Education
Donahue attended Saint Charles Borromeo Elementary School in North Hollywood, California and graduated from Notre Dame High School in Sherman Oaks.
Donahue attended Saint Charles Borromeo Elementary School in North Hollywood, California and graduated from Notre Dame High School in Sherman Oaks.
He served as the head football coach of the University of California, Los Angeles Bruins from 1976 to 1995, compiling a record of 151–74–8. From 2001 to 2005, Donahue was the general manager for the San Francisco 49ers of the National Football League (NFL). He was inducted into the College Football Hall of Fame as a coach in 2000.
He then played at University of California, Los Angeles as a 195-pound defensive tackle on the 1966 Rose Bowl-winning team
After graduating, Donahue became an assistant coach at the University of Kansas under Pepper Rodgers. In 1971, he returned to University of California, Los Angeles when Rodgers became the head coach there.
When Rodgers left, remained as an assistant under Dick Vermeil before succeeding Vermeil as the head coach in 1976. Donahue has the most conference wins of any coach in Pacific-10 Conference history (98) and also the most wins in University of California, Los Angeles Bruins football history (151).
Donahue"s record was 10–9–1 against University of Southern California in the University of California, Los Angeles– University of Southern California rivalry.
Donahue was inducted into the College Football Hall of Fame in 2000. In 1998, Donahue was offered an opportunity to coach the Dallas Cowboys. He would have re-united with former quarterback Troy Aikman.
Donahue turned down Cowboys owner Jerry Jones at the final minute.
Donahue was the lead college football analyst for Columbia Broadcasting System Sports from 1996 to 1998. Donahue was the hand-picked successor to Bill Walsh as general manager of the San Francisco 49ers (2001–2005).
During his first two years in San Francisco, Donahue served as Director of Player Personnel under Walsh. When Walsh retired in 2001, Donahue was elevated to the position of General Manager which he held for four seasons.
In 2006, Donahue became a game analyst for the NFL on Fox and has worked on their Bowl Championship Series coverage as well.
He currently serves as an analyst on College Football Now on NFL Network. He is also an analyst for Dial Global.