CU’s Mike MacIntyre has gone from coach of the year to maybe missing a bowl
It was 48 hours before Thanksgiving Day when Mike MacIntyre opened his final weekly news conference of the Colorado football regular season with some holiday perspective: “This is always a time you can reflect, but it’s also a time you definitely should be thankful.”
At no point during MacIntyre’s nearly eight full seasons between San Jose State and CU has he encountered a personal roller coaster similar to what has taken place over the past 12 months. CU travels to Utah for an 8 p.m. Saturday kickoff in what will be MacIntyre’s 100th career game as a head college coach. The Buffs need a win to make a bowl game.
MacIntyre won eight national coach of the year honors after a historic 10-win season a year ago. He was later reprimanded by his bosses and ordered to donate $100,000 to a domestic violence cause for mishandling allegations made against former assistant coach Joe Tumpkin, received a five-year, $16.25 million contract extension, was named a defendant in a lawsuit against the university on behalf of Tumpkin’s accuser, led CU to a 3-0 start and then stumbled to the current 5-6 mark.
Got all that?
“You just take it day-by-day, wake up, thank God you’re alive, and you have an opportunity to keep trying to affect people and affect the situation,” MacIntyre said. “All I’ve been really thinking about is how we get these guys to play well against Utah.”
There is truth in MacIntyre’s coachspeak. If his sole focus isn’t the Utah game, then the Buffaloes are in trouble. And even if he were willing to open up about the challenges of the past year, notably his role in the Tumpkin saga, MacIntyre is unable to due to the ongoing legal matter. Those conversations are likely limited to coaches’ offices and the family dinner table, where MacIntyre’s son, CU senior receiver Jay MacIntyre, has a better appreciation for what goes into being a head coach after the events of the past year.
“It’s a tough job, and I’ve always had respect for my dad,” Jay MacIntyre said, “but you gain more respect from him by the way he handles different situations.”
And if the strain is having any impact on MacIntyre’s coaching, the Buffaloes can’t tell.
“He’s just trying to be there and he’s been real focused on the team, especially during the season with the highs and lows of winning games and losing them at the end,” said team captain and starting middle linebacker Rick Gamboa. “We just have to keep fighting.”
Said sophomore cornerback Dante Wigley: “I really respect coach Mac. He hasn’t changed. He’s always demanded greatness.”
MacIntyre’s future at CU won’t hinge on the outcome of Saturday’s regular-season finale, but a victory will go a long way in helping ease the disappointments this fall. With all that out- side noise, it would appear MacIntyre is most interested in the evaluation of one group in particular: his players.
“I’m not perfect every day by any stretch,” MacIntyre said. “But I think they know that I’m real.”