John McKay 2001 Deaths

John McKay

legendary USC football coach who popularized the "I" formation in the 1960s and later became the first head coach of the Tampa Bay Buccaneers franchise; remembered for his candor and sharp, witty one-liners when dealing with the press; once questioned about his team's execution, McKay quipped, "I think it's a good idea."; lost his first 26 games with Tampa, an NFL record; led the Bucs to the 1979 NFC Championship Game and postseason appearances in 1981 and 1982; despite a 44-88-1 record in nine seasons (1976-84), he was the team's winningest coach until 1997 when he was surpassed by Tony Dungy; won four national titles at USC; tied with Notre Dame coach Frank Leahy for national titles, only Bear Bryant has more (6); in 16 seasons was 127-40-8, had three undefeated seasons, and won nine Pac-8 titles; coached 40 first-team All-Americans and two Heisman Trophy winners; assistant coach at USC and Oregon before taking over the Trojans in 1960; three-year letterman at Oregon where he still holds the Ducks record for yards-per-carry (6.4); inducted into College Football Hall of Fame in 1988; his son, Rich, is the Buccaneers general manager. He died of kidney failure due to complications from diabetes.