Mike MacIntyre

Early life and college

Born in 1965 in Miami, Florida, MacIntyre is one of two sons of former football coach George MacIntyre and Betty MacIntyre. The MacIntyre family lived in many places throughout the Southern United States, as George MacIntyre was a scout for the University of Miami from 1964 to 1967, defensive coordinator of the University of Tampa (Tampa, Florida) in 1968, defensive back coach at Clemson University (Clemson, South Carolina) from 1970 to 1972, and assistant coach for Vanderbilt University (Nashville, Tennessee) from 1973 to 1974. In 1975, George MacIntyre took his first head coaching position with UT Martin and became offensive coordinator for Ole Miss (the University of Mississippi) in 1978. From 1979 to 1985, George MacIntyre was head football coach of Vanderbilt University.

Mike MacIntyre attended Brentwood Academy in Brentwood, Tennessee near Nashville and played quarterback and defensive back on the football team. After graduating from Brentwood in 1984, Mike MacIntyre played college football at Vanderbilt, which was coached by his father, for two seasons as a free safety. After his father resigned, he transferred to Georgia Tech, where MacIntyre earned a bachelor's degree in business management in 1989.

Assistant coach (1990–2009)

MacIntyre enrolled in a University of Georgia graduate program and was a graduate assistant with the Georgia Bulldogs football team. In 1991, MacIntyre earned his master's degree in sports management. Georgia also won the 1991 Independence Bowl. MacIntyre then became a defensive coordinator: at Davidson College (then in Division III) in 1992, During the summers of 1992 and 1993, MacIntyre served as the assistant head coach and offensive coordinator for the Deggendorf Blackhawks in Germany. Then University of Tennessee at Martin from 1993 to 1996, and Temple University from 1997 to 1998. (George MacIntyre had been the head coach of UT Martin football from 1975 to 1977.)

From 1999 to 2002, MacIntyre coached at the University of Mississippi (Ole Miss), starting as the wide receiver coach then in 2001 the defensive secondary coach. MacIntyre actively helped recruit Patrick Willis to Ole Miss; Willis would become an All-Pro linebacker in the NFL. Ole Miss won the Independence Bowl in 1999 and 2002 and was the runner-up of the 2000 Music City Bowl. In 2001, Ole Miss ranked fifth nationally in defensive for allowing 161.3 yards per game.

MacIntyre would then spend five seasons in the NFL starting in 2003: as the defensive backs coach of the Dallas Cowboys under Bill Parcells until 2006, then in 2007 in the same position with the New York Jets. In 2008, Mike MacIntyre returned to college football as the defensive coordinator for Duke, and in his first season with Duke, the Blue Devils allowed 67.4 fewer yards and 9.8 fewer points per game than in 2007. His defenses produced two of the best seasons statistically the Blue Devils had achieved. In 2009, the American Football Coaches Association recognized MacIntyre as FBS Assistant Coach of the Year.

2010

On December 16, 2009, MacIntyre became the new head coach of the San Jose State Spartans football team, a member of the Western Athletic Conference (WAC), after Dick Tomey retired. The Spartans had just come off a 2–10 record in 2009 and had only three winning seasons since 1993, and athletic director Tom Bowen planned on making a full 85 scholarship athletes available to the football team, as Academic Progress Rate penalties limited yearly scholarships to between 67 and 72.

Local media considered MacIntyre to be a smart hire despite his inexperience as a head coach. MacIntyre has stated that he chose to be the head coach to inspire success in the student-athletes and praised his father George MacIntyre for improving the struggling football programs UT Martin and Vanderbilt as coach. He also planned on dropping the spread offense and expand recruiting rather than rely on junior college transfers. San Jose State completed the 2010 season 1–12. However, MacIntyre expressed optimism that the team would improve in 2011 given that the team would have 85 athletes on scholarship next season.

2011

In 2011, the Spartans finished 5–7. Unlike the previous season in which MacIntyre had only six weeks of recruiting time, MacIntyre had a full term of recruiting. The coach also commented shortly before the first game of 2011 that his players benefited by learning his playbook throughout 2010 despite the one-win season. Then with the longest losing streak of Division I football, the Spartans lost 13 games in a row starting in 2010 until beating New Mexico State on September 24, 2011. San Jose State averaged 190 rushing yards per game by then, a marked improvement from years past. San Jose Mercury News columnist Jon Wilner credited MacIntyre's experience coaching in the SEC, a conference Wilner wrote was "all about running between the tackles."

The next week, San Jose State won its second in a row and ended a 16-game road losing streak with a 38–31 victory over Colorado State; that win marked the first time since 2008 San Jose State won two consecutive games and first non-conference win since 2002. San Jose State's homecoming game on October 14, 2011 was nationally televised as part of ESPN's College Football Friday Primetime, and San Jose State rallied to beat Hawaii 28–27, the team's third win in four games. That win led to speculation that San Jose State would qualify for a bowl game.

2012

In January 2012, MacIntyre accepted a contract extension through the 2017 season. Scout.com ranked MacIntyre's 2012 recruiting class the best of the WAC. In July, MacIntyre speculated that San Jose State could contend for a WAC championship this year. San Jose State began the 2012 season 4–1, the best start since the 2006 New Mexico Bowl championship season. The Spartans finished the regular season with a six-game winning streak and a 10–2 record—only two years removed from a 1-12 season—and for the first time in school history the Spartans earned a final end-of-season BCS ranking (#24). The Spartans also finished the regular season with a #24 ranking in both the AP Poll and the USA Today Coaches Poll. MacIntyre made $450,000 per year as head coach of the Spartans.

Colorado (2013–present)

On December 10, 2012, the University of Colorado announced that it was hiring MacIntyre to replace coach Jon Embree, who was fired after two seasons. Originally signed to a five-year contract, MacIntyre is the 25th full-time coach for the Colorado Buffaloes football program. On September 2, 2013, MacIntyre won his opening game over Jim McElwain and rival Colorado State on a neutral field at Sports Authority Field at Mile High in Denver. His positivity and decision-making during the game were praised. Coming off a 1–11 season in 2012, Colorado posted a 4–8 record in 2013. On February 20, 2014, the University of Colorado Board of Regents extended MacIntyre's contract through the 2018 season. Colorado then went 2–10 in 2014 and 4–9 in 2015.

Everything came together for Colorado in 2016. On October 22, Colorado became bowl eligible for the first time since 2007 after beating Stanford 10–5. Two weeks later, they clinched their first winning season since 2005 with a 20–10 victory over UCLA. On November 26, 2016, MacIntyre led the Buffaloes to a 27-22 victory over Utah, clinching the first Pac-12 South Division Championship in school history. MacIntyre was named the Pac-12 Coach of the Year for 2016 after the Buffaloes were picked to finish last in the division prior to the season. He was also awarded the Walter Camp Coach of the Year Award becoming the second Colorado coach to earn the award, on a team led by his first recruiting class, assembled just weeks after his hire.

On January 10, 2017, MacIntyre signed a 5-year, $16.25 million contract with Colorado that will see him under contract with the Buffaloes through the 2021 season.

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