Dave McGinnis, the former Chicago Bears assistant wrongly announced as head coach in 1999, dies at 74

(JOSE MORE/Chicago Tribune/TNS)

Longtime NFL coach and former Chicago Bears assistant Dave McGinnis died Monday at age 74.

McGinnis died in Nashville, Tenn., after an illness hospitalized him in early March. He was a Tennessee Titans assistant from 2004-11 and also worked as an analyst for the Titans radio team after his coaching days were over.

Long before that, McGinnis worked for the Bears as linebackers coach from 1986-95. He left Chicago to become the Arizona Cardinals defensive coordinator in 1996 before very nearly becoming the Bears head coach in January 1999.

The Bears thought they had a deal with their next head coach not long after firing Dave Wannestedt following the 1998 season. The team announced McGinnis as the new coach in a press release on Jan. 22, 1999, and scheduled a news conference for later that afternoon.

But the release went out before the deal had been signed, and McGinnis rejected the offer because of what he called “a lack of integrity in the process,” according to a Tribune article from the time. The assembled media at Halas Hall were left waiting for a news conference that never happened.

It was a public relations nightmare for the organization. Two days later, the Bears hired Dick Jauron as head coach.

A month later, team owner Virginia Halas McCaskey ousted her son Michael McCaskey as team president and moved him to the role of chairman of the board, a title previously held by his father, Ed McCaskey. The Bears promoted Ted Phillips to become the team’s new president and CEO. It marked the first time in franchise history a person outside of the Halas-McCaskey family held the title of president.

Michael McCaskey remained chairman until 2011, when his brother George McCaskey assumed the role. Michael McCaskey died in 2020 after a battle with cancer.

When the Cardinals fired coach Vince Tobin during the 2000 season, McGinnis took over on an interim basis before eventually becoming the full-time head coach. As Cardinals coach from 2000-03, his teams went 17-40 with no playoff appearances.

He later served as an assistant coach for the Titans and St. Louis Rams before moving to the radio booth in 2017. He continued to call Titans games on the radio through last season.

“We were deeply saddened to learn of Dave McGinnis’ passing and extend our heartfelt condolences to all who knew and loved him,” Cardinals owner Michael Bidwill said in a statement. “As Dave often said, he was a ‘ballcoach’ through and through, and no one ever filled that role with more passion, enthusiasm and charisma.

“Coach Mac truly loved the game and everything — and everyone — associated with it, especially his players. He was one of a kind and will be greatly missed.”