George Wallace MacIntyre (April 30, 1939 – January 5, 2016) was an

American football American football (referred to simply as football in the United States and Canada), also known as gridiron, is a team sport played by two teams of eleven players on a rectangular field with goalposts at each end. The offense, the team with ...

player and coach. He served as the head coach at the

University of Tennessee at Martin The University of Tennessee at Martin (UT Martin or UTM) is a public university in Martin, Tennessee. It is one of the five campuses of the University of Tennessee system. UTM is the only public university in West Tennessee outside of Memphis ...

from 1975 to 1977 and at

Vanderbilt University Vanderbilt University (informally Vandy or VU) is a private research university in Nashville, Tennessee. Founded in 1873, it was named in honor of shipping and rail magnate Cornelius Vanderbilt, who provided the school its initial $1-million ...

from 1979 to 1985, compiling a career

college football College football (french: Football universitaire) refers to gridiron football played by teams of student athletes. It was through college football play that American football rules first gained popularity in the United States. Unlike most ...

record of 43–66–1. At Vanderbilt in 1982, he won the

Bobby Dodd Coach of the Year Award The Bobby Dodd Coach of the Year Award is an annual college football award given to the Division I Football Bowl Subdivision head coach whose team excels on the field, in the classroom, and in the community. The award is named for Bobby Dodd, l ...

Biography

MacIntyre was born in

St. Petersburg, Florida St. Petersburg is a city in Pinellas County, Florida, United States. As of the 2020 census, the population was 258,308, making it the fifth-most populous city in Florida and the second-largest city in the Tampa Bay Area, after Tampa. It is the ...

, and graduated from Andrew Jackson High School in

Jacksonville, Florida Jacksonville is a city located on the Atlantic coast of northeast Florida, the most populous city proper in the state and is the largest city by area in the contiguous United States as of 2020. It is the seat of Duval County, with which the ...

, in 1957 and played

quarterback The quarterback (commonly abbreviated "QB"), colloquially known as the "signal caller", is a position in gridiron football. Quarterbacks are members of the offensive platoon and mostly line up directly behind the offensive line. In modern Ame ...

on the school football team. He then was quarterback at the

University of Miami The University of Miami (UM, UMiami, Miami, U of M, and The U) is a private research university in Coral Gables, Florida. , the university enrolled 19,096 students in 12 colleges and schools across nearly 350 academic majors and programs, incl ...

for the 1958 season. MacIntyre sat out the 1957 season due to a broken wrist and served as a backup to All-America quarterback

Fran Curci Fran Curci (born June 11, 1938) is a former American football player and coach. He was an All-American quarterback at the University of Miami in 1959. He served as head coach at the University of Tampa from 1968 to 1970, the University of Miami ...

in 1958 and 1959 and to Eddie Johns in 1960. For the 1960 season, MacIntyre also was the holder for

field goals A field goal (FG) is a means of scoring in gridiron football. To score a field goal, the team in possession of the ball must place kick, or drop kick, the ball through the goal, i.e., between the uprights and over the crossbar. The entire ba ...

. In Miami's final game of 1960, against

Air Force An air force – in the broadest sense – is the national military branch that primarily conducts aerial warfare. More specifically, it is the branch of a nation's armed services that is responsible for aerial warfare as distinct from an a ...

, MacIntyre successfully threw a touchdown pass as part of a

fake field goal A fake field goal is a trick play in American football. Simply, it involves a running or passing play done out of a kick formation. Usually the holder (often the punter or backup quarterback on most teams) will throw or run. Less frequently, the pl ...

. This play contributed to Miami's 23–14 victory and earned MacIntyre the nickname "The Finger". After graduating from Miami, MacIntyre became an assistant football coach at Terry Parker High School in Jacksonville in 1961 and 1963 and served in the military in 1962. In 1964, MacIntyre became a football recruiting administrator at the University of Miami. He would stay at Miami until 1967 and would join the

University of Tampa The University of Tampa (UT) is a private university in Tampa, Florida. It is accredited by the Southern Association of Colleges and Schools. UT offers more than 200 programs of study, including 22 master's degrees and a broad variety of majors, ...

football coaching staff as defensive coordinator in 1968. From 1970 to 1972, MacIntyre was the

defensive back In gridiron football, defensive backs (DBs), also called the secondary, are the players on the defensive side of the ball who play farthest back from the line of scrimmage. They are distinguished from the other two sets of defensive players, the ...

s coach at Clemson and then was assistant coach for Vanderbilt from 1973 to 1974. The 1974 Peach Bowl between Vanderbilt and

Texas Tech Texas Tech University (Texas Tech, Tech, or TTU) is a public research university in Lubbock, Texas. Established on , and called Texas Technological College until 1969, it is the main institution of the five-institution Texas Tech University Sys ...

ended with a 6–6 tie. MacIntyre took his first head coaching position in 1975 with Tennessee–Martin and remained head coach until 1977. In three seasons, MacIntyre had an overall 18–14 record, with a 2–8 record in 1975 and 8–3 records in both 1976 and 1977. In 1978, MacIntyre was offensive coordinator for Ole Miss (the

University of Mississippi The University of Mississippi (byname Ole Miss) is a public research university that is located adjacent to Oxford, Mississippi, and has a medical center in Jackson. It is Mississippi's oldest public university and its largest by enrollment. ...

). MacIntyre again became a head coach in 1979, this time with Vanderbilt, having previously been an assistant coach for Vanderbilt from 1973 to 1974. Following three losing seasons (1–10 in 1979, 2–9 in 1980, and 4–7 in 1981), Vanderbilt went 8–4 in 1982 and earned a berth in the Hall of Fame Classic. This would be Vanderbilt's only winning season with MacIntyre as coach, and MacIntyre had an overall 25–52–1 record as Vanderbilt head coach from 1979 to 1985. After the 1985 season, MacIntyre resigned from Vanderbilt, blaming the "continuing rise in academic standards, both in admissions and in the retaining of student athletes" for Vanderbilt's losing seasons. After leaving Vanderbilt, MacIntyre led a company that provided summer sales employment to college athletes until 1991, when he became head football coach and interim headmaster of

Donelson Christian Academy Donelson Christian Academy is a private school, private, K4-12 Christian school that was founded in 1971. For its first three years classes were held in the Donelson Free Will Baptist Church, across from McGavock High School. In 1974, the school mo ...

in Nashville, the city where Vanderbilt is located. MacIntyre returned to Jacksonville in 1993 as the head coach at the

Episcopal School of Jacksonville Episcopal School of Jacksonville is an independent, coeducational private college preparatory school in Jacksonville, Florida, United States. It was founded in 1966 by the Episcopal Diocese of Florida. The school has two lower schools, a middle sc ...

and worked his final coaching position as running backs coach at

Liberty University Liberty University (LU) is a private Baptist university in Lynchburg, Virginia. It is affiliated with the Southern Baptist Conservatives of Virginia (Southern Baptist Convention). Founded in 1971 by Jerry Falwell Sr. and Elmer L. Towns, Liberty i ...

. In 1999, MacIntyre retired from coaching after being diagnosed with

multiple sclerosis Multiple (cerebral) sclerosis (MS), also known as encephalomyelitis disseminata or disseminated sclerosis, is the most common demyelinating disease, in which the insulating covers of nerve cells in the brain and spinal cord are damaged. This d ...

. MacIntyre's son George Michael "Mike" MacIntyre has been a football coach at both the collegiate and professional levels since the 1990s and became head coach at the

University of Colorado The University of Colorado (CU) is a system of public universities in Colorado. It consists of four institutions: University of Colorado Boulder, University of Colorado Colorado Springs, University of Colorado Denver, and the University of Co ...

in 2012. George MacIntyre died on January 5, 2016, at the age of 76. At the time of his death, he was being treated for

, which he had for more than 20 years.

Head coaching record

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Macintyre, George 1939 births 2016 deaths American football quarterbacks Clemson Tigers football coaches Liberty Flames football coaches Miami Hurricanes football coaches Miami Hurricanes football players Ole Miss Rebels football coaches Andrew Jackson High School (Jacksonville) alumni Tampa Spartans football coaches UT Martin Skyhawks football coaches Vanderbilt Commodores football coaches High school football coaches in Florida High school football coaches in Tennessee Players of American football from Nashville, Tennessee Players of American football from Jacksonville, Florida People with multiple sclerosis