**** MacPherson passes away at age 86

[jmt57]

RIP ****, good guy, bad NFL coach.

Was he a bad NFL coach, or in a situation that was impossible to succeed?

Ownership: Has there ever been a pro sports ownership that was as dysfunctional as those years - the final years of the Sullivans, then Victor 'I bought the company' Kiam, and James 'I just want to move the team' Orthwein?

Management: as we have seen over the last twenty years in the NFL, this goes hand-in-hand with ownership. Kiam only interviewed on person as the CEO, and it was a guy whose highest previous position was college athletic director. Sam Jankovich was way over his head at that position.

Then you have Patrick Forte. He was a PR guy who in a matter of months was promoted to assistant GM and then VP; he negotiated contracts. Over the course of his brief time with the Patriots he was sued for sexual harassment (despite this being right after Lisa Olson), and later plead guilty to larceny for taking cash in exchange for Super Bowl tickets and season tickets that were never provided.

That's before even considering the roster. Bill Parcells famously said he wanted to shop for the groceries. This management group couldn't find a grocery store if you dropped them off so close the automatic doors opened for them. No wonder Parcells made that demand, after what had happened during the short lived MacPherson era. How many wins can one reasonably expect with Hugh Millen and Tommy Hodson under center?

 

[Jackson 2]

He inherited the worst Patriot team I've ever seen (1-15), and I've seen every one. Some interesting stats from this morning's paper: with Syracuse he was 4-1 in bowl games, undefeated in '87; with UMASS won 4 Yankee Conference titles in 7 years; a member of the College Football Hall of Fame. He did OK...

 

[InRodWeRust]

I liked the Patriots growing up as a kid in the 70's and 80's but didn't fully understand the basics of football. In late 1990 I started playing Tecmo Bowl with my buddy and finally learned the basics of how football was played and really started to appreciate it. The Pats were a train wreck but I wanted to root for them anyway the next season. Who was their new coach? **** MacPherson. I loved his enthusiasm breathing new life into a depressing franchise and his attitude got me amped up as a new fan. I've been hooked ever since. Thank you coach MacPherson.

As a reminder of how far the Pats have come I chose Rod Rust as my avatar and username.

P.S. During the famous quarterback controversy I preferred Hodson over Millen.

 

[Dagg]

Being a PATS fan and not living to far from Syracuse NY this was all over the news yesterday. Coach MAC was absolutley loved in Syracuse a legend to those people (like a Shula or a Landry etc) I grew up watching the orange and later played in college under his long time assistant head coach.

At the time in the 80s I was pretty young but the SU teams back then were great and I hoped he could bring that to the Patriots. That was pretty much just wishful thinking/youthful optimism since as a kid I couldnt really see how devoid of talent the team really was.

RIP coach Mac he was one of kind. He knew everyone and they all loved him. Some of the stories on the local radio yesterday were great he will be missed.

 

[Ivan]

Was he a bad NFL coach, or in a situation that was impossible to succeed?

Ownership: Has there ever been a pro sports ownership that was as dysfunctional as those years - the final years of the Sullivans, then Victor 'I bought the company' Kiam, and James 'I just want to move the team' Orthwein?

Management: as we have seen over the last twenty years in the NFL, this goes hand-in-hand with ownership. Kiam only interviewed on person as the CEO, and it was a guy whose highest previous position was college athletic director. Sam Jankovich was way over his head at that position.

Then you have Patrick Forte. He was a PR guy who in a matter of months was promoted to assistant GM and then VP; he negotiated contracts. Over the course of his brief time with the Patriots he was sued for sexual harassment (despite this being right after Lisa Olson), and later plead guilty to larceny for taking cash in exchange for Super Bowl tickets and season tickets that were never provided.

That's before even considering the roster. Bill Parcells famously said he wanted to shop for the groceries. This management group couldn't find a grocery store if you dropped them off so close the automatic doors opened for them. No wonder Parcells made that demand, after what had happened during the short lived MacPherson era. How many wins can one reasonably expect with Hugh Millen and Tommy Hodson under center?

I think that's fair but I never got the sense from MacPherson that he was an NFL head coach, however I felt the same way about Carroll and he proved that wrong when he was in the right situation for him.

 

[Family]

I remember him winning his first NFL game and he was a cheerleader on the sidelines. Whomever the announcer was made out like they won the Super Bowl and every commercial cut showed him celebrating a play.

RIP

 

[dafoe2016]

Probably because it's how we remember him. Good guy, poor coach.

I remember that play. I thought it was Leonard Russel though. It sticks out because that was one of the highlights of the year and because we had McDonald's during the game which was a rare treat. We weren't allowed to eat much junk food. Crazy how much things have changed.

 

[captain stone]

Bummer. Fellow Mainer. My first Pat's game live was 1991. Pats v. Warren Moon and the Houston Oilers. Hugh Millen hits Greg McMurtry for a 20 yard TD with 6 seconds left to win at the old Sullivan Stadium. I was already hooked at that point, but that day really cemented it. RIP ****.

Your first Pats game live was during the same season where I saw my last Pats game live, October 27th 1991. Naturally, it was a 9-6 loss to the damned Donkeys, during which Hugh Millen scrambled around like a chicken with its head cut off as time expired, thus preventing the Pats from attempting a long game-tying FG.

Bad times, bad times...

 

[jmt57]

Your first Pats game live was during the same season where I saw my last Pats game live, October 27th 1991. Naturally, it was a 9-6 loss to the damned Donkeys, during which Hugh Millen scrambled around like a chicken with its head cut off as time expired, thus preventing the Pats from attempting a long game-tying FG.

Bad times, bad times...

Wow, I had (thankfully) forgotten all about that game.

Broncos 9, Patriots 6

But with no time outs, the Patriots chose to run one more play. Millen went back to pass and found no one open. Rather than throw the ball away or run out of bounds, however, Millen headed for the goal line and came up five yards short.​

Millen Gives Patriots Hope, Takes It Away : AFC: He runs out the clock for the Broncos, who win on Treadwell's three field goals, 9-6.

New England called its last timeout and Coach **** MacPherson told Millen to take one shot at a touchdown. If it failed, the Patriots would call on Jason Staurovsky to kick a field goal that would send the game into overtime.

"If there's nothing there, throw it out of bounds," MacPherson told Millen.

Instead, Millen took off running when his receivers were covered and was tackled by linebacker Michael Brooks with five seconds left.

"I felt I had a pretty good hole that opened up at that point," Millen said. "I went too far and then I just wanted to go as far as I could. If I didn't do it, we'd (still) be playing now."​

 

[fair catch fryar]

Your first Pats game live was during the same season where I saw my last Pats game live, October 27th 1991. Naturally, it was a 9-6 loss to the damned Donkeys, during which Hugh Millen scrambled around like a chicken with its head cut off as time expired, thus preventing the Pats from attempting a long game-tying FG.

Bad times, bad times...

“It was the best of times, it was the worst of times...