Dave McGinnis passes away: Titans, Nashville loses a friend, voice and our ‘Coach Mac' far too soon

NASHVILLE — “Keep your powder dry.” I can hear the famous catch phrase of longtime NFL coach and Tennessee Titans radio analyst Dave McGinnis in my head as we all remember his life. Known by most as “Coach Mac,” McGinnis passed away Monday at age 74 after an extended battle with illness.

He’d want people to laugh and remember the good times, of which there are countless to recall.

What a blessing it was to have Mac in our lives for as long as we did. From 1986 to 2016, Mac was a fixture on the sidelines for the Chicago Bears, Arizona Cardinals, St. Louis/LA Rams and on coach Jeff Fisher’s staff in Tennessee. In 2017, he came back to Nashville to join legendary broadcaster Mike Keith as the color analyst for Titans Radio.

The chemistry was instantaneous.

There are voices you hear, and then there are voices you feel. For a generation of Tennessee Titans fans, Dave McGinnis was both. His voice carried the authority of experience and the warmth of someone who genuinely loved sharing the game with you. There has never been a more authentic character than Mac, and that authenticity and care translated to everything he did.

Coach Mac helped give me my start

Personally, I wouldn’t have a career without him.

As I head into my 10th season covering the Titans, all I can think about is how many different ways Mac helped me along the way. Coach taught me about the history of the franchise and it’s role in shaping the modern day NFL. Before I was getting my travel to games covered by 104.5 The Zone, I tried to pay my own way to cover the Titans when they were away. It was financially irresponsible at the time, but I was desperate to prove that this is what I wanted to do, that I belonged on an NFL beat and that I was going to do everything in my power to be there.

Mac found out about what I had been doing in 2019.

Someone told Mac that I drove from Nashville to Denver that week to make the game. To this day, I still do not know who. I had lied to my (only, at the time) employers at AtoZ Sports (sorry, Austin and Zach) and told them I had booked flights and hotels. I had, instead, driven to every road game that season. On that particular trip, someone told Mac that I had slept in my car because I was unable to afford a hotel.

Turron Davenport at ESPN had let me crash on the floor or couch of his room for the three previous trips. I am still forever indebted to him, as well. Denver, however, I arrived right before kickoff, changing clothes in a gas station bathroom outside of Mile High Stadium before the game. Turron had offered to let me stay with him again, but I couldn’t for the sake of time and drove home immediately after locker room availability and press conferences finished.

Mac was livid with me when I saw him the following Wednesday at practice.

Coach insisted on helping me cover my expenses for the rest of that season. It ended up being the season that saw the Titans reach the AFC Championship game in an incredible run. That run helped jettison me into an actual career.

None of it possible without Mac.

What makes that story special is that there are so many others exactly like it across Mac’s career in coaching and broadcast. He’d take in practice every day, always watching from behind the defense for the best vantage point of how the play would develop. Mac would spend as much time as me or anyone else needed explaining what the team was trying to accomplish or the purpose of every drill in terms that made football more digestible.

“Football isn’t complicated, but it is detailed. Now watch this shit.”

Mike and Mac are the voices of the best version of Titans football. You trusted Mac implicitly. You leaned on him, because you knew all he wanted to do was help you in whatever way that he could.

That's a rare thing.

The Titans didn't just lose a broadcaster. Nashville didn't just lose a voice. We lost a teacher. A steady presence. A piece of what made Nissan Stadium feel like home.

I’m sorry, Mac, brother. I couldn’t keep my powder dry this time.

Featured Image: 104.5 The Zone.