Sutherland, who was described as "a national hero" in a "Saturday Evening Post" article, was perhaps the most highly admired and influential coach in the history of the university. Following his years at Pitt he never coached again in college and moved on to a career in the NFL including a head coaching stint with the Pittsburgh Steelers before his untimely death in 1948 of a brain tumor. During his 15-year tenure at the university, the longest of any football coach at Pitt, he compiled a record of 111–20–12 which included 79 shutouts. Sutherland never lost to rival Penn State and lost only once to West Virginia, and his teams were named Eastern football champions seven times: 1925, 1927, 1929, 1931, 1934, 1936, and 1937. During this time, Pitt appeared in four Rose Bowl games (1928, 1930, 1933, and 1937) and turned down a bid for the 1938 Rose Bowl. Sutherland's teams were named "National Champions" by various selectors for nine different seasons including 1925, 1927, 1929, 1931, 1933, 1934, 1936, 1937, and 1938. Of these, the University of Pittsburgh officially recognizes five of those years as national championship seasons: 1929, 1931, 1934, 1936, and 1937.