The official NC State Football posted an obituary for Dick Sheridan on a social media site on Friday, July 7, 2023. On Thursday, July 6, 2023, he passed away.
At the Grand Strand Medical Centre in Myrtle Beach, South Carolina, not far from his home in Garden City Beach, Sheridan went away in peace.
The public has not yet been informed of the death’s cause, though.
The news was tweeted by NC State Football. “NC State football and Wolfpack Nation as a whole mourn the loss of Hall of Fame Coach Dick Sheridan,” they said. Coach Sheridan, you were truly a jewel.
Sheridan led the Wolfpack as head coach from 1986 to 1992. He built up a strong Division I-AA team at Furman prior to his time there. During that time, he twice even defeated the Pack.
“I have such great respect for coach Sheridan and am saddened to hear this news,” Wolfpack coach Dave Doeren said. During his tenure as coach at NC State, he had a significant impact on numerous players, coaches, and staff members. In my stay here, I enjoyed getting to know him.
As soon as he got at NC State, he started making plans for a remarkable programme turnaround. The club finished with a remarkable 8-3-1 overall record in his first season, including a 5-2 record in the ACC.
A position in the Peach Bowl was assured by it. This accomplishment was especially noteworthy in light of the Wolfpack’s prior run of three straight 3-8 seasons.
Sheridan made sure NC State never had another losing season under his leadership after a 4-7 campaign in 1987. The team won nine games in 1991 and 1992 in addition to winning the Peach Bowl in 1988.
Sheridan’s seven seasons at NC State resulted in a 52-29-3 record. Six bowl games were won by the squad, and they were recognised three times in the Top 25 rankings.
As the lead trainer, one of his first tasks was to introduce the beloved “diamond” emblem that he had earlier used at Furman.
His team’s victory over the North Carolina Tar Heels earned him the respect of Wolfpack supporters.
In reality, the Wolfpack won six of the seven games played under Sheridan’s tenure.
In June 1993, Sheridan, then 51, took the challenging decision to stop coaching.
He made the decision to put his health first, citing concerns about it as well as the recent death of his close friend and Wolfpack basketball coach Jim Valvano.
After that, he decided not to pursue any coaching positions.
Sheridan was a fantastic coach, according to Mike O’Cain, who followed him as the Wolfpack’s head coach and played for him in high school.
He was a perfectionist and he also regarded himself as the strict disciplinarian. They would practise a play 150 times each week, according to Mike.
During his first year at NC State, Sheridan won the prestigious Bobby Dodd College Football Coach of the Year award.
When he was admitted into the prestigious College Football Hall of Fame in 2020, his extraordinary accomplishments received even more recognition.
Sheridan, who is from Augusta, Georgia, started his career as a college coach at Furman in 1978.
In 1985, under his direction, the Paladins advanced to the Division I-AA (now called the Football Championship Subdivision) championship game.
Coach for Furman and former player for Sheridan’s Paladins, Clay Hendrix, said about Sheridan: “He was such a special man, and our thoughts and prayers are with the Sheridan family.”
Sheridan started his own business after retiring as a coach and had several sporting goods stores. He also concentrated his attention on the Myrtle Beach area real estate.
The reason of death for Dick Sheridan was not stated in the obituary. His funeral arrangements have not yet been made public.