{"id":602794,"date":"2026-04-14T05:39:25","date_gmt":"2026-04-14T05:39:25","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/602794\/"},"modified":"2026-04-14T05:39:25","modified_gmt":"2026-04-14T05:39:25","slug":"former-titans-cardinals-coach-dave-mcginnis-dead-at-74","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/602794\/","title":{"rendered":"Former Titans, Cardinals coach Dave McGinnis dead at 74"},"content":{"rendered":"

A former NFL coach passed away on Monday after being hospitalized since early March.\u00a0<\/p>\n

Dave McGinnis \u2013 affectionately known as \u201cCoach Mac\u201d \u2013 died at the age of 74 with his family by his side, the Titans announced.\u00a0<\/p>\n

McGinnis coached from 1986-2016, serving as a linebackers coach for the Bears, defensive coordinator and head coach for the Cardinals, linebackers coach for the Titans and as assistant head coach for the Rams organization during their time in St. Louis and Los Angeles.\u00a0<\/p>\n

\"ArizonaArizona Cardinals head coach Dave McGinnis celebrates a win. AP<\/p>\n

He later returned to Tennessee in 2017 to work on the Titans\u2019 radio broadcast, serving as a color commentator through the 2025 season.\u00a0<\/p>\n

\u201cThe lives he touched, and the number of people that cared about him, it\u2019s amazing really,\u201d former Titans head coach Jeff Fisher told the team\u2019s website<\/a>. \u201cMac treated people so well, and made everyone feel like they were important. Even in the hospital, people would stop by to see him, and he would ask about their families, their grandkids, even when he could barely speak. He made a big impact on so many people. Everyone loved Mac.\u201d<\/p>\n

McGinnis started his coaching career at TCU as a graduate assistant in 1973 and made stops at Missouri, Indiana State and Kansas State before entering the NFL coaching ranks more than a decade later in 1986 with the Bears.\u00a0<\/p>\n

He spent the next 10 years there before joining the Cardinals organization in 1996.\u00a0He was 17-40 during his three-plus seasons as head coach. <\/p>\n

\u201cWe were deeply saddened to learn of Dave McGinnis\u2019 passing and extend our heartfelt condolences to all who knew and loved him,\u201d Cardinals owner Michael Bidwill said in a statement. \u201cAs Dave often said, he was a \u2018ballcoach\u2019 through and through, and no one ever filled that role with more passion, enthusiasm, and charisma.<\/p>\n

\u201cCoach Mac truly loved the game and everything \u2014 and everyone \u2014 associated with it, especially his players. He was one of a kind and will be greatly missed.\u201d<\/p>\n

\"St.Rams assistant head coach Dave McGinnis watches during NFL football minicamp, April 17, 2012. AP<\/p>\n

His time with the Titans began in 2004, and he remained there in Tennessee until 2011.\u00a0<\/p>\n

\u201cMy heart aches with the loss of Coach Mac, who was so much more than a coach and broadcaster \u2013 he was family,\u201d Titans controlling owner Amy Adams Strunk said. \u201cCoach Mac gave so much of himself to this organization over the years, and his passion, loyalty, and love for the Titans never wavered. He cared deeply about the people around him, and that kindness and authenticity left a lasting impact on everyone who knew him. He held a very special place in our family, and his presence in our lives and within this franchise will never be forgotten. We will miss him dearly, and we will always be grateful for the legacy he leaves behind.\u201d<\/p>\n

McGinnis\u2019 time with the Rams ran from 2012 through 2016.\u00a0<\/p>\n

Among those McGinnis coached are a who\u2019s who of recognizable players, including Mike Singletary, Wilber Marshall, Otis Wilson, Aeneas Williams, Emmitt Smith, Pat Tillman and Simeon Rice.\u00a0<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"A former NFL coach passed away on Monday after being hospitalized since early March.\u00a0 Dave McGinnis \u2013 affectionately…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":602795,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[436],"tags":[1745,49,48,1735,1173,1749,514,82,1741],"class_list":{"0":"post-602794","1":"post","2":"type-post","3":"status-publish","4":"format-standard","5":"has-post-thumbnail","7":"category-nfl","8":"tag-arizona-cardinals","9":"tag-ca","10":"tag-canada","11":"tag-chicago-bears","12":"tag-coaches","13":"tag-los-angeles-rams","14":"tag-nfl","15":"tag-sports","16":"tag-tennessee-titans"},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/602794","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=602794"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/602794\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/602795"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=602794"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=602794"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=602794"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}