KANSAS CITY, Mo. — Former University of Missouri football coach Warren Powers died Tuesday night, according to former Tigers star Howard Richards.
Richards, who played three seasons for Powers and later spent time with the Dallas Cowboys and CIA before becoming an analyst for Mizzou football radio broadcasts, posted his condolences Wednesday morning on Twitter.
Just learned from Gus Otto that former Mizzou head coach, Warren Powers, passed away late last night….only weeks after his wife, Linda, passed away. Godspeed coach. 🙏🏽 pic.twitter.com/X6VicxA1a4
— Howard Richards (@how_rich) November 3, 2021
MU confirmed Wednesday that Powers had died “following a lengthy battle with Alzheimer's” in St. Louis, where he lived.
The 80-year-old Powers was born in Kansas City, Missouri, and graduated from Bishop Lillis High School
Powers, who won the 1978 Walter Camp Coach of the Year award, went 46-33-3 in seven seasons with the Tigers from 1978-84. He ranks fourth in program history for coaching wins and games coached.
Mizzou went to five bowl games, reaching one his each of his first four seasons and winning three, during Powers’ tenure.
The Tigers beat LSU in the 1978 Liberty Bowl during his first season and lost a “College Classic,” according to the old EA Sports NCAA Football video games, against ninth-ranked Brigham Young University in the 1983 Holiday Bowl.
Cougars quarterback Steve Young threw, caught and ran for a touchdown pass in the game, including the go-ahead touchdown catch in the closing seconds.
Powers played collegiately at the University of Nebraska and later spent six seasons with the then-Oakland Raiders, starting at safety in a Super Bowl II loss to the Green Bay Packers.
He was inducted into the Missouri Sports Hall of Fame in 2017.
