Ron McBride
Encyclopedia
Ron McBride is the current head coach of Weber State University's football team. Coach "Mac" has over 40 years of coaching experience, including 13 years as head coach at the University of Utah.
A native of Los Angeles, California
, McBride was an all-city football and baseball standout at South Gate High School. He graduated from San Jose State
where he played for the Spartans from 1959–62 and served as team captain his senior year. He later played professionally with the San Jose Apaches of the USA League.
From 1972-73, he served as an assistant coach at UC-Riverside, where he was in charge of the offensive line and served as offensive coordinator. He then served in the same capacities at Long Beach State from 1974-76.
McBride first came to Utah
in 1977 to serve as the offensive line coach and offensive coordinator
under Coach Wayne Howard at Utah
. In 1983, he accepted a position as the offensive line coach at Wisconsin
, where he served two seasons before returning to Salt Lake City, coaching the offensive line from 1985-86 under head coach Jim Fassel
.
In 1987, he left the Utes to join Dick Tomey's
staff at Arizona
. He served two years as the offensive line coach and was elevated to assistant head coach during the 1989 season. Following that season he became the head coach at Utah
.
play since 1985. He didn't take long to turn the program around. In 1991, his second season, he posted a 7-5 record, but a blowout loss to rival BYU
kept them out of a bowl. A year later, he led the Utes to the 1992 Copper Bowl
, the program's first bowl appearance in 28 years. He took the Utes to six bowl games during his tenure, a noteworthy feat considering the Utes had played in just three bowl games in the previous 97 years. His teams posted bowl wins over USC, Arizona and Fresno State. During his tenure at Utah, McBride posted an overall record of 88-63 (.582), the second most wins by a coach in the history of Utah football.
His best season came in 1994 when the Utes won a then-record 10 games and attained the highest post-season ranking, at the time, in school history climbing to No. 8 in the USA Today/ESPN poll and No. 10 in the AP poll. In conference games, he guided the Utes to a 58-42 record and won a share of two conference championships (1995 in the WAC
and 1999 in the Mountain West
). McBride excelled in the rivalry games within the state of Utah. His Utes dominated Utah State (11-2), and held their own against perennial power BYU. Utah won six of their last 11 against the Cougars after losing 16 of the previous 18 before he took over. In 1998, he was a serious candidate to take over the moribund program at Hawaii
, a position that eventually went to June Jones
.
McBride's tenure at Utah began to falter in 2000. The Utes, Conference Co-Champions the previous year, had been picked to win the Mountain West Conference, but lost their first four games en route to a 4-7 record, their first losing record since McBride's arrival. Season-ticket sales fell 15% as a result, problematic given the costly rebuilding of Rice-Eccles Stadium
, and pressure rose to fire McBride. The Utes rebounded in 2001, achieving a winning record and scoring an upset win in the 2001 Las Vegas Bowl
over the USC Trojans in Pete Carroll
's first season. With the Utes slipping again into a losing season, McBride was fired by Utah after the 2002 season and replaced by Urban Meyer
.
Despite the inglorious end to McBride's tenure, he is credited with laying the foundation for Utah's rise to national prominence under Meyer and his former defensive coordinator, Kyle Whittingham
.
in 2002. He returned to the state of Utah in 2004, when he was named head coach of the Weber State Wildcats, a IAA team in the Big Sky conference.
A native of Los Angeles, California
Los Angeles, California
Los Angeles , with a population at the 2010 United States Census of 3,792,621, is the most populous city in California, USA and the second most populous in the United States, after New York City. It has an area of , and is located in Southern California...
, McBride was an all-city football and baseball standout at South Gate High School. He graduated from San Jose State
San José State University
San Jose State University is a public university located in San Jose, California, United States...
where he played for the Spartans from 1959–62 and served as team captain his senior year. He later played professionally with the San Jose Apaches of the USA League.
Coaching history
McBride began his career at San Jose State in 1965, serving as the freshman coach, defensive coordinator and linebackers coach. He then spent two years as an assistant coach at Piedmont Hills High School (1966–68) and as an assistant at Gavilan Junior College (1969–71), before returning to the NCAA collegiate ranks.From 1972-73, he served as an assistant coach at UC-Riverside, where he was in charge of the offensive line and served as offensive coordinator. He then served in the same capacities at Long Beach State from 1974-76.
McBride first came to Utah
Utah
Utah is a state in the Western United States. It was the 45th state to join the Union, on January 4, 1896. Approximately 80% of Utah's 2,763,885 people live along the Wasatch Front, centering on Salt Lake City. This leaves vast expanses of the state nearly uninhabited, making the population the...
in 1977 to serve as the offensive line coach and offensive coordinator
Offensive coordinator
An offensive coordinator is a member of the coaching staff of a gridiron football team who is in charge of the offense. Generally, along with his defensive counterpart, he represents the second level of command structure after the head coach...
under Coach Wayne Howard at Utah
Utah Utes football
The Utah Utes football program is a college football team that currently competes in the Pacific-12 Conference of the Football Bowl Subdivision of NCAA Division I and represents the University of Utah. The Utah college football program began in 1892 and has played home games at Rice–Eccles...
. In 1983, he accepted a position as the offensive line coach at Wisconsin
University of Wisconsin–Madison
The University of Wisconsin–Madison is a public research university located in Madison, Wisconsin, United States. Founded in 1848, UW–Madison is the flagship campus of the University of Wisconsin System. It became a land-grant institution in 1866...
, where he served two seasons before returning to Salt Lake City, coaching the offensive line from 1985-86 under head coach Jim Fassel
Jim Fassel
-Professional:-Personal life:Before the 2003 NFL season, Fassel was reunited with a son, John Mathieson, whom he and his wife Kitty gave up for adoption in 1969. The couple was unmarried when he was born....
.
In 1987, he left the Utes to join Dick Tomey's
Dick Tomey
-External links:* *...
staff at Arizona
University of Arizona
The University of Arizona is a land-grant and space-grant public institution of higher education and research located in Tucson, Arizona, United States. The University of Arizona was the first university in the state of Arizona, founded in 1885...
. He served two years as the offensive line coach and was elevated to assistant head coach during the 1989 season. Following that season he became the head coach at Utah
Utah Utes football
The Utah Utes football program is a college football team that currently competes in the Pacific-12 Conference of the Football Bowl Subdivision of NCAA Division I and represents the University of Utah. The Utah college football program began in 1892 and has played home games at Rice–Eccles...
.
Head coach at Utah
McBride inherited a program that had only had five winning seasons in the previous 16 years, and had not posted a winning season in Western Athletic ConferenceWestern Athletic Conference
The Western Athletic Conference is an American collegiate athletic conference, which was formed on July 27, 1962, making it the sixth oldest of the 11 college athletic conferences currently participating in the NCAA's Division I FBS...
play since 1985. He didn't take long to turn the program around. In 1991, his second season, he posted a 7-5 record, but a blowout loss to rival BYU
BYU
-Education:* Brigham Young University, a university located in Provo, Utah, USA administered by The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints.**BYU Salt Lake Center, a satellite center in Salt Lake City, Utah, USA...
kept them out of a bowl. A year later, he led the Utes to the 1992 Copper Bowl
1992 Copper Bowl
The 1992 edition to the Copper Bowl featured the Washington State Cougars, and the Utah Utes.Washington State scored first on a 3 yard touchdown run by running back Shaumbe Wright-Fair, to take a 7–0 lead. Quarterback Drew Bledsoe fired an 87 yard touchdown pass to wide receiver Phillip Bobo,...
, the program's first bowl appearance in 28 years. He took the Utes to six bowl games during his tenure, a noteworthy feat considering the Utes had played in just three bowl games in the previous 97 years. His teams posted bowl wins over USC, Arizona and Fresno State. During his tenure at Utah, McBride posted an overall record of 88-63 (.582), the second most wins by a coach in the history of Utah football.
| "Utah was a soft program, an underachieving program and a program that was going nowhere. Their expectations weren't that high. When they hired me they said, 'Well, if you cannot embarrass us against BYU and be in about the middle of the league, and be respectable you can stay here as long as you want.' The bar was low. The expectations were they just didn't want to get embarrassed on Saturday." |
| — McBride on the state of Utah football when he took over. |
His best season came in 1994 when the Utes won a then-record 10 games and attained the highest post-season ranking, at the time, in school history climbing to No. 8 in the USA Today/ESPN poll and No. 10 in the AP poll. In conference games, he guided the Utes to a 58-42 record and won a share of two conference championships (1995 in the WAC
WAC
WAC is a three-letter acronym and may refer to:* WAC Corporal, the first U.S. sounding rocket* Walker Art Center, a modern art museum in Minneapolis, Minnesota, USA...
and 1999 in the Mountain West
Mountain West Conference
The Mountain West Conference , popularly known as the Mountain West, is the youngest of the college athletic conferences affiliated with the NCAA’s Division I FBS . The MWC officially began operations in July 1999...
). McBride excelled in the rivalry games within the state of Utah. His Utes dominated Utah State (11-2), and held their own against perennial power BYU. Utah won six of their last 11 against the Cougars after losing 16 of the previous 18 before he took over. In 1998, he was a serious candidate to take over the moribund program at Hawaii
University of Hawaii
The University of Hawaii System, formally the University of Hawaii and popularly known as UH, is a public, co-educational college and university system that confers associate, bachelor, master, and doctoral degrees through three university campuses, seven community college campuses, an employment...
, a position that eventually went to June Jones
June Jones
June Sheldon Jones, III is the American football head coach for Southern Methodist University.-Playing career:Jones played the quarterback position on three college teams: Oregon , Hawaii , and Portland State . It is during his time at Portland State that he was introduced to the Run and Shoot...
.
McBride's tenure at Utah began to falter in 2000. The Utes, Conference Co-Champions the previous year, had been picked to win the Mountain West Conference, but lost their first four games en route to a 4-7 record, their first losing record since McBride's arrival. Season-ticket sales fell 15% as a result, problematic given the costly rebuilding of Rice-Eccles Stadium
Rice-Eccles Stadium
Rice-Eccles Stadium is an outdoor college football stadium in Salt Lake City, Utah, on the campus of the University of Utah. It is the home field of the Utah Utes of the Pacific-12 Conference...
, and pressure rose to fire McBride. The Utes rebounded in 2001, achieving a winning record and scoring an upset win in the 2001 Las Vegas Bowl
2001 Las Vegas Bowl
The 2001 edition to the Las Vegas Bowl was the 10th edition of that annual game. It featured the USC Trojans, and the Utah Utes.The game was dominated by defense. Utah opened the scoring on a 3 yard touchdown run by Adam Tate, leading 7–0. They increased their lead to 10–0 in the second quarter,...
over the USC Trojans in Pete Carroll
Pete Carroll
Peter Clay Carroll is the head coach and executive Vice-President of the Seattle Seahawks of the National Football League. He is a former head coach of the New York Jets, New England Patriots and the University of Southern California Trojans football team.-Early life:Carroll attended Redwood High...
's first season. With the Utes slipping again into a losing season, McBride was fired by Utah after the 2002 season and replaced by Urban Meyer
Urban Meyer
Urban Frank Meyer, III is an American football coach and former player. He is head football coach at Ohio State University, having been hired for the position in November 2011...
.
Despite the inglorious end to McBride's tenure, he is credited with laying the foundation for Utah's rise to national prominence under Meyer and his former defensive coordinator, Kyle Whittingham
Kyle Whittingham
Kyle Whittingham is the head football coach of the University of Utah Utes. Prior to becoming the head coach at Utah, Whittingham served as Utah's defensive coordinator for ten seasons. He was named head coach of Utah after Urban Meyer left for the Florida Gators in 2004...
.
After Utah
After leaving Utah Coach McBride took over as the inside linebacker coach at KentuckyKentucky Wildcats football
The Kentucky Wildcats football team is a college football program that competes in the NCAA Division I Football Bowl Subdivision and the East Division of the Southeastern Conference.-History:Paul "Bear" Bryant Era...
in 2002. He returned to the state of Utah in 2004, when he was named head coach of the Weber State Wildcats, a IAA team in the Big Sky conference.
Head coaching record
Notable players gone to NFL
(McBride has seen over 70 of his players go to the NFL)- Jamal AndersonJamal AndersonJamal Sharif Anderson is a former American football running back of the National Football League. He was drafted by the Atlanta Falcons in the seventh round of the 1994 NFL Draft. He played high school football at El Camino Real High School, where he was named to the CIF Los Angeles City Section...
- All-Pro running back, played for the Atlanta Falcons - Mike Anderson - 2000 NFL Offensive Rookie of the Year, played for the Denver Broncos
- Kevin DysonKevin DysonKevin Tyree Dyson is a former American football wide receiver of the National Football League. He was originally drafted by the Tennessee Oilers 16th overall in the 1998 NFL Draft. He played college football at Utah....
- The first wide receiver taken in the 1998 NFL draft and a starter for the Tennessee Titans in the 2000 Super Bowl; - Andre DysonAndre DysonAndre Dyson is a former American football cornerback. He was originally drafted by the Tennessee Titans in the second round of the 2001 NFL Draft. He played college football at Utah. Currently, he coaches cornerbacks at Weber State, in Ogden, Utah.He is the younger brother of former NFL wide...
- Cornerback selected by the Tennessee Titans in 2nd round of the 2001 NFL Draft and brother to Kevin. - Luther EllisLuther EllisLuther John Elliss is a former American football defensive tackle in the National Football League. He played for the Detroit Lions for 8 seasons before he was released in 2003. He played for the Denver Broncos for one season, before retiring in 2004. In his time in the NFL, he was a two time Pro...
- All-Pro defensive lineman, played for the Detroit Lions - Steve Smith - Led the NFL in kickoff returns in 2001 and the only rookie named to the Pro Bowl team, plays for Carolina Panthers
- Jordan GrossJordan GrossJordan Alan Gross is an American football offensive tackle for the Carolina Panthers of the National Football League. He was drafted by the Panthers eighth overall in the 2003 NFL Draft. He played college football at Utah.-Early years:...
- The number eighth pick in the first round of the NFL draft and current starting offensive tackle for the Carolina Panthers. - Pat McQuistanPat McQuistanPatrick Shawn McQuistan is an American football offensive lineman who is currently a member of the New Orleans Saints of the National Football League. He was drafted by the Dallas Cowboys in the seventh round of the 2006 NFL Draft...
- Offensive Lineman selected by the Dallas Cowboys in the 7th round of the 2006 NFL Draft (Weber State) - Paul McQuistanPaul McQuistanPaul McQuistan is an American football offensive lineman for the Seattle Seahawks. He was drafted by the Oakland Raiders in the third round of the 2006 NFL Draft...
- Offensive Lineman selected by the Oakland Raiders in the 3rd round of the 2006 NFL Draft (Weber State) - David HaleDavid Hale (American football)David Hale is an American football offensive lineman who is currently a free agent. He was drafted by the Baltimore Ravens in the fourth round of the 2008 NFL Draft. He attended Fremont High School and played college football at Weber State University...
- Offensive Lineman selected by the Baltimore Ravens in the 4th round of the 2008 NFL Draft (Weber State) - J.D. Folsom - Linebacker selected by the Miami Dolphins in the 7th round of the 2009 NFL Draft (Weber State)
- Marcus MaileiMarcus MaileiMarcus Anthony Mailei is an American football fullback who is currently a free agent. He was signed by the Philadelphia Eagles as an undrafted free agent in 2009...
- Fullback signed to Philadelphia Eagles practice squad in 2009, before signing with the Super Bowl-winning New Orleans Saints midseason. (Weber State) - Tim TooneTim TooneTimothy Lee "Tim" Toone is an American football wide receiver who is currently a member of the Buffalo Bills of the National Football League. He was drafted by the Detroit Lions with the final pick of the 2010 NFL Draft, earning the title of Mr. Irrelevant...
- Wide receiver, and Mr. IrrelevantMr. Irrelevant"Mr. Irrelevant" is the title bestowed each year upon the last pick of the annual National Football League draft.- Irrelevant Week :The name arose in 1976, when former Southern California and NFL receiver Paul Salata founded "Irrelevant Week" in Newport Beach, California. He announced the final...
of the 2010 NFL Draft. Selected by the Detroit Lions with the 255th pick in the 7th round.
External links
- College Football Data Warehouse - Ron McBride - head coaching records