Herman Boone, who led a racially integrated high school football team in Virginia to a state championship in his first season as head coach, inspiring the 2000 movie “Remember the Titans,” in which he was portrayed by Denzel Washington, died on Wednesday at his home in Alexandria, Va. He was 84.

The cause was lung cancer, said Anthony Henderson, a son-in-law.

In 1971, Alexandria’s three public high schools were merged into T.C. Williams High School, and Mr. Boone was hired by the school board to be the head coach of the football team, the Titans.

“He handled that coaching year with dignity,” said Wayne Sanders, who was a running back on the junior varsity team that year. “He was the right man for that year because of his coaching style.”