George MacIntyre was a very good man and an excellent coach. He was so good as a coach that he earned the Bobby Dodd Coach of the Year award in 1982 while coaching at Vanderbilt. He also earned the Sporting News College Football Coach of the Year and SEC Coach of the Year awards the same year.
In 1981, Vanderbilt's record was 4-8 (1-5 in the SEC). In 1982, they improved to 8-4 overall and 4-2 in the SEC. Their three losses in the regular season were all on the road, two to Top-5 teams (Alabama and Georgia) and another to #11 North Carolina.
Winning the "Bobby Dodd" is a big deal. Since the award was created in 1976, only two coaches have won it twice. Neither one was Nick Saban, who has only won it once. In fact, the Colorado head coach carries the "Bobby Dodd" coin his father won in his pocket as a constant and solid reminder of excellence in coaching.
Coaching and football is a family affair for the MacIntyre family. Mike played for his father at Vanderbilt. And his son Jay plays for him at Colorado. It's in their genes.
Thirty-four years after his father won the Bobby Dodd COY, Colorado's Mike MacIntyre is now the odds-on favorite for national coach of the year honors. He is proving that lightning can indeed strike twice. The MacIntyre family may soon be very well the holders of TWO Bobby Dodd coins.
National Coach of the Year would be the 2nd time for the University of Colorado in the last 27 years. The first went to the original Coach Mac, Bill McCartney. In 1989, when the Buffaloes went 11-0 in the regular season, he won the Eddie Robinson CoY, the Walter Camp CoY, the Bear Bryant CoY, and the same award from the American Football Coaches Association.
What has Mike MacIntyre done this year? He has led the Buffaloes to an amazing 10-2 record, including 8-1 in the Pac-12. This was after the Buffs had won a grand total of TWO Pac-12 games in the prior three years. The Buffs won the Pac-12 South and will play against Washington in the Pac-12 Championship game on Friday.
Due to his battle with 20 year battle with Multiple Sclerosis, Papa George never got the chance to watch his son as a head coach in person. And during Mike's first three years at Colorado, he had to deal with the diminishing health of his father. Last season was particularly difficult personally for the Colorado coach, as George MacIntyre died on January 5th of this year.
The lessons that Mike MacIntyre learned from his father and coach have served him well in his career. And the job he has done this year is a fitting tribute to the man who meant the most to Mike MacIntyre's growth as a family man and coach. And to all who have witnessed the amazing feats accomplished by the Colorado Buffaloes this year, it is quite apparent that Papa George would be very proud of his son's accomplishments.
Photo Copyright -- Mark Rubi
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