Chris Solari of the Detroit Free Press is reporting on Wednesday morning that former Michigan State University football player, head coach, and trustee George Perles (pictured as MSU Head Football Coach) has passed away at the age of 85.

Perles played at MSU in 1958 under coach Hugh "Duffy" Daugherty before an injury ended his football career, and later was an assistant under Daugherty.  He later was a defensive coach for the Pittsburgh Steelers from 1972-82, winning four Super Bowl rings under Hall of Fame coach Chuck Noll.

He took over as head coach of Michigan State in 1983, leading the Spartans to a pair of Big Ten titles (1987 and 1990-shared) and a victory in the Rose Bowl following the 1987 season.

He was fired with three games left in the 1994 season, his on-field record at MSU was 73-62-4 (officially 68-67-4, with five victories vacated because of NCAA probation in '94).

Perles later was elected as a member of the MSU Board of Trustees in 2006 and served in that capacity until he resigned in 2018.

George Perles also helped found the Kelley-Perles-Secchia golf outing at the Country Club of Lansing in the 1980's. That event benefits Area 8 Special Olympics (the Lansing area), an event that occurs every August.

Perles was 85 years old.

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