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RIP Coach Mac

I watched The Gospel According to Mac again (30 -30, season 3, episode 3). Very good documentary - wonderful memories

I had to check something while watching: His grandson, Sal's son T.C. McCartney, is the Patriot's QB coach. Jon Embree's son Taylor is their RB coach. Small world sometimes..
 
he was a special person and a special coach. I didn't love all the evangelical stuff but he was a damn good man. when he quit to dedicate himself to the promise keepers, the media was horrible to him. they said it was a ploy to wait and coach another "better" program. **** them. he was black and gold the whole way.

the handful of times I interacted with him personally were truly special to me. blessing to him and his family. we will honor his legacy.
 
My personal Coach Mac memory….I was walking through campus to my apartment on the hill one evening during football season. The team had little success at that point, so the pressure was building. I looked to my right and noticed Coach was walking near me in the same direction. He said hello and asked how I was doing. I was so impressed that he gave a **** about me with everything else that must have been on his mind. It was a little thing obviously, but it stayed with me for decades. RIP Coach.
 
I know a lot of people didn't like Mac's religious beliefs and political leanings but I respect him a lot for living his values.

He was on top of the college football world. He had a national championship and had built a roster and coaching staff that could have won another one.

Instead he recognized that his life as a football coach was compromising his life as a husband, a father, and as a Christian and he stepped down to lend his fame to trying to help other men be better men.

I have never heard of any of his former players who didn't deeply respect him and most consider him a huge positive influence on their lives. When they talk it isn't about football games they won but how he made them better people.

His influence will last a lot longer and be felt in a much wider area than just what he did winning football games.
 
a couple Mac stories from back in the day that I have probably shared a zillion times.

year 1 of the Mac Era... I walk into the weight room (far fewer rules then about who could go where and when), Mac has a bunch of linemen in a row of bench presses and he's pushing them to lift faster and harder and some are tapping out and puking all over the place. he was quite direct: this is how to avoid having Nebraska shove a football up your ass. work harder.

a couple years later, now- mrs. liver and I are walking to a game about 3 hours before hand, maybe more. we are all black and gold clad and you know the whole thing. he stopped us, asked how we were, and if we were ready for the game. his enthusiasm was infectious. I wanted to run through the wall for him right then and there. and he was super-cool to now- mrs. liver.

good times.
 
Get out your kleenex -tributes from many of his players, peers:

a great man

An interesting fact mentioned:

"In 1980, as Michigan's defensive coordinator, his game plan and his defenders' execution, shutout Purdue, 26-0, and its unanimous All-American and future NFL quarterback Mark Herrmann. After the victory, Coach McCartney was named the defensive player of the week in the Big Ten, which was unprecedented for a coach to be recognized in this way."
 
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I had one personal encounter with Coach Mac. It had nothing to do with football.

I had volleyball season tickets. Almost every night when I got to my reserved seat, someone would be sitting in it and I would kick them out.

This night the same thing happened. It wasn't until he moved a few seats away that I realized I had kicked Coach Mac out of my seat. I apologized. He said no, I owe you an apology. You have the best seat in the house. That's why I sat in it.

We then went on to talk about Promise Keepers because my brother in law attended the first Promise Keepers event at Folsom and a couple more after that.

My sister had just told him that he had to choose between alochol or the marriage. He said after the weekend attending Promise Keepers, he knew what he had to do. He came home and has never had a drink of alcohol again. He did it cold turkey. His only counseling was his pastor. He didn't want to go to a 12 step program because in rural Iowa, someone would recognize him.

To this day, he and my sister credit Coach Mac with saving their marriage.
 
Liver said:
he was a special person and a special coach. I didn't love all the evangelical stuff but he was a damn good man. when he quit to dedicate himself to the promise keepers, the media was horrible to him. they said it was a ploy to wait and coach another "better" program. **** them. he was black and gold the whole way.

the handful of times I interacted with him personally were truly special to me. blessing to him and his family. we will honor his legacy.
Click to expand...


Fowler on Coach Mac. This is worth a couple minutes.


Here's another story I thought I'd post here. I remember getting the chance to go to the Texas game in 1994-the week after the Miracle at Michigan. Rashaan Salaam ran for 317 ****ing yards that day-easily the greatest performance I've ever seen ANY running back have (not just at CU-I'm talking about football in general) and probably ever will. When my dad (Grandpa flew down for this one) and I used to go to games when I was a kid, we'd try to get me autographs/pictures with the players and coaches. Still won't forget meeting Michael Westbrook after that game-that dude had the biggest hands I've ever seen in my life.

Anyway, I remember a ton of media outside the CU locker room at DKR. My dad and grandfather are standing behind all of that-and I'm on Grandpa's shoulders. He came over and talked with us for a few minutes on his way to the bus, and I got a picture with him. One of the most incredible people I've ever met. I remember him asking (I'm an 8 year old kid) if I actually played football. Fast forward to 2020. My grandfather had passed away-and I was asked to speak at his service. Actually wound up telling that story-not sure why......but it just seemed right. I don't think I'll ever forget the couple minutes we spent with him after what was a fairly big win. He was trying to get to know us-and he was always that way. The three of us spent the entire drive back to DFW talking about that maybe 5 minute conversation and picture. He had this ability to make the people he talked to feel like they were the only one in the room when he was with them.

Had the chance to visit with him briefly at a couple Buff lunches (we're talking Embree era here-before Coach started having health issues). Actually brought that story up with him-and he remembered it.

He was special, man.
 
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