Ex-Coach Pell Tries Suicide : Football: His condition is not immediately available after leaving note and being found in car.

Charley Pell, former University of Florida football coach, attempted suicide after leaving a note saying he had lost his desire to live.

Police said he was found Wednesday night in his car in a wooded area. The engine was running with a hose connected from the exhaust pipe into the car.

Pell, 52, was taken to Baptist Medical Center and admitted for his own safety, the police report said. Hospital spokeswoman Cindy Hamilton would not say if Pell was still hospitalized. His condition was not immediately available.

Pell coached Florida from 1979-84, compiling a 33-26-3 record. He was fired Sept. 16, 1984, three games into the season, after an NCAA investigation into widespread recruiting violations. The Gators ultimately were put on three years’ probation that later was reduced to two years.

Pell, who headed a Jacksonville insurance firm, had left a box at a local golf club and asked that it be given to Malcolm Jowers, head of team security for the Florida football team, according to police.

Inside the box, Jowers, who was also in charge of security when Pell was the Gators’ coach, found a note from Pell, according to the police. The note talked about how he was not motivated for the future and included a map of where his body could be found.

Calls to the Jowers’ residence went unanswered.