Steve Kragthorpe, former assistant at LSU, Texas A&M, passes away
By Andrew Olson
Published:
Steve Kragthorpe, a long-time football coach with ties to multiple SEC programs, passed away Sunday.
Kragthorpe played college football at Eastern New Mexico (1983-84) and West Texas (1985-87). He got into college coaching in 1990, working with quarterbacks at Northern Arizona.
Kragthorpe was at Northern Arizona through 1993. In 1994, he took the offensive coordinator position at North Texas. In 1996, he would leave for the same position at Boston College.
R.C. Slocum hired Kragthorpe as Texas A&M’s quarterbacks coach ahead of the 1997 season. He then replaced Steve Marshall as offesive coordinator in 1998, helping the Aggies to a Big 12 championship.
Kragthorpe remained in Aggieland through the 2000 season. He then made the jump to the pros, taking the quarterback coach position with the Buffalo Bills.
After two seasons with the Bills, Kragthorpe returned to the college ranks, taking his first head coaching job. He took over a Tulsa program that had managed just 9 wins over the previous 4 seasons, including a 2-21 mark over the past two.
Kragthorpe turned the program around, posting a 29-22 record over four seasons with the Golden Hurricane, including a 2005 Liberty Bowl win. He was a 2024 Tulsa Hall of Fame inductee.
In 2007, Kragthorpe took the Louisville head coaching job. He went 6-6 in his first season. The Cardinals posted losing records in Kragthorpe’s final two seasons, leading to his dismissal.
Kragthorpe’s final coaching stop was at LSU. He joined Les Miles’ coaching staff in January 2011 as the Tigers’ offensive coordinator. In August 2011, LSU announced that Kragthorpe was relinquishing his OC position due to his Parkinson’s disease diagnosis.
Kragthorpe remained part of LSU’s onfield coaching staff as quarterbacks coach for the 2011 and ’12 seasons. He remained involved with LSU in off-field positions after stepping away from being an assistant coach.
Kragthorpe was 59.
Long-time ball coach Steve Kragthorpe died last night. A good man, he earned his eternal rest. Rest in peace. pic.twitter.com/FcJVfaEbir
— FootballScoop (@FootballScoop) August 5, 2024
Andrew writes about sports to fund his love of live music and collection of concert posters. He strongly endorses the Hall of Fame campaigns of Fred Taylor and Andruw Jones.
