonsense approach with their best efforts," said Barnhart, who was hired at Kentucky in 2002. "His six years at UK feature some of the best players and most exciting moments in our history. He will be deeply missed and our condolences are with Jackie, their children, family and friends."

The 2002 season also included one of the most infamous losses in Kentucky history, known today as the "Bluegrass Miracle." UK led LSU 30-27 with two seconds to play in the fourth quarter when Morriss was on the wrong end of a premature Gatorade bath from quarterback Jared Lorenzen. Moments later, Tigers quarterback Marcus Randall stunned fans rushing the field at Commonwealth Stadium with a game-winning Hail Mary to Devery Henderson.

Morriss left Kentucky for Baylor after the 2002 season and compiled an 18-40 record through five campaigns (2003-07) with the Bears. He returned to the Bluegrass State in 2008 to coach the offensive line at Kentucky State University but departed one year later for a head-coaching opportunity at Texas A&M-Commerce, which he held through the 2012 season.

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Making the move from Texas to Kentucky one final time, Morriss' career ended in his "adopted" home with stints as an offensive line coach at Warren Central High School (2014) and Lexington Christian Academy (2015).

"We fell in love with the people of Kentucky; we fell in love with the city of Lexington," Morriss told WKYT-TV. "(It is) such a good feeling for us to be adopted by the people here in Kentucky."

In early August, Morriss made an appearance at Kentucky's Fan Day and posed for a picture with head coach Mark Stoops at the Joe Craft Football Training Center. Reacting to Morriss's death Tuesday, Stoops tweeted, "I’m grateful for everything he did for this program."

"We loved seeing him around here and just a few short weeks ago he attended Fan Day," Stoops wrote. "Our thoughts and prayers are with Jackie and his family."

A native of Colorado City, Texas, Morriss played collegiately at Texas Christian University from 1969-72 before a 15-year stint in the NFL, during which he reached the Super Bowl with two different teams. A second-round draft pick, he played for the Philadelphia Eagles from 1973-83 and with the New England Patriots from 1984-87.

Reach recruiting and trending sports reporter Brooks Holton at bholton@gannett.com and follow him on Twitter at @brooksHolton.

This article originally appeared on Louisville Courier Journal: Guy Morriss: Former Kentucky football coach dies at age 71