Former LSU QB, Assistant Coach Lynn Amedee Passes Away

Former LSU QB Lynn Amedee, who played in the early 1960s and became an assistant coach with the Tigers in the 1970s and '90s, died last week at age 83. (LSU photo).

GLENN GUILBEAU, Tiger Rag Editor

Lynn Amedee, one of the most well-traveled college football assistant coaches in history who played quarterback and kicked at LSU from 1960-62 and returned twice as an assistant coach, died last week at the age of 83 in Baton Rouge.

A native of Baton Rouge who went Istrouma High, Amedee played for legendary LSU head coach Paul Dietzel in 1960 and ’61 and for his replacement, Charles McClendon, in 1962. Amedee was the MVP of the Cotton Bowl following McClendon’s first season after a 13-0 upset of No. 4 Texas on Jan. 1, 1963, in Dallas. Amedee completed 9 of 13 passes for 94 yards and kicked field goals of 23 and 37 yards as LSU finished 9-1-1.

Amedee helped LSU win the Southeastern Conference title in 1961 during a 10-1 season under Dietzel. He also pitched for the 1961 and ’62 LSU baseball teams under coach Ray Didier, helping the Tigers finish 20-5 and win the SEC West title with an 11-4 mark in ’61.

After playing professionally for Edmonton in the Canadian Football League, Amedee began a circuitous career as a coach in 1965 as an offensive and defensive backfield coach at Istrouma. From 1967-69, he was Baker High’s head football coach.

He soon joined the college ranks, coaching at Northeast Louisiana (now Louisiana-Monroe) in 1970 and ’71, then Tulane in 1972. He made his only stop in the NFL in 1973 with the New Orleans Saints, where he tutored a welcoming third-year quarterback named Archie Manning. Manning praised Amedee greatly at the time. But Amedee was soon off again to coach for the Birmingham Americans in the newly formed, but short-lived World Football League.

Amedee returned to LSU to coach quarterbacks under McClendon from 1975-78. Then he would embark on a wild trek of nine quarterback and/or OC jobs and one head coaching job in 16 years – Tennessee (1979), Tennessee-Martin head coach (1980-81), USL (1982), Vanderbilt (1983-84), Texas A&M (1985-87), Florida (1988), Texas (1989-91), Northeast High near Baton Rouge (1992-93) and LSU (1993-94).

Amedee was one of the few non-head coaches in the country at Texas to have his own coaches’ radio show. Moving so often, he bought and sold nearly as many homes as jobs he held during his career as he and his family kept moving from town to town.

Curley Hallman was LSU’s head coach when Amedee was the Tigers’ offensive coordinator in 1993 and ’94, and Amedee was largely blamed for LSU quarterback Jamie Howard’s infamous six-interception game at Auburn on Sept. 17, 1994. Three of Howard’s interceptions in the fourth quarter were returned for touchdowns in a 30-26 loss.

In 1995, he returned to high school coaching at New Iberia before one more college stint as Mississippi State’s offensive coordinator in 1996-98. One of his last jobs was at Opelousas High from 1999-2003.

Amedee is survived by his brothers Barry and Larry, daughters Rene Graphia and Lee Hathaway, four grandchildren and one great grandchild.

Visitation will be on June 3 from 9 a.m. to 11 a.m. at the Resthaven Funeral Home on Jefferson Highway in Baton Rouge.

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