BREAKING: Longtime Veteran, Former High Profile QB And Legendary Coach Dies at 59

A seasoned college football coach, who spent two years with the Buffalo Bills, passed away on Sunday night after facing challenges with Parkinson’s disease. He was 59, as reported by the Louisville Courier-Journal.

Kragthorpe, who played as a quarterback at Eastern New Mexico and West Texas, began his coaching career at Northern Arizona in 1990. He later held positions at North Texas, Boston College, and Texas A&M.

In 2001, he joined the Bills as a quarterbacks coach under Gregg Williams. During his tenure, Drew Bledsoe had his fourth and final Pro Bowl season in 2002, throwing for 4,359 yards, 24 touchdowns, and 15 interceptions.

Following his time with the Bills, Kragthorpe took on his first head coaching role at the University of Tulsa, replacing Keith Burns. Under his guidance, the Golden Hurricanes made it to three bowl games in four years, a remarkable improvement for a program that hadn’t seen a winning season since 1991. Earlier this year, he was inducted into the Tulsa Hall of Fame.

Kragthorpe also held the position of head coach at Louisville for three seasons, finishing his head coaching career with a record of 44-43. In 2011, he became the offensive coordinator at LSU but resigned after being diagnosed with Parkinson’s disease, later spending two years in an off-field role in Baton Rouge.