Ex-'Bama assistant Hennessey dies at 81

Published Mar. 2, 2011 12:00 a.m. ET

foxsports

Former Alabama assistant football coach Larry ''Dude'' Hennessey has died. He was 81.

The university said the longtime Bear Bryant assistant died Wednesday at his Tuscaloosa home.

Hennessey played for Bryant at Kentucky and was a defensive line coach at Alabama from 1960-76. He worked in various capacities for Alabama's athletic department.

Athletic director Mal Moore described him as ''a great friend in the truest sense.''

Hennessey's recruits to Alabama included eventual head coaches Ray Perkins and Mike DuBose, along with defensive ends John Mitchell and John Croyle.

Hennessey accompanied the Crimson Tide to the 2004 Alabama-Kentucky game when former teammate Babe Parilli was an honorary captain for the Wildcats.