Carl Torbush, a defensive specialist who succeeded Mack Brown as North Carolina’s head football coach after Brown’s first tenure and later coached at East Tennessee State, has died at the age of 72.
Torbush’s death was announced by the ETSU athletics department, WRAL-TV reported.
No cause of death was given, although Torbush had battled cancer through the years, according to AL.com.
Torbush ascended from Tar Heels defensive coordinator to head coach after Brown departed for Texas in December 1997 and guided them to a 42-3 Gator Bowl rout of Virginia Tech to cap an 11-1 season.
UNC was 7-5 the next year with a Las Vegas Bowl victory and Torbush was let go after the 2000 campaign with a 17-18 record.
His career record was 31-48, including 11-22 at ETSU from 2015-17 and 3-8 at Louisiana Tech in 1987.
Brown, now in his second stint at UNC, said about Torbush, “We lost a great man too soon,” in a post on X, formerly known as Twitter.
The coach added that Torbush touched many lives in a positive way and loved football, especially defense.
“He was the architect of one of college football’s greatest defenses during the ’96 and ’97 seasons here at Carolina,” Brown added. “We send our deepest condolences to Carl’s family and friends. He will be missed.”
The program called Torbush “a heck of a football coach,” on X and sent condolences to Torbush’s family.
Torbush was Alabama’s defensive coordinator under Dennis Franchione in 2001-02, helping the Crimson Tide rank third nationally in total defense and fifth in scoring defense his second season.
His coaching stops included Texas A&M, Mississippi, Mississippi State, Southeastern Louisiana, Carson-Newman, Kansas and Liberty. Torbush was also SLU’s baseball coach from 1977-79.
Since Carl Torbush passed away , fans are wondering how his family is holding up — in particular, his wife and kids.
So, who was Carl Torbush wife?
Carl Torbush’s wife was Janet Torbush.
Carl Torbush married his wife Janet Torbush in 1974. They have been married for 49 years until his death in 2023.
Janet Torbush was born as Janet Gilbert, the daughter of Dana Gilbert and Ruth Gilbert.
She had three siblings: Larry Gilbert, Tom Gilbert, and Linda Byrd. She married Carl Torbush in 1974.
About Carl Torbush children Trey Torbush
Carl Torbush had one son named Trey Torbush, who played football at Carson-Newman, his father’s alma mater.
Trey Torbush was born on February 26, 1990. He studied at American Christian Academy and attended Carson-Newman, where he was a member of the Eagles’ football team.
He followed his father’s footsteps in playing both football and baseball at Carson-Newman. He graduated in 2013 with a degree in business administration.
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