College football is an amazing sport.

It is truly second-to-none in many aspects, but one of the reasons that the sport itself can be appreciated by all is the loyalty. Of course, not everybody is loyal until the end.

That’s what a dog is known for.

But John Gagliardi, the winningest coach in college football history, was incredibly loyal. He spent 60 seasons (yes, 60) coaching St. John’s (Minn.) — a Division III program — and won 489 games in the process. Joe Paterno, to give some context, won 409 games.

Sadly, it was announced Sunday morning that Gagliardi — at age 91 — has passed away.

Gagliardi began his collegiate coaching carer at Carroll College, an NAIA program in Montana, at age 22 back in 1949 and spent 4 seasons there. After going 24-6-1 there, he gave the next 60 years of his life — up until 2012 — to St. John’s.

During his time coaching the Johnnies, Gagliardi won 4 national titles, 27 conference championships and finished at .500 or above from 1973-2012. He had a coaching philosophy named “Winning the No’s,” which included the thought of not tackling in practice, not carrying a whistle, keeping practices to 90 minutes, not requiring lifting and no blocking sleds.

Our thoughts and prayers are with Gagliardi’s family and friends.