re: For the old-timers...when did Cholly Mac first get on the hot seat?

quote:

---

He was fired after my freshman year, 1979, and it was known during much of the season that it was his final season

---

I don't know if it's true, but I've heard that before the season Mac's contract was under review at a Board of Supervisors meeting being held on the LSUNO (now UNO) campus and that the coach sat in his car and waited. Apparently, Dietzel came out and said "They want to give you one year so you can serve as President of the Coaches Association. If I were you, I would just tell them no."

But, the story goes, Mac thought his '79 team was going to be very good and that they would win enough to earn him an extension. So he said "I'll take it." That team was good, but lost the famous heartbreaker to USC-w, lost by 3 in a rainstorm to Alabama, and lost a close game to FSU, all ranked in the top 5. They ended up 7-5 for the regular season and won the Tangerine Bowl over Wake. Mac then became President of the Tangerine Bowl (later Citrus, now CapOne Bowl).