Former All-American Alabama Crimson Tide QB Tragically Passes Away; Leaves Remarkable Legacy

Playing football for the Alabama Crimson Tide under head coach Paul “Bear” Bryant already makes one a legend in Tuscaloosa, but accomplishing what Steve Sloan did furthers that case. Sloan was an All-American and a two-time National champion that played a large part in making Alabama football what it is today.

While Sloan didn’t meaningfully contribute to the team in his first year in 1963, he did sit behind legendary New York Jets quarterback Joe Namath en route to a Sugar Bowl win. He sat behind Namath in 1964 as well, but in this year he was able to meaningfully contribute.

In 1964, he had 574 yards passing while Namath had 756 yards passing. The team went 10-1 with a loss in the Orange Bowl, but they finished first in the AP postseason rankings.

Sloan took the keys to the offense in 1965. He threw for just under 1,500 yards and had 10 passing touchdowns to just three interceptions. He was an All-American and finished 10th in Heisman voting that year. Sloan led the Crimson Tide to an Orange Bowl win and No. 1 spot in the AP postseason rankings.

Steve Sloan had a storied second career, partially with the Alabama Crimson Tide

After playing football for the Alabama Crimson Tide and sustaining a short NFL career with the Atlanta Falcons, Steve Sloan moved on to a long coaching/administrative career.

He was an assistant at Alabama before getting the offensive coordinator job with the Florida State Seminoles, and then the Georgia Tech Bulldogs.

Sloan’s first head coaching gig was with the Vanderbilt Commodores, where he stayed from 1973 to 1974. He then had head coaching jobs with the Texas Tech Red Raiders, Ole Miss Rebels and Duke Blue Devils before returning to Vanderbilt as an offensive coordinator for his last year of coaching in 1990.

Sloan’s coaching career never really took off, but he stuck around for quite some time. He never won a bowl game and won just one conference championship, which was the Southwestern Conference Championship in 1976.

He finished with a 68-86-3 record as a head coach and only had one 10-win season. His long coaching career gave way to his career as an administrator.

Steve Sloan had three careers, and the Alabama Crimson Tide played a part in all of them

Sloan then went on to have an administrative career from 1987 to 2006 (except for the one year he spent as the offensive coordinator at Vanderbilt in 1990). He started as the Athletic Director of the Alabama Crimson Tide. He then served as the AD for the North Texas Mean Green, UCF Golden Knights and Chattanooga Mocs.

Sloan’s 10-year stint as the AD for UCF played a large part in making them the Power 5 team they are today. They were a top Division I-AA program in the 1990s and made their ascension to Division I-A, which is now the FBS, in 1996. This was the first step in a long path to becoming a top Group of Five team that found their way into the Big 12.

Sloan’s longtime friend, Tommy Limbaugh spoke to the character of Sloan in an article from ESPN.

“You will never find anybody that says anything bad about Steve Sloan,” Limbaugh said. “You can’t find that person.”

Sloan is survived by his son, Stephen Sloan Jr., and his wife Brenda.