McBride bid farewell to almost a 50-year coaching career by announcing he would retire, effective at the end of this season, in a tearful, touching and humor-filled press conference at WSU's Stewart Stadium Sky Suites.
OGDEN — Ron McBride is a football "lifer" who has given virtually all of his adult life to the gridiron game he loves so much.
And if the Weber State head coach would have had things his way, by his own declaration, he would've died on the sidelines doing what he does best — coaching college football.
But Coach Mac also sensed that, at age 72, perhaps the time had come for him to walk away from the game — or, in his case, hobble off on crutches after fracturing a bone in his leg in a sideline collision during the Wildcats' game against Montana State last Saturday — and let someone else take the reins of WSU's program.
So on Tuesday, McBride bid farewell to almost a 50-year coaching career by announcing he would retire, effective at the end of this season, in a tearful, touching and humor-filled press conference at WSU's Stewart Stadium Sky Suites.
"The only thing I know is the last 60 years has been football only," McBride said. "And that's really been my whole life. So I really don't know what the other life is.
"The reality is it's all about the players. The reason I came to this decision — and it's my decision, nobody else's decision — I looked at where this program is. All the players are in the right classes; the program is exactly where it needs to be, and I just felt they need a new voice at the top.
"The only thing that's important to me at this point is the success of Weber State football," he said. "We built this program with what we had in mind, everything is in place, and now we need somebody to take it to the next step. I feel strongly that we just need a little bump, and I think the bump will come with the new head coach."
McBride, who became a household name in the Beehive State after spending 13 years as the highly successful head coach at the University of Utah, where he was responsible for helping revive the instate rivalry with BYU, came to Weber State in 2005.
In his six-plus seasons at WSU, he guided the Wildcats to FCS playoff berths in 2008 and 2009 — the first back-to-back bids in school history — and their first Big Sky Conference championship in 40 years.
Coach Mac was so appreciative of the opportunity that Weber State gave him, and the way he's been treated by the people in Ogden.
"It's so exciting to me to see where this program is and where it can go. I just want to do the right thing for Weber State, not the right thing for Ron McBride," he said. "... The right thing for Ron McBride would be to stay here and punish myself and punish the guys that work for me and punish the players. But the right thing for Weber State is for me to step down and let somebody push the envelope further than I pushed it. ... It's all about what can I do that's going to help Weber State the most. And at this point, that's the way I see it.
"To retire, that's not my favorite thing to do, but I think it's the right thing to do at this point.
"I have no idea what I'll do without football because I don't know anything else, because that's what I've done," McBride said.
Weber State is currently 3-6 on the season and 3-3 in Big Sky play. The Wildcats are reeling, though, from a three-game losing streak, although McBride insisted that was not the reason he was stepping down.
Former Weber State Athletic Director Dutch Belnap, who was instrumental in bringing McBride to Weber State after Jerry Graybeal was dismissed as the Wildcats' head coach in 2004, recalled how Coach Mac wound up with the Wildcats' job in the first place.
"He called me to recommend somebody else (current Utah State head coach Gary Andersen), and I said, 'Well, why don't you recommend yourself?' " said Belnap, who then went to WSU President Ann Milner and strongly recommended that she consider hiring McBride for the job.
It was the beginning of a great relationship between McBride and the Ogden community, which welcomed him with open arms.
"The community, even though we've been on a little bit of a downturn right now, still supports him," Belnap said. "The professors support him. He's just brought a new life into football here, and I think the things he's done here have set a really strong foundation.
"I think it's the right thing and the right move for him, and we just want to keep him involved in this community. People have stepped up and made contributions and donations to the program because of Ron. He's gone to every elementary school and junior high school in the world to help promote this program. He's very unselfish; he's just a good man."
Andersen, who played at Utah in 1985-86 when McBride was an assistant coach there and later served as an assistant coach for McBride from 1997-2002 with the Utes, was greatly appreciative of everything Coach Mac had done for him in his own career.
"... I am happy that he gets to go out on his own terms, number one," Andersen said. "He has been a mentor for me as a player, as a young coach, as an old coach and will continue to be for as long as I coach. As long as I coach, I will continue to lean on him and he will always be a mentor to me.
"He left his mark and will continue to leave his mark on football in the state of Utah from little league, to high school and through college for many, many young men, and I believe that he will continue to do that. Even though he may retire, he is not going to completely leave the game."
WSU Athletic Director Jerry Bovee knows that making the right hire to replace McBride is crucial for the Wildcats' program. But first, he wants to allow Coach Mac to enjoy his final two weeks on the job, and he says McBride will have a voice in who his Weber State successor is.
"The program's come to a point where the next step is vital and important, and I feel like we've built a program that's worthy and there will be a lot of interest in the job," Bovee said. "Right now, we're going forward and we want to have the best coach possible. ... We'll do what's right and continue to build this program. There's a lot of pressure to build on what we've got here. These will be tough shoes to fill.
"But for us, the next two weeks is going to be about concluding the season and letting him go out the right way and supporting him.
"He'll have something to say about it," Bovee said of the Wildcats' next head coach. "He's earned the right to have something to say about it."
Tuesday was definitely a day for reflecti on. McBride, who began his coaching career in 1965, has coached in conferences all across the country. He has recruited players all over the United States, Canada and Polynesia, and he has few, if any, regrets.
"How can anybody be more blessed than I've been?" he said. "It's been a great ride."
Coach Mac through the years
2005-present—Weber State head coach (41-38 overall, 32-21 Big Sky), with one conference championship in 2008 — first one at the school in 40 years — and two FCS playoff berths; received Lifetime Achievement Award from Utah Football Coaches Association in 2008
2003-04—Assistant coach, University of Kentucky
1990-2002—Head coach, University of Utah (88-63 overall, 58-42 WAC/Mountain West), with two conference championships, six bowl berths and three bowl victories; finished 1994 season 10-2 and ranked in Top 10 in both major polls; revived Utes' rivalry with BYU by winning 6 of last 11 games against the Cougars
1987-89—Assistant coach, University of Arizona
1985-86—Assistant coach, University of Utah
1983-84—Assistant coach, University of Wisconsin
1977-82—Assistant coach, University of Utah
1975-76—Assistant coach, Long Beach State
1972-73—Assistant coach, UC Riverside
1969-71—Assistant coach, Gavilan Junior College
1966-68—Assistant coach, Piedmont Hills High School
1965—Freshman coach, San Jose State
Email: rhollis@desnews.com