Please keep Coach Ratliff and his family, the kids he coaches and the Nine Nation in your thoughts. Coach Ratliff had a "cardiac event" last Monday and remains hospitalized.

God Speed Coach!

Coach Ratliff passed away this afternoon.

http://www.charlotte49ers.com/ViewArtic ... um=twitter

Very sad.

Sad news, indeed.

And a young 45 at that. Prayers for his immediate family and his extended 49er family! Hold your loved ones and friends tight and never forget to let them know how much they mean to you.

Prayers to his family and to Niner Nation. He sounded like a well respected and well like coach.

Coach Ratliff was an All-American at Marshall, and then coached for his alma mater. He was one of the good ones, a real mentor for the kids. Here is a good story from Marhsall. We play The Herd in Charlotte on 10/31, and I suspect it will be a bittersweet game for all.

http://herdinsider.com/football/phil-ra ... y-20153722

Wishing God's Peace to Coach Ratliff's family and friends. Yet another reminder of our short "opportunity" in this state of human consciousness called life. There's really no time to waste.

I knew when I posted it was bad but there is always hope. Coach Raliff recruited a kid from Kannapolis when it looked like the rest of his college opportunities were lost including App. Turns out that kid is a starter for them. Today in the Observer there was an article about his yearly pig pickings for his OL. My good friend and App fan/dad organized those feeds. We just cooked for him about 2 weeks ago and those kids were wide eyed at the pig....but what was really amazing was the kind of respect they all showed for him. Not the kind you ask for but the love and internal smiles they all had for him. The college football world lost a good one in "Coach Rat".

God bless his family and the kids he took on as his own.

RIP