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