 McKay in 1965 | |
| Biographical details | |
|---|---|
| Born | (1923-07-05)July 5, 1923 Everettville, West Virginia, U.S. |
| Died | June 10, 2001(2001-06-10) (aged 77) Tampa, Florida, U.S. |
| Playing career | |
| 1946 | Purdue |
| 1947–1949 | Oregon |
| Position | Back |
| Coaching career (HC unless noted) | |
| 1950–1958 | Oregon (assistant) |
| 1959 | USC (assistant) |
| 1960–1975 | USC |
| 1976–1984 | Tampa Bay Buccaneers |
| Administrative career (AD unless noted) | |
| 1972–1975 | USC |
| Head coaching record | |
| Overall | 127–40–8 (college) 44–88–1 (NFL) |
| Bowls | 6–3 |
| Accomplishments and honors | |
| Championships | |
| 4National (1962, 1967, 1972, 1974) 9AAWU/Pac-8 (1962, 1964, 1966–1969, 1972–1974) | |
| Awards | |
| 2×AFCA Coach of the Year (1962, 1972) 2×Eddie Robinson Coach of the Year (1962, 1972) Sporting News College Football COY (1972) Tampa Stadium Krewe of Honor (1991) Tampa Bay Buccaneers' Ring of Honor (2010) | |
| College Football Hall of Fame Inducted in 1988 (profile) | |
John Harvey McKay (July 5, 1923 – June 10, 2001) was an Americanfootball coach. He was the head coach at theUniversity of Southern California (USC) from1960 to1975 and of theNational Football League'sTampa Bay Buccaneers from1976 to1984. In sixteen seasons atUSC, McKay compiled a record of 127–40–8 (.749) and won nineAAWU/Pac-8 conference titles. His teams made eight appearances in theRose Bowl, with five wins. Four of his squads capturednational titles (1962,1967,1972,1974).
Following a disappointing1975 season, McKay moved to the NFL as the first head coach of theexpansion Tampa Bay Buccaneers. In1976 and1977, Tampa Bay lost the first 26 games but improved by the end of the 1970s. The Buccaneers made the playoffs three times under McKay, including an appearance in theNFC Championship Game in1979. McKay was inducted into theCollege Football Hall of Fame as a coach in 1988. On January 1, 2014, McKay was named the All-Century Coach of theRose Bowl Game during the celebration of the100th Rose Bowl Game; his son represented him in the 2014Rose Parade.
McKay was born inWest Virginia in the now-defunct town ofEverettville inMonongalia County, where he was raised as a Roman Catholic. He was the third of five children born toScots-Irish parents John and Gertrude McKay. His father was acoal mine superintendent who died when John was 13 years old. He grew up inShinnston, and graduated from Shinnston High School in 1941. Offered a footballscholarship toWake Forest, McKay was on campus enrolling when his widowed mother became ill. He returned home to West Virginia and worked as an electrician's assistant in a coal mine for a year, then enlisted in theU.S. Army Air Force in 1942. McKay served as atailgunner aboardB-29s and saw action in thePacific Theatre duringWorld War II.
After the war, he entered college atPurdue University in 1946 at the age of 23, then transferred to theUniversity of Oregon in 1947. He playedfootball as ahalfback at both schools. At Purdue he played under former NFL champion quarterbackCecil Isbell alongsideBob DeMoss andEd Cody, and split time withEd Ehlers. For theOregon Ducks, he played alongside quarterbackNorm Van Brocklin.[1]The 1948 Ducks went 9–1 in the regular season and 7–0 in thePacific Coast, co-champions withCalifornia. Because the two teams did not meet during the season, the bid to theRose Bowl was decided by the university presidents, which went to California on a split vote that was not disclosed.[2][3] Breaking with tradition, the PCC allowed the co-champions to also play in a bowl game. The Ducks accepted an invitation to theCotton Bowl inDallas, but were defeated 21–13 by hometownSMU.[4][5][6]
Van Brocklin graduated and was selected in the1949 NFL draft bythe Los Angeles Rams; McKay took over the Duck offense in1949 and called the audibles from his two-point stance as a running back. Without the future NFL Hall of Famer, the Ducks slipped to 4–6 (2–5 in the PCC). Without McKay on the field in1950, Oregon was 1–9 and winless in conference, including shutouts byUCLA and lowlyIdaho. The Ducks scored only 97 points all season and were kept under ten points in half of their games.[7]
After graduation from Oregon in 1950, McKay decided to become a coach. He was an assistant for the Ducks for nine seasons, one underJim Aiken and eight withLen Casanova, who arrived from theUniversity of Pittsburgh in 1951. Improving through the 1950s, the Ducks tied for the conference title in 1957 and played in the1958 Rose Bowl. Following the 1958 season, McKay moved south toUSC as an assistant under third-year head coachDon Clark. A notable member of the USC staff at this time wasAl Davis, the offensive line coach. The Trojans were coming off two losing seasons, 1–9 in 1957 and 4–5–1 in 1958. They won their first eight games in 1959 but lost to rivalsUCLA andNotre Dame to conclude the season. After failing to defeat either of the two rivals in three years, Clark resigned. McKay was hired as the Trojans' head coach for the 1960 season.
In his first two seasons as head coach, McKay's teams enjoyed little success, going 4–6 in 1960 and 4–5–1 in 1961. The Trojans had been on probation and had difficulty recruiting; McKay stated that these two teams were the slowest he had ever been around. Heading into the 1962 season, McKay felt he might be fired by university presidentNorman Topping; alumni were pressuring Topping to fire McKay, but Topping resisted and gave McKay one more year so he could field a team with players he had recruited. Topping believed that McKay had recruited well and that the team would be successful.[8] Topping proved to be correct. In 1962, McKay guided USC to an 11–0 record, including a 42–37Rose Bowl victory over #2-rankedWisconsin, leading to anational championship. USC won a total of four national championships (1962, 1967, 1972, and 1974) during McKay's tenure as head coach, and the 1972 squad is regarded as one of the best teams in college football history.[9] That team went 12–0, defeating five teams ranked 18th or higher by an average of 22 points. They never trailed in the second half of any game, and their closest game was a nine-point win over Stanford. Players from that team includedMike Rae,Pat Haden,Sam Cunningham,Anthony Davis,Lynn Swann,Charlie Young,Gary Jeter,Richard Wood andCharles Phillips. Two of his players,Mike Garrett (1965) andO. J. Simpson (1968), won theHeisman Trophy. McKay popularized theI formation and emphasized a power running game with such plays as "Student Body Left" and "Student Body Right." Through 2021, he remains the winningest head football coach in school history.
On November 26, 1966, Notre Dame crushed USC 51–0 for the worst defeat in the program's history. Reportedly, after the game, McKay vowed never to lose a game to the Fighting Irish 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."[10] After that loss, McKay was 6–1–2 vs. Notre Dame, losing only during the Irish' national championship season of1973. He even admitted that while growing up, being an Irish Catholic, he was a Notre Dame fan.
After turning down several offers from NFL teams, including theCleveland Browns,New England Patriots andLos Angeles Rams, McKay was lured to Tampa Bay in1976 to becomethe Buccaneers' first head coach.[11] Motivating his decision was the combined fivefold salary increase (totaling $2 million) and the prospect of building a franchise from the ground up.[11] The Buccaneers lost all 14 games in1976 and the first 12 games of1977 before finally winning againstthe New Orleans Saints. The Bucs would also win the last game of the 1977 season overthe St. Louis Cardinals for a two-game winning streak.
After winning five games in1978, the Buccaneers doubled that the following year, posting their first winning season. They clinched the1979NFC Central title in the final week by beatingthe Kansas City Chiefs 3–0 in a drivingTampa rainstorm. They then defeatedthe Philadelphia Eagles 24–17 in a divisional playoff game to advance tothe NFC Championship where, in a defensive battle, they lost tothe Los Angeles Rams 9–0. The Buccaneers made two more playoff appearances in1981 and1982.
After the 1982 season, McKay strongly supported star quarterbackDoug Williams' bid for a better contract; at the time he was making less than 12 backups in the league. However, ownerHugh Culverhouse was unwilling to budge from his initial offer. Williams bolted to theUSFL for the 1983 season. Without Williams, McKay's offense appeared to be completely rudderless. The Buccaneers suffered through a two-win season in1983, and although they rebounded to win six in1984, it would be McKay's last. Thoroughly disillusioned, he stepped down as head coach. In the end, despite the Buccaneers' 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 after he got to Tampa that he'd made a mistake."[11] McKay later said that, despite the team's rapid ascent to the playoffs, theTampa Bay Area fans never forgave him for the franchise's 0–26 start.[12] McKay's record with the Buccaneers (his entire NFL career) was a dismal 44–88–1. Despite this, McKay was posthumously inducted into Tampa Bay's "Ring of Honor" on December 5, 2010.[13]
As an NFL coach, McKay proved to be a controversial figure. He had an unpredictable personality and was capable of great warmth, but also of scathing sarcasm. Veterans felt that his aloofness hampered his ability to communicate with the team.[14] Near the end of his tenure of head coach, he upset players by not addressing the team at any point before or after the game.[15] He was prone to emotional outbursts, as when he called fans "idiots" for booing Bucs' quarterbackSteve Spurrier during theexpansion season, and then again later when he applied the term to reporters and opposing players who criticized the team.[16] A1977 wave of offseason firings saw several executives replaced by men with close ties to McKay, and left the suspicion that he was attempting to surround himself with a staff that would bow easily to his will.[17] Similar accusations were made surrounding his handling of personnel, particularly following the 1976 season and again in the wake of a1982 trade that sent several players to theSan Diego Chargers, alleging that his intolerance of outspoken players was causing him to cut players who could help the team.[18] Some players resented McKay for placing his sonJohnny in the starting lineup when they felt that there were better receivers on the team,[19] a move for which McKay humorously gave "nepotism" as the motivation.[20]
Critics frequently questioned whether McKay's biting comments were detrimental to players, some of which described his conduct as "unprofessional".[21] McKay was noted for using the press to criticize players,[22] as when he complained about a young running back's pass-catching ability by sarcastically referring to him as "fabulous".[23] He responded to the ensuing controversy by repeatedly stating, "all of the players played lovely" at the following week's postgame press conference, despite the game having been a loss that eliminated the team from playoff contention.[24] Conversely, McKay could be fiercely protective of his players. He took the media to task for publishing subtly racist descriptions ofDoug Williams that insinuated that his mental capacity was inferior, and continually referred to him as a "black quarterback" instead of "a quarterback".[25] A public apology was required after he leveled a string of expletives against a group of fans who had directed racist comments at his players.[26] Despite his adversarial personal relationship with Spurrier, McKay defended him against fans' criticism.[27] He enraged theNew York Jets and incurred a large league fine in his final game, in which his attempt to secure an NFL yardage record for running backJames Wilder Sr. went to such extremes as to order the defense to lie down and allow the Jets to score a touchdown, in order to quickly regain possession of the ball.[28]
At 44 games under .500 McKay set the record for futility surpassingBert Bell in 1983, a record he held untilMarion Campbell passed him in 1988.[29]
McKay was the father of former Buccaneers general managerRich McKay, the current president of theAtlanta Falcons. Another son,J. K. McKay, played wide receiver under him twice: first for the Trojans from 1972 to 1975 and then later in the NFL for the Buccaneers from 1976 to 1979. McKay and his wife, Corky, had two daughters, Michele McKay Breese and Terri McKay Florio.
McKay died at St. Joseph's Hospital in Tampa, Florida, fromdiabetes-related complications on June 10, 2001, at the age of 77.[30] His ashes were spread on the field of theLos Angeles Memorial Coliseum.[31] For his contribution to sports in Los Angeles, he was honored with a Coliseum"Court of Honor" plaque by the Coliseum commissioners.
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McKay became famous for many of his humorous answers during press conferences, for which Philadelphia Eagles coachDick Vermeil called him "Dial-a-Quote".[32] His notable quips:
| Year | Team | Overall | Conference | Standing | Bowl/playoffs | Coaches# | AP° | ||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| USC Trojans(Pacific-8 Conference)(1960–1975) | |||||||||
| 1960 | USC | 4–6 | 3–1 | 2nd | |||||
| 1961 | USC | 4–5–1 | 2–1–1 | T–2nd | |||||
| 1962 | USC | 11–0 | 4–0 | 1st | WRose | 1 | 1 | ||
| 1963 | USC | 7–3 | 3–1 | 2nd | 16 | ||||
| 1964 | USC | 7–3 | 3–1 | T–1st | 10 | 10 | |||
| 1965 | USC | 7–2–1 | 4–1 | 2nd | 9 | 10 | |||
| 1966 | USC | 7–4 | 4–1 | T–1st | LRose | 18 | |||
| 1967 | USC | 10–1 | 6–1 | 1st | WRose | 1 | 1 | ||
| 1968 | USC | 9–1–1 | 6–0 | 1st | LRose | 2 | 4 | ||
| 1969 | USC | 10–0–1 | 6–0 | 1st | WRose | 4 | 3 | ||
| 1970 | USC | 6–4–1 | 3–4 | T–6th | 19 | 15 | |||
| 1971 | USC | 6–4–1 | 3–2–1 | 3rd | 20 | ||||
| 1972 | USC | 12–0 | 7–0 | 1st | WRose | 1 | 1 | ||
| 1973 | USC | 9–2–1 | 7–0 | 1st | LRose | 7 | 8 | ||
| 1974 | USC | 10–1–1 | 6–0–1 | 1st | WRose | 1 | 2 | ||
| 1975 | USC | 8–4 | 3–4 | 5th | WLiberty | 19 | 17 | ||
| USC: | 127–40–8 | 70–17–3 | |||||||
| Total: | 127–40–8 | ||||||||
| National championship Conference title Conference division title or championship game berth | |||||||||
| |||||||||
| Team | Year | Regular season | Postseason | |||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Won | Lost | Ties | Win % | Finish | Won | Lost | Win % | Result | ||
| TB | 1976 | 0 | 14 | 0 | .000 | 5th in AFC West | – | – | – | – |
| TB | 1977 | 2 | 12 | 0 | .143 | 5th in NFC Central | – | – | – | – |
| TB | 1978 | 5 | 11 | 0 | .312 | 5th in NFC Central | – | – | – | – |
| TB | 1979 | 10 | 6 | 0 | .625 | 1st in NFC Central | 1 | 1 | .500 | Lost toLos Angeles Rams inNFC Championship Game. |
| TB | 1980 | 5 | 10 | 1 | .333 | 4th in NFC Central | – | – | – | – |
| TB | 1981 | 9 | 7 | 0 | .563 | 1st in NFC Central | 0 | 1 | .000 | Lost toDallas Cowboys inNFC Divisional Game. |
| TB | 1982 | 5 | 4 | 0 | .556 | 7th in NFC | 0 | 1 | .000 | Lost toDallas Cowboys inNFC 1st Round Game |
| TB | 1983 | 2 | 14 | 0 | .125 | 5th in NFC Central | – | – | – | – |
| TB | 1984 | 6 | 10 | 0 | .375 | 3rd in NFC Central | – | – | – | – |
| Total[37] | 44 | 88 | 1 | .333 | 1 | 3 | .250 | |||
| International | |
|---|---|
| National | |
