NFL
By: Brock Vierra
Former University of Hawaii head coach Greg McMackin passed away last week at age 77. He was at home, surrounded by loved ones. Coach Mac left a mark on Hawaii that can never be forgotten. McMackin was directly or indirectly responsible for a collection of random moments in the islands like a buy one, get one free Big Mac deal in Hawaii when the Warriors won a ball game, having Brian Kelly shitting his pants when Hawaii almost upset the then 13th ranked Cincinnati in both team’s regular-season finale, coaching Hawaii to their only road win over a ranked opponent when they upset Fresno State in McMackin’s inaugural season, making Lane Kiffin have a mental breakdown on national TV in 2010, the Bryant Moniz for Heisman campaign, ruining Ken Niumatalolo’s return to Aloha Stadium and my personal favorite, ruining Chris Adult’s quest for a perfect season when he beat the ranked Nevada Wolfpack, giving them their only loss on the season and preventing them from a BCS bowl birth.
Coach Mac was a winner, he currently holds Hawaii’s last conference championship along with coaching some of the best defenses and defensive players to ever come out of the program. He is responsible for giving Nick Rolovich and Dave Aranda their first opportunities to be play callers and both would go on to achieve power five head coaching gigs. McMackin saw three Hawaii players drafted in the same draft (2010), the highest amount since 2006 and a number that has yet to be replicated. McMackin ranks fourth all-time in program wins with the three men above him all having coached over 100 games for the bows compared to McMackin’s 54. McMackin is also credited for continuously promoting and grooming top coaches in-house. Cal Lee, Ron Lee, Nick Rolovich, Dave Aranda, Rich Miano, and George Lumpkin either retained or were promoted under McMackin.
The University grossly underappreciated McMackin and some could say that UH is still recovering from his underserved push out of the program. Coach Mac was a vision, a dawg, a baller. He did not care who you were or what you did, his Warriors were gonna punch you in the face. Don’t believe me, turn on Hawaii vs USC 2010 tape and watch Greg Salas clobber Trojan defenders.
Coach Mac was only in charge of the Warriors for four years and he did a tremendous job during that time. He took over a job nobody wanted, a program cleared out of its 2007 WAC championship talent, and in the shadow of June Jones, McMackin turned huge expectations into a blissful reality. To this day I believe if he was allowed to stay, Hawaii would’ve assimilated into the Mountain West way more successfully than they did but that is neither here nor there.
When we look back at his career at UH, I don’t look at the numbers, the numerous All-WAC selections, or the bowl births/ championships. I look at the impact he had on his coaches and players. We talked already about how both Nick Rolovich and Dave Aranda credit McMackin for taking their careers to the next level but when I had a personal conversation about McMackin with Jeff Reinebold, Tank Hopkins, and Samson Anguay, they talked about a man who cared till the end. A man who spoke to or called every one of his players when his time at Hawaii ended. A man who kept in touch with those gentlemen long after his career was over. He exemplified excellence, he exemplified what it was to be a man. He wasn’t without flaws, he didn’t live a life that didn’t need a little bit of forgiveness but you also knew he would be right there when the shit hit the fan.
Greg McMackin made me believe UH could be special again. That 2007 though it was great, wasn’t just a flash in the pan. He made me believe that brighter days were ahead for UH football and I still believe that’s true. Rest in love Coach, I’ll never stop rewatching the ass-kicking you put on the NCAA.
