John McKay

Verified Timeline

Lore & Background

McKay was lured to Tampa Bay in 1976 to become the Buccaneers' first head coach after turning down several offers from NFL teams, including the Cleveland Browns, New England Patriots, and Los Angeles Rams. Motivating his decision was a combined fivefold salary increase totaling $2 million and the prospect of building a franchise from the ground up. The Buccaneers lost all 14 games in 1976 and the first 12 games of 1977 before finally winning against the New Orleans Saints. After winning five games in 1978, the Buccaneers doubled that the following year, posting their first winning season. They clinched the 1979 NFC Central title in the final week by beating the Kansas City Chiefs 3–0 in a driving Tampa rainstorm. They then defeated the Philadelphia Eagles 24–17 in a divisional playoff game to advance to the NFC Championship where, in a defensive battle, they lost to the Los Angeles Rams 9–0. The Buccaneers made two more playoff appearances in 1981 and 1982. After the 1982 season, McKay strongly supported star quarterback Doug Williams' bid for a better contract, but owner Hugh Culverhouse was unwilling to budge. Williams bolted to the USFL for the 1983 season. Without Williams, McKay's offense appeared to be completely rudderless. The Buccaneers crumbled to a two-win season in 1983, and although they rebounded to win six in 1984, it would be McKay's last. Thoroughly disillusioned, he stepped down as head coach. His son noted that he knew "within the first week after he got to Tampa that he'd made a mistake." McKay later said that, despite the team's rapid ascent to the playoffs, the Tampa Bay Area fans never forgave him for the franchise's 0–26 start.

In Their Own Story

The rain hammered the field at Tampa Stadium in the final week of the 1979 season. McKay's Buccaneers needed a win over the Kansas City Chiefs to clinch the NFC Central title. The game was a defensive battle, ending 3–0 in a driving Tampa rainstorm. That victory capped a remarkable turnaround from the 0–26 start just two years prior. The Buccaneers then defeated the Philadelphia Eagles 24–17 in a divisional playoff game to advance to the NFC Championship. There, in another defensive battle, they lost to the Los Angeles Rams 9–0. McKay had taken an expansion team that lost its first 26 games to within one game of the Super Bowl in just four seasons.

Reader's Guide

John McKay served as the head coach of the Tampa Bay Buccaneers for nine seasons from 1976 to 1984. His overall regular-season record was 44–88–1. This was mainly due to winning only seven games in the Bucs' first three seasons combined, though his last two seasons were the first of a league-record 12 consecutive 10-loss seasons. Under his leadership, the team made the playoffs three times (1979, 1981, 1982), including an appearance in the NFC Championship Game in 1979. McKay was a controversial figure as an NFL coach. He had an unpredictable personality and was capable of great warmth, but also of scathing sarcasm. Veterans felt that his aloofness hampered his ability to communicate with the team. Near the end of his tenure, he upset players by not addressing the team at any point before or after the game. He was prone to emotional outbursts, as when he called fans "idiots" for booing Bucs' quarterback Steve Spurrier during the expansion season, and then again later when he applied the term to reporters and opposing players who criticized the team. Despite his record, McKay was posthumously inducted into Tampa Bay's "Ring of Honor" on December 5, 2010.

Did You Know?

• McKay's Buccaneers lost the first 26 games in franchise history before finally winning against the New Orleans Saints in 1977.
• McKay called fans 'idiots' for booing Bucs' quarterback Steve Spurrier during the expansion season.
• McKay's son noted that he knew 'within the first week after he got to Tampa that he'd made a mistake' leaving USC.
• McKay was posthumously inducted into Tampa Bay's 'Ring of Honor' on December 5, 2010.
• McKay's last two seasons (1983 and 1984) were the first of a league-record 12 consecutive 10-loss seasons for the Buccaneers.