Former Michigan State and Detroit Lions coach Darryl Rogers died Wednesday at the age of 83.

Rogers coached the Spartans for four seasons while winning a share of a Big Ten title in 1978 and spent three-plus years with the Lions before being fired during the 1988 season.

"We were very fortunate, again, to spend time with him. He was special," former Michigan State All-American wide receiver Kirk Gibson, who played for Rogers, told The Drive with Jack and Tom on WQTX-92.1 FM in Lansing. "His spirit will certainly be strong within us all forever."

In 20 total seasons coaching in college, Rogers posted a record of 129-84-7 and he is on the 2019 ballot for the College Football Hall of Fame.

"Our thoughts and prayers go out to Darryl Rogers and his family at this most difficult time," Michigan State coach Mark Dantonio said in a university press release. "Coach Rogers won the 1978 Big Ten Championship at Michigan State and was, in many ways, an offensive pioneer in college football. I was honored to have had the opportunity to talk to him a number of times throughout my time here and he was always very supportive. He loved Michigan State and will forever be a Spartan."

Rogers is survived by his wife, Marsha, and daughters, Stacy and Jamie.

"We are deeply saddened to learn of the passing of Darryl," Lions owner Martha Ford said in a released statement. "On behalf of me, my family and the entire Detroit Lions organization, I would like to extend our sincere sympathy to his wife, Marsha, and the Rogers family."

Rogers, who played at Fresno State, landed his first head coaching job at Cal State Hayward in 1965, where he spent one season. He returned to Fresno State as the head coach from 1966-72 and then spent three seasons at San Jose State before arriving in East Lansing.

Rogers took over Michigan State in 1976 and inherited a program on three years of probation due to NCAA violations that occurred under former coach Denny Stolz. An offensive-minded coach who elevated the Spartans' passing game, he posted an overall record of 24-18-2 in four seasons and coached a trio of All-Americans in Gibson, tight end Mark Brammer and punter Ray Stachowicz.

The Spartans finished 4-6-1 in his first season, 7-3-1 the following year and 8-3 in 1978 as they tied Michigan for a conference title and Rogers was named the Big Ten Coach of the Year. However, that was their final year of probation, which prohibited them from playing in a bowl game or on TV. After posting a 5-6 record in 1979, Rogers left to become the head coach at Arizona State, where he spent five seasons.

"He would just kind of let the coaches coach and he would just come around and take our temperature and let us play ball, and that was a good thing," former Michigan State linebacker Dan Bass said on The Drive with Jack and Tom. "He was very level-headed and that's why we loved playing for him."

The Lions fired coach Monte Clark and hired Rogers in 1985 to replace him. Rogers went 18-40 before being fired in November 1988 and replaced by his defensive coordinator, Wayne Fontes, who spent the next eight seasons as head coach.

Rogers, who pushed Gibson into pursuing a baseball career, also coached the Winnipeg Blue Bombers in the CFL and was hired as the athletic director at Southern Connecticut State University in 1992, where he spent a decade before retiring.