By Daniel Reedy
Just in case the Spartans needed another reason to mourn the departure of former head coach Mike MacIntyre, the Associated Press named him Coach of the Year for leading Colorado to a 10-3 season and a spot in the Alamo Bowl against no. 12 Oklahoma State.
After four years of now ex-coach Ron Caragher, Spartan faithful are left with solemn thoughts of what might have been.
MacIntyre joined the Spartans in 2010 for his first gig as a head coach. He struggled in his season, winning just one game. But SJSU remained confident and following his first full recruiting season, he led the Spartans to a 5-7 record, winning more games than the team had in the last two years combined.
MacIntyre took SJSU even further in 2012.
The Spartans won 10 games in route to their first top 25 ranking and first bowl appearance since 2006.
In the end, SJSU couldn’t hold onto its prized coach and the Colorado Buffaloes swooped up MacIntyre with a 5-year, $10 million deal. He made less than a quarter of his new salary while coaching at SJSU.
Much like his kick-off campaign with the Spartans, he struggled in his first season, winning just one game.
And again, he improved in his second season, this time finishing 4-8.
But after his contract was extended, Colorado crashed and burned, winning just six games over the next two seasons. The Spartans meanwhile won nine games during that time span.
It was safe to say MacIntyre was on the hot seat but he passed that heat onto his team. The Buffaloes stampeded opponents on their way to a 10-3 season, scoring more than 37 points in eight of their games this season.
The Spartans finished just 4-8 but hope new head coach Brent Brennan can jump start the team.
Like MacIntyre, Brennan will take over SJSU’s program without prior head coaching experience.
Brennan was an assistant for the Spartans from 2005 to 2010, leaving just before MacIntyre took over.
Coach Brennan will look to restore Spartan football to relevance and if he does, SJSU will just have to hope he doesn’t get snatched up like a pick-of-the-litter puppy like MacIntyre was in 2012.
