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SAN LUIS OBISPO, Calif. -- Mel Kaufman, a linebacker on the Mustangs’ NCAA Division II national championship team in 1980 and an eight-year veteran of the Washington Redskins of the National Football League, died in his Santa Margarita home Saturday night.

Kaufman died of natural causes about three weeks shy of his 51st birthday.

An autopsy performed Wednesday by the San Luis Obispo County Sheriff's Office revealed the cause of death as an intra-abdominal hemorrhage due to hemorrhagic pancreatitis.

Kaufman, inducted into the Cal Poly Athletics Hall of Fame in 1993, played in three Super Bowls with the Redskins. Washington won Super Bowl XVII following the 1982 season and Super Bowl XXII after the 1987 campaign while losing Super Bowl XVIII following the 1983 season. Kaufman also was a scout for the Redskins in Super Bowl XXVI after the 1991 season.

He was hired as linebackers coach at Cal Poly last spring and helped guide the Mustangs to an 8-3 record, a Great West Conference title and their second NCAA Division I Football Championship Subdivision playoff berth.

“It’s a tragedy. He was a good man and a compassionate man,” said former Cal Poly head coach Rich Ellerson, who became head coach at Army in December. “I pray that the stress of the coaching business wasn't a contributing factor. He was just a good guy, a passionate guy, a Mustang.”

Kaufman had been out of football at the college and professional levels for about 10 years before he was hired 11 months ago to coach the Mustang linebackers.

“I hired him because of his past, the number of guys he played with over the years who were passionate about him and the kind of person he was,” said Ellerson. “We took a bit of a chance with him because he hadn’t coached before at this level, but there were a lot of compelling things in his background as a player and scout as well as who he was as a person.

“We still needed to teach him how to coach, get a foothold, work up the ranks,” Ellerson added. “It was really hard on him. It was learn by doing for him.”

Kaufman and defensive back LeCharls McDaniel, who also played on the Mustangs’ 1980 national championship team under head coach Joe Harper, both were signed by Redskins general manager Bobby Beathard as free agents after a workout at Cal Poly in 1981.

“I said to myself, ‘Wow, this guy is real skinny at 198, maybe 202 pounds. He’s not going to make it at linebacker,’ ” said Beathard, himself a Mustang alumnus. “But he worked out real well, so I told him we’re not going to draft you, but we will sign you anyway after the draft. We got both Mel and LeCharls.

“I bought Mel a whole bunch of protein powder and peanut butter, and told him to start lifting to gain weight,” Beathard added. “He got up to 218, 220 at the start of the 1981 season and ended up playing at about 215. He just did just an amazing job.

“I visited with Mel a long time at the North Carolina Central game last November,” Beathard continued. “He was a great kid, learned quickly and, for his size, had an explosive nature about him. When he hit somebody, he really hit him hard, unlike a 215-pound guy. He was very cerebral, didn't make very many mistakes and brought a lot of life to the team.”

Added McDaniel, “Mel was a great human being on top of being a great football player. He was a great person, always got along with all people, very likeable. People don't know how good a man he really was, but the people who really knew him know. He affected people in a way he didn't even realize.

“Mel and I came to Cal Poly together,” McDaniel added. “Both of us were skinny kids and we both knew we had to work to achieve anything. I tried to protect him and we grew up together. We went into pro football doing the same thing. Bobby gave us an opportunity. We roomed together. We kept each other going.

“There were tough times, but it’s a little easier when doing it with friends. He was a true friend, a great football player. He came into Cal Poly at 170 pounds and played with leverage, played with speed and played with confidence that you can only try to teach kids today.

“He’s one of the great Redskins.”

“Gosh, what a shock,” said Harper. “His experience in the pros speaks for itself. He was an exceptional player and an exceptional young man. He probably did more to realize his potential than most of the other guys that I know.”

Born Feb. 24, 1958, in Los Angeles, Kaufman earned two varsity letters in football at Santa Monica High School, graduating in 1976. He played four seasons with the Mustangs after a redshirt year in 1976.

Kaufman returned an interception 79 yards for a score against Cal State Northridge in the 1980 national championship season and recorded 67 tackles and two interceptions as a junior in 1979. In 1978, Kaufman recovered a blocked Portland State punt.

A defensive team leader and team captain with the Redskins from 1981-88, Kaufman was a starting linebacker on three National Football Conference championship teams (1982, 1983 and 1987).

"Mel was a tremendous football player, as well as a fine talent evaluator," Redskins owner Daniel M. Snyder told Redskins.com. "His work on the field as a player and as a coach, and as well as his commitment to so many charities, were testament to how much he loved the game and the fans who cheered for him. Our prayers go out to his family during this sad time."

Kaufman announced his retirement from the National Football League on July 5, 1989. He started 78 of 91 games since making the team as a rookie free agent in 1981, although he was limited to only six starts in 1988, his last season, after a shoulder and neck injury.

Following his playing career, he was a scouting supervisor for the Redskins through 1998, giving him 16 years of NFL experience.

Kaufman recorded 18.5 sacks and seven interceptions with the Redskins, returning one theft 70 yards for a touchdown in 1983. He also recovered five fumbles in his NFL career, also returning one for a score in 1983.

Kaufman obtained his bachelor’s degree in social science and industrial relations at Cal Poly in 1984.

More recently, Kaufman served as an assistant manager at Blue Sky’s, a family-owned moving and storage company in Los Angeles, in 1998 and 1999, a mental health counselor and football, basketball and baseball coach at Masada High in Gardena from 2000-05 and a football official (youth and high school games) in the Pacific Coast Conference in 2006 and 2007.

As a volunteer, Kaufman was director of the minority internship program and a training camp director for the Redskins, worked with Big Brothers and Big Sisters of Washington, D.C., served on the board of directors for the Northern Virginia chapter of the American Lung Association as well as the board of advisors for Virginia Commerce Bank and was a spokesperson for the FBI, Drug Enforcement Agency and the U.S. military, working with and speaking to children and adults.

Kaufman is survived by his mother, Muriel; one brother, Earl; four nephews, Chris, Nicholas, Tony and Fred; two nieces, Schuyler and Siesha; and a god-daughter, Kelly.

A funeral service will be held Friday, Feb. 20, at 11 a.m. at the Peoples Independent Church of Christ, 5856 West Boulevard, Los Angeles. Viewing is scheduled for Thursday, Feb. 19, throughout the day at Spalding Mortuary, 3045 La Brea Ave., Los Angeles, and also is scheduled for Friday, Feb. 20, at 9:30 a.m. at the church prior to the funeral service.

A memorial service is being planned in San Luis Obispo after the funeral. Details will be announced at a later date.