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Ex-Mac assistants

Posted January 9, 2008

Bill McCartney hasn’t coached a game since the 1994 season, but his coaching “tree” is still very evident these days.

One need look no farther than the BCS national championship game on Monday, when a former Mac assistant — LSU’s Les Miles — brought home a national title to Baton Rouge.

Another name being mentioned prominently these days is Jim Caldwell, currently assistant head coach/quarterbacks coach for the Indianapolis Colts. Caldwell was the head coach at Wake Forest from 1993-2000, and worked for McCartney in Boulder when Mac began rebuilding the program. Caldwell is currently getting interest from at least two NFL teams for their head coaching spot, and he’s receiving a solid endorsement from Colts QB Peyton Manning.

And, yes, the new head coach at UCLA, Rick Neuheisel, was a Mac assistant before taking the reins of the program in 1995. Neuheisel takes over for another former Mac aide, Karl Dorrell.