Dave McGinnis, who spent 30 years as an NFL head and assistant coach, died on Monday due to a prolonged illness, the Tennessee Titans announced.
The Athletic reported that the colorful McGinnis, 74, died of renal failure.
“My heart aches with the loss of Coach Mac, who was so much more than a coach and broadcaster — he was family,” Titans controlling owner Amy Adams Strunk said.
McGinnis served as head coach of the Arizona Cardinals from 2000-03, compiling a record of 17-40.
After 13 years as an assistant coach at the college level, the Kansas native joined the Chicago Bears’ defensive staff in 1986, the year following the team’s Super Bowl victory. He served as linebackers coach in Chicago from 1986-95 prior to ascending to the Cardinals’ defensive coordinator role from 1996-2000.
He took over for Vince Tobin as head coach midway through the 2000 season and did get the moribund Cardinals to a 7-9 record in his first full season in 2001.
After Arizona fired him following the 2003 season, McGinnis served under Jeff Fisher in Tennessee as linebackers coach from 2004-11 and followed Fisher to the Rams, where he held the title of assistant head coach from 2012-16.
He returned to Tennessee and became an analyst for the Titans’ radio broadcast team from 2017-25.
“Much more than his love for the game, I just so appreciated being around the man because he was always so positive, so optimistic, and he always left everybody feeling better about themselves,” said Burke Nihill, president and CEO of the Titans. “He’s been around my family, he’s been around our fans and our partners, and he just always made you feel like you were the most important person in the world.
“He had this unique gift of investing in people through his time and attention and conversations. He was one of one.”
