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John McKay (football coach)
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
 |
Please help improve this article or section by expanding it. Further information might be found on the talk page or at requests for expansion. (June 2007) |
| John McKay | |
|---|---|
 McKay mans the sideline |
|
| Date of birth | July 5, 1923 |
| Place of birth |  Everettsville, West Virginia |
| Date of death | June 10, 2001 |
| Place of death | Tampa, Florida |
| Position(s) | Head Coach |
| College | University of Oregon |
| Career Record | 44-88-0 (Regular Season) 1-3 (Postseason) 45-91-0 (Overall) |
| Championships Won |
Rose Bowl (1965) Rose Bowl (1967) Rose Bowl (1969) Rose Bowl (1972) Rose Bowl (1974) NFC Central (1979) |
| Coaching Stats | Pro Football Reference |
| Coaching Stats | DatabaseFootball |
| Team(s) as a coach/administrator | |
| 1950-1958 1959 1960-1975 1976-1984 |
University of Oregon (Assistant Coach) University of Southern California (Assistant Coach) University of Southern California (Head Coach) Tampa Bay Buccaneers (Head Coach) |
| College Hall of Fame | |
John Harvey McKay (July 5, 1923 – June 10, 2001) was an American football coach. He was the head coach of the USC Trojans from 1960 to 1975, and of the Tampa Bay Buccaneers from 1976 to 1984.
McKay was born in the now-defunct town of Everettsville, West Virginia. After graduating from high school he worked in the coal mines for a year before enlisting in the U.S. Air Force. He finally entered college at the age of 23, attending both Purdue University and the University of Oregon and playing at both schools. He turned down the opportunity to play in the NFL, deciding on a coaching career. McKay was an assistant coach at Oregon for 8 years before moving to USC in 1959, and he became USC's head coach the following year.
USC won four national championships (1962, 1967, 1972 and 1974) during McKay's tenure as head coach. His 1972 squad is regarded as one of the best teams in NCAA history. Two of his players, Mike Garrett (1965) and O.J. Simpson (1968), won the Heisman Trophy. He popularized the I-formation, emphasizing a power running game with such plays as Student Body Left and Student Body Right. An Irish Catholic, McKay admitted he was a Notre Dame fan while growing up, then ironically presided over the worst defeat in USC history, a 51-0 loss to the Irish on November 26, 1966. It was reported that after that game, McKay vowed never to lose to Notre Dame again, which he denied.
After turning down several offers from NFL teams, including the Cleveland Browns, New England Patriots and Los Angeles Rams, McKay finally was lured to Tampa Bay to become the Buccaneers' first head coach in 1976[1]. What finally intrigued him enough was the combined fivefold salary increase (totaling $2m per year) and the prospect of building a franchise from the ground up, as opposed to the previous offers at established programs[1]. The Buccaneers lost all 14 games in 1976 and the first 12 games of 1977 before winning their first game against the New Orleans Saints. They would also win the last game of the 1977 season.
In 1979, the Buccaneers posted their first winning season. The Bucs won the NFC Central title in the final week of the 1979 season by beating the Kansas City Chiefs 3-0 in a driving Tampa rainstorm to advance to the NFC Championship, where they lost to the Los Angeles Rams in a defensive battle 9-0. The Bucs would make two more playoff appearances in 1981 and 1982, but by then they were a damaged team. With their star quarterback Doug Williams going to the USFL, the Bucs suffered through two losing seasons, and in 1985, McKay stepped down as head coach of the team. In the end, McKay forever regretted his decision to leave the Trojans. His son noted that he knew "within the first week he got to Tampa that he'd made a mistake"[1].
McKay often came up with humorous one-liners during press conferences. One of the best known quips came when he was asked, "What do you think about your team's execution?" McKay responded, "I'm all for it!" When he was asked why his tailbacks carried the ball so much, he replied, "Why not? It's not heavy and he doesn't belong to any union." He even managed to find humor after USC's 51-0 loss to Notre Dame: "After that game, I told the team, 'Forget it. There are 700 million people in China who didn't know anything about it.' The next day, a guy called me from China and asked 'What happened, Coach?'". He also knew why Notre Dame was so lucky: "They have an official named Patrick Murphy."
John McKay is the father of former Buccaneers general manager Rich McKay, who is now the president and general manager of the Atlanta Falcons. His son J.K. McKay played wide receiver under him twice: first for the Trojans from 1972-75, including two championship teams, 1972 and as a starter on the 1974 team, and later in the NFL for the Buccaneers from 1976-1979.
Contents |
| Year | Team | Overall | Conference | Standing | Bowl Game | Bowl Opponent | Outcome | Rank# |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| University of Southern California (Pacific-8 Conference) (1960 — 1975) | ||||||||
| 1960 | USC | 4-6 | 3-1 | 2 | ||||
| 1961 | USC | 4-5-1 | 2-1-1 | 2 - T | ||||
| 1962 | USC | 11-0 | 4-0 | 1 | Rose Bowl | Wisconsin | W 42-37 | 1 |
| 1963 | USC | 7-3 | 3-1 | 2 | 16 - T | |||
| 1964 | USC | 7-3 | 3-1 | 1 - T | 10 | |||
| 1965 | USC | 7-2-1 | 4-1 | 2 | 9 | |||
| 1966 | USC | 7-4 | 4-1 | 1 | Rose Bowl | Purdue | L 13-14 | 18 |
| 1967 | USC | 10-1 | 6-1 | 1 | Rose Bowl | Indiana | W 14-3 | 1 |
| 1968 | USC | 9-1-1 | 6-0 | 1 | Rose Bowl | Ohio State | L 16-27 | 2 |
| 1969 | USC | 10-0-1 | 6-0 | 1 | Rose Bowl | Michigan | W 10-3 | 4 |
| 1970 | USC | 6-4-1 | 3-4 | 6 - T | 19 - T | |||
| 1971 | USC | 6-4-1 | 3-2-1 | 2 | ||||
| 1972 | USC | 12-0 | 7-0 | 1 | Rose Bowl | Ohio State | W 42-17 | 1 |
| 1973 | USC | 9-2-1 | 7-0 | 1 | Rose Bowl | Ohio State | L 21-42 | 7 |
| 1974 | USC | 10-1-1 | 6-0-1 | 1 | Rose Bowl | Ohio State | W 18-17 | 1 |
| 1975 | USC | 8-4 | 3-4 | 5 | Liberty Bowl | Texas A&M | W 20-0 | 19 - T |
| At USC: | 127-40-8 | 70-17-3 | ||||||
| Career: | 127-40-8 | |||||||
| National Championship Conference Title | ||||||||
| †Indicates BCS bowl game. #Rankings from final Coaches Poll of the season. | ||||||||
- ^ a b c Sam Farmer, He took the money and ran -- to Tampa, Los Angeles Times, January 12, 2007, Accessed Jan. 12, 2007.
- In Memoriam: A Life of Legend. USC Trojan Family Magazine - Autumn 2001. Retrieved on September 28, 2005.
- College Football Hall of Fame
- John McKay Profile at Rosebowl Legends
- Coaching state at databasefootball.com
| Preceded by Don Clark |
University of Southern California Head Football Coach 1960–1975 |
Succeeded by John Robinson |
| Preceded by Darrell Royal Bob Devaney |
Paul "Bear" Bryant Award 1962 1972 |
Succeeded by Darrell Royal Johnny Majors |
| Preceded by First Coach |
Tampa Bay Buccaneers Head Football Coach 1976–1984 |
Succeeded by Leeman Bennett |
| Preceded by Jess Hill |
University of Southern California Athletic Director 1972-1975 |
Succeeded by Dick Perry |
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| McKay • Bennett • Perkins • Williamson • Wyche • Dungy • Gruden |
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| Goddard • Suffel • Freeman • Tappaan • Walker • Holmes • Traeger • Cromwell • Glaze • Henderson • Jones • Barry • Cravath • Hill • Clark • McKay • Robinson • Tollner • Smith • Hackett • Carroll |
Categories: Articles to be expanded since June 2007 | All articles to be expanded | 1923 births | 2001 deaths | College Football Hall of Fame | USC Trojans football coaches | Oregon Ducks football coaches | USC Trojans athletic directors | Tampa Bay Buccaneers coaches | American football running backs | Purdue Boilermakers football players | People from West Virginia