John McKay

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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.

Biography

Early life

McKay was born in the now-defunct town of Everettville in Monongalia County, West Virginia, the son of a coal mine superintendent. He grew up in Shinnston, West Virginia, and after graduating from Shinnston High School he worked in coal mines for a year before enlisting in the U.S. Army Air Force, where he served as a tail gunner during World War II. He entered college at the age of 23, attending both Purdue University and the University of Oregon and playing football at both schools. At Oregon, he was a running back behind quarterback Norm Van Brocklin. When Van Brocklin graduated, McKay took over the calling of audibles from his two-point stance as a running back.

Coaching career

College

After college, rather than attempting to play in the NFL, he instead opted for a coaching career. McKay was an assistant coach at Oregon for eight 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. McKay popularized the I-formation, and emphasized a power running game with such plays as Student Body Left and Student Body Right.

McKay was Irish-American and Roman Catholic, and a Notre Dame fan while growing up. On November 26, 1966, he presided over a 51-0 USC loss to the Irish-the worst defeat in USC history. Reportedly, after the game McKay said that USC would never get beat by Notre Dame again. He denied saying it, however, and in an interview shortly before his death, he clarified that he actually said, "they'll never beat us 51-0 again." After that loss, McKay was 6–1–2 vs. Notre Dame, losing only during the Irish' national championship season of 1973. Years later after his death his ashes were spread onto the Coliseum field.^[1]

NFL

After turning down several offers from NFL teams, including the Cleveland Browns, New England Patriots and Los Angeles Rams, in 1976 McKay was lured to Tampa Bay to become the Buccaneers' first head coach.^[2] Motivating his decision was the combined fivefold salary increase (totaling $2m per year) and the prospect of building a franchise from the ground up.^[2] The Buccaneers lost all 14 games in 1976 and the first 12 games of 1977 before finally winning a game (against the New Orleans Saints). They would also win the last game of the 1977 season.

After winning five games in 1978, the Buccaneers would double that the following year, posting their first winning season. They clinched the 1979 NFC Central title in the final week by beating the Kansas City Chiefs 3–0 in a driving Tampa rainstorm. They then defeated the Philadelphia Eagles 24–17 in a divisional playoff game to advance to the NFC Championship where, in a defensive battle, they lost to the Los Angeles Rams 9–0. The Buccaneers would make two more playoff appearances in 1981 and 1982.

After that season, McKay strongly supported star quarterback Doug Williams' bid for a better contract; at the time he was making less than 12 backups. However, owner Hugh Culverhouse made what both McKay and Williams felt was a lowball offer and wouldn't budge. Williams bolted to the USFL. Without Williams, McKay's offense appeared to be completely rudderless. The Buccaneers suffered through a two-win season in 1983, and although they rebounded to win six in 1984, it would be McKay's last as he would step down as head coach at the end of the year. In the end, despite the Bucs' brief success in the early 1980s, 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."^[2]

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 one of 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."

Family

John McKay was the father of former Buccaneers general manager Rich McKay, the current president of the Atlanta Falcons. Another son, J.K. McKay, played wide receiver under him twice: first for the Trojans from 1972–75 (including two championship teams) and then later in the NFL for the Buccaneers from 1976–1979.

McKay and his wife Corky had two daughters, Michele McKay Breese and Terri McKay Florio.

Death

He died at St. Joseph's Hospital in Tampa, Florida from complications due to diabetes on Sunday June 10, 2001.^[3]

Head coaching record

College

NFL

See also

World War II portal

• List of presidents of the American Football Coaches Association

References

External links

• College Football Hall of Fame
• John McKay Profile at Rosebowl Legends
• Coaching state at databasefootball.com