BOULDER – Imagine coming into a college that was in desperate need of repair. Trying to rebuild a team full of young men who at the time weren’t mentally or physically prepared to compete in the difficult Pac-12 conference.
Imagine having people around you constantly doubt your abilities as a coach, questioning your every move, and even hoping that this season would be your final as the head coach of the Colorado Buffaloes despite your past successes. Then, imagine proving everyone wrong and being flaunted as the savior.
With the help of his staff, Mike MacIntyre has done something story worthy; he’s turned Colorado Football around in ways many didn’t believe possible. The Buffs have gone from worst to first in one season. With a 10-2 record overall and an 8-1 mark in conference play, Colorado is ranked in the top 10 of both the AP Poll and the College Football Playoff Rankings. Oh, and they just claimed the school’s first Pac-12 South Division title.
The turnaround has not gone unnoticed nationally, just this week MacIntyre was named Pac-12 Coach of the Year as well as Walter Camp Coach of the Year, making him just the second CU coach in history to be named national coach of the year and fifth to be named conference coach of the year.
When asked about the awards, though, he had a lot to say about those around him and little to say about himself.
“Everybody that touches our young men have had an absolute pride and commitment to us being successful,” MacIntyre said. “From our trainers, our strength staff, our equipment managers, our football ops. Everyone has done so much to propel these young men and instill confidence in them and belief; that is what has happened here. I’m just fortunate enough to have “head coach” in front of my name and go along for the ride because that’s pretty special.”
The 51-year-old has a philosophy that he tries to enforce on and off the field, the four F’s: Foundation, Family, Future, and Football. He tries to connect one-on-one with these young men and help them develop beyond just a game.
“To me, that’s what it’s all about,” he explained. “They go through all kind of things when their 18-22 years old and they make mistakes, you cry with them, you hug with them, you discipline them, you are with them. I really think I’m judged the most when they are around 30-35 years old, that’s my ultimate judgment for me, personally. Did they understand what we were trying to teach them? To be uncommon men, to be uncommon fathers, to be businessmen with integrity, to live their life the fullest by making the right choices… If we do all that, we’ll win more games than anyone ever dreamed we would and that’s what happened here. It’s all from the inside out.”
His passion is not lost on the men who suit up for him every weekend.
“Coach MacIntyre gave me my opportunity, and he didn’t have to take me coming in as a new head coach with my knee the way it was,” said captain and running back Phillip Lindsay. ” He came in and honored my scholarship, and he’s been a father to all of us seniors and juniors. For that, I want to thank him. It’s all about our team; it’s about winning and helping the team win.”
The Buffaloes head coach was also named Dodd Trophy Coach of the Week this past week, an honor no other head coach in the Pac-12 has received this season. The award follows his earlier nomination as a candidate for the Dodd Coach of the Year award.
The Dodd Trophy Coach of the Week Award honors a football coach whose program embodies the award’s three pillars of scholarship, leaders, and integrity, as well as having had a successful game the previous week.
“What an incredible turnaround for Coach MacIntyre and his Buffaloes,” said Jim Terry, Chairman of the Bobby Dodd Coach of the Year Foundation. “Clinching the Pac-12 South after Saturday’s win capped off one of the more remarkable storylines of this season and we cannot wait to see what lies ahead for Coach MacIntyre and Colorado.”
That name, Bobby Dodd, is close to head coach’s heart, he takes after his father, George MacIntyre, longtime college football coach and winner of the 1982 Bobby Dodd Coach of the Year Award.
“I think about my dad all the time. I keep his Bobby Dodd coin with me; everybody knows that,” explained MacIntyre. “It’s something I do keep with me, and it’s not a luck charm it’s a ‘ What would you do in this situation calm down’ is really what it is. I was honestly at practice today, and I had a moment where I was just looking around, and I said ‘Wow we’re still practicing, wow here we go’ and I thought this would be really cool if Dad could see this, so I do think of him quite often.”
MacIntyre has always talked about his close relationship with his father and has used him as well as his faith to stay motivated through all the ups and downs from the past three-plus years. Out of everyone in this program, he had the strongest belief that this team was going to achieve wonders, but in his eyes, he only has his team to thank.
“I can’t say enough about these seniors, I’m speechless, to be honest with you,” he concluded. “They’re my heroes; that’s the best way to say it. A hero goes beyond and above what you think they can do. They don’t listen to anything. They keep going out there and rescuing people. That’s what these young men have done; they keep lifting each other up and lifting us up. I think some of these guys should be CU legends for what they’ve gone through and for what they’ve done for the University of Colorado and the University of Colorado football program.”
The Colorado Buffaloes head to Santa Clara where MacIntyre and his seniors will lead this program to the Pac-12 Championship against the Washington Huskies. A win there and MacIntyre may need to make room in his pocket for another coin.
