John Mackovic
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
| John Mackovic | |
|---|---|
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| Date of birth | October 1, 1943 |
| Place of birth |  Barberton, Ohio |
| Position(s) | Head coach |
| College | Wake Forest, 1965 Miami (Ohio), 1967 |
| Awards | 1979 Coach of the Year |
| Career Record | NFL 30-34-0 NCAA 94-78-3 |
| Championships Won |
1990 Big Ten Conference 1994 Southwest Conference 1995 Southwest Conference 1996 Big 12 Conference |
| Team(s) as a coach/administrator | |
| 1978-1980 1983-1986 1988-1991 1992-1997 2001-2003 2007 |
Wake Forest University Kansas City Chiefs University of Illinois University of Texas University of Arizona US national team |
John Mackovic (born October 1, 1943 in Barberton, Ohio) is the head coach of the United States first national team for American football which was formed to compete in the American Football World Cup. The former college and professional American football head coach led his team to win the 2007 IFAF World Cup tournament.
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[edit] Coaching career
Mackovic's coaching career began at Miami University (Ohio) as a graduate assistant in 1965. He then served stints as offensive coordinator at San Jose State and the University of Arizona before serving as offensive coordinator and assistant head coach at Purdue University in 1977.
Mackovic earned his first head coaching job in college football, taking over at Wake Forest from 1978-1980. Prior to his arrival, the Deamon Deacons went 1-10; Mackovic led his teams to a 14-20 record including their first bowl game in 30 years. In 1979, he was named the Coach of the Year by the Walter Camp Football Foundation.
In 1981, Tom Landry hired Mackovic as assistant head coach and quarterback coach with the Dallas Cowboys, with whom he spent two season before accepting a head coaching job with the Kansas City Chiefs in 1983. Mackovic missed the playoffs in each of his first 3 seasons with the Kansas City Chiefs. After a season in which the Chiefs reached the playoffs as a wild card, Mackovic was fired because team owner, Lamar Hunt, recognized a lack of chemistry between Mackovic and his players.[1] Specifically, the catalyst behind Mackovic's dismissal was a meeting between Hunt and eight of the most prominent Chief players.[2] Mackovic's pro record with the Chiefs was 30-34, and was his last coaching position in the NFL.
Following a year off, Mackovic resumed his coaching career when he was hired as the head coach at the University of Illinois in 1988. Mackovic took over a team that went 4-7 before his arrival, but with whom Mackovic led to a 30-16-1, four straight bowl appearances and a Big 10 Conference Championship.
Mackovic's previous successes of turning around college programs led him to the University of Texas in 1992. Texas had just suffered a losing season and Mackovic again came in and turned the program around. His teams won back to back Southwest Conference Championships in 1994 and 1995, with the team also winning the inaugural Big 12 Championship Game in 1996. After the next season, however, Mackovic was fired after guiding the Horns to his first losing season (garnering only four wins in eleven games). During his tenure, Mackovic led the Longhorns to a 41-28-2 record, three bowl games and three straight Conference Championships.
Following his firing at Texas, Mackovic became a college football analyst for ESPN in 1998 for whom he worked until January 2001 when he accepted the head coaching job for the University of Arizona. Frustrated by an offense that was perceived as too conservative, Arizona hired Mackovic as head coach to replace Dick Tomey. In his two and a half year tenure, Mackovic never posted a winning record while clashing with high school coaches and his own players, highlighted in 2002 when Mackovic told tight end Justin Levasseur that he was a disgrace to his family.[3] Ultimately, forty players (including future Pro Bowl linebacker Lance Briggs) mutinied by taking their grievances to university president, Peter Likins.[4] This meeting prompted the University's Board of Regents to discuss the state of the football program.[5] Ultimately, Mackovic offered a public apology to his players, the university and fans.[6] Five games in his third season, Mackovic was fired and replaced (on an interim basis) by defensive coordinator Mike Hankwitz[7], leading to Mackovic's worst tenure as a head coach, leaving Arizona with a 39% win rate (9-14 overall).
In 2006, Mackovic again returned to coaching when he was named as the head coach of the U.S. national team. He led Team USA to win the 2007 IFAF World Cup in their first appearance in the American Football World Cup held in Kawasaki, Japan.
[edit] Head Coaching Record
| Year | Team | Overall | Conference | Standing | Bowl | Coaches# | AP° | ||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Wake Forest (Atlantic Coast Conference) (1978 – 1980) | |||||||||
| 1978 | Wake Forest | 1-10-0 | 1-5 | 6th | |||||
| 1979 | Wake Forest | 8-4-0 | 3-2 | 4th | L Tangerine | ||||
| 1980 | Wake Forest | 5-6-0 | 2-4 | 4th-T | |||||
| Wake Forest: | 14-20-0 | ||||||||
| Illinois (Big Ten Conference) (1988 – 1991) | |||||||||
| 1988 | Illinois | 6-5-1 | 5-2-1 | 4th | L All-American | ||||
| 1989 | Illinois | 10-2-0 | 7-1 | W Citrus | 10 | 10 | |||
| 1990 | Illinois | 8-4-0 | 6-2 | 1st-T | L Hall of Fame | 24 | 25 | ||
| 1991 | Illinois | 6-6-0 | 4-4 | 5th | L John Hancock | ||||
| Illinois: | 30-17-1 | ||||||||
| Texas (Southwest Conference) (1992 – 1995) | |||||||||
| 1992 | Texas | 6-5-0 | 4-3 | 2nd-T | |||||
| 1993 | Texas | 5-5-1 | 5-2 | 2nd-T | |||||
| 1994 | Texas | 8-4-0 | 4-3 | 2nd-T | W Sun | 23 | 25 | ||
| 1995 | Texas | 10-2-1 | 7-0 | 1st | L Sugar | 14 | 14 | ||
| Texas (Big 12 Conference) (1996 – 1997) | |||||||||
| 1996 | Texas | 8-5-0 | 7-2 | 1st | L Fiesta † | 23 | 23 | ||
| 1997 | Texas | 4-7-0 | 2-6 | 4th | |||||
| Texas: | 41-28-2 | ||||||||
| Arizona (Pacific 10 Conference) (2001 – 2003) | |||||||||
| 2001 | Arizona | 5-6-0 | 2-6 | 8th | |||||
| 2002 | Arizona | 4-8-0 | 1-7 | 9th-T | |||||
| 2003 | Arizona | 1-4-0 | |||||||
| Arizona: | 10-18-0 | ||||||||
| Total: | 95-83-3 | ||||||||
| National Championship Conference Title Conference Division Title | |||||||||
| †Indicates BCS bowl game. #Rankings from final Coaches Poll of the season. | |||||||||
[edit] References
- ^ New York Times, January 9, 1987.
- ^ Fish, Mike: "Apologies or No Apologies, Mackovic Has Had It.", SI.com, November 15, 2002.
- ^ Renning, Charles: "Team remains divided.", Arizona Daily Wildcat, November 14, 2002.
- ^ Bob Baum, Associated Press
- ^ Associated Press
- ^ Arizona Daily Wildcat, November 14, 2002.
- ^ Fera, Brett: "Mackovic Gets Midseason Ax.", Arizona Daily Wildcat, September 29, 2003.
[edit] External links
| Preceded by Chuck Mills |
Wake Forest University Head Football Coaches 1978- 1980 |
Succeeded by Al Groh |
| Preceded by Warren Powers |
Walter Camp Coach of the Year 1979 |
Succeeded by Vince Dooley |
| Preceded by Marv Levy |
Kansas City Chiefs Head Coaches 1983–1986 |
Succeeded by Frank Gansz |
| Preceded by Mike White |
University of Illinois Football Head Coaches 1988–1991 |
Succeeded by Lou Tepper |
| Preceded by David McWilliams |
University of Texas Football Head Coaches 1992–1998 |
Succeeded by Mack Brown |
| Preceded by Dick Tomey |
University of Arizona Head Football Coaches 2001- 2003 |
Succeeded by Mike Stoops |
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