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Just wondering how many of you posters were alive, when University of Colorado HC, Bill McCartney said he was going to accept SMU's 10 year head football coaching offer on a Friday, in 1988......then announced he was turning us down, on the following Monday.

that was a fun time. BTW, the guy is a nut.

I know. He would have fit with Ken Pye perfectly.

I was with our AD at the time he spoke with BM and it was not pretty. Does anyone remember the lounge/restaurant on top of the Hilton at Mockingbird & Central? Not the best place to have a discussion with the guy who changed his mind (on a pay telephone for that matter). Good thing they had soundproof (not entirely) booths for the phones.

It always struck me as being ironic that he founded the group, Promise Keepers.

Oh, and if memory serves his daughter later had an illigitimate child with Kordell Stewart, the Buff's QB who went on to play in the NFL. Not that that matters, but again it is always interesting how things turn out.

Caballo wrote:Oh, and if memory serves his daughter later had an illigitimate child with Kordell Stewart, the Buff's QB who went on to play in the NFL. Not that that matters, but again it is always interesting how things turn out.

Close, it was another of his qb's, Sal Aunese. Aunese was an incredible qb.

McCartney lives with his wife Lyndi in the Denver area. They have four children and ten grandchildren, one of which was fathered by McCartney's former player Sal Aunese, who died of stomach cancer at the age of 21.[7]

Not too shabby:

1988 Colorado 8-4 4-3 4th L Freedom Rank
1989 Colorado 11-1 7-0 1st L Orange 4 4
1990 Colorado 11-1-1 7-0 1st W Orange 2 1
1991 Colorado 8-3-1 6-0-1 T-1st L Blockbuster 20 20
1992 Colorado 9-2-1 5-1-1 2nd L Fiesta 13 13
1993 Colorado 8-3-1 5-1-1 2nd W Aloha 16 16
1994 Colorado 11-1 6-1 2nd W Fiesta 3 3

78pony wrote:I was with our AD at the time he spoke with BM and it was not pretty. Does anyone remember the lounge/restaurant on top of the Hilton at Mockingbird & Central? Not the best place to have a discussion with the guy who changed his mind (on a pay telephone for that matter). Good thing they had soundproof (not entirely) booths for the phones.

IIRC that lounge was called the Fierce Sparrow. Fred Tycher-one of the owners of the hilton used to collect Pierce Arrow automobiles and modified that name for the club..

Bergermeister wrote:BTW, the guy is a nut.

How's he a nut? I always liked Bill McCartney.

BM probably figured not too soon that not even he could coach in the Pye Model. LOL! I liked him ,too.

smustatesman wrote:Just wondering how many of you posters were alive, when University of Colorado HC, Bill McCartney said he was going to accept SMU's 10 year head football coaching offer on a Friday, in 1988......then announced he was turning us down, on the following Monday.

I was on campus when it happened. Between that and the Sal Aunesi worship (knocked up coach's daughter then abandoned her), I grew to hate the Buffs.

Caballo wrote:Oh, and if memory serves his daughter later had an illigitimate child with Kordell Stewart, the Buff's QB who went on to play in the NFL. Not that that matters, but again it is always interesting how things turn out.

That was Sal Aunesi. He abandoned her, but the Buff fans treated him like a Saint because he got cancer and inspired the team. Hurl!

McCartney must have been out of his mind to consider this job but he would have been a better choice than Forrest Gregg. i realize i'm pissin' on your hero but he never never raised his voice one time while Ken Pye was destroying the program. He never raised his voice in favor of a strong athletic program-EVER-even when he left the program. i think he was totally clueless and naive about college football. I don't think he understood the hole that Pye was digging. McCartney was your typical God Squad coach who preached morals and values while his program was veering out of control behind closed doors. But he would have known what a major college program needed to do in order to build a competitive program unlike Forrest Gregg. Just about EVERY decision made by SMU in the first decade after the DP was the WRONG decision for a strong athletic program.McCartney would have provided better advise on every one of those issues-doubt he would have lasted more than a year though

Stallion wrote:McCartney must have been out of his mind to consider this job but he would have been a better choice than Forrest Gregg. i realize i'm pissin' on your hero but he never never raised his voice one time while Ken Pye was destroying the program. He never raised his voice in favor of a strong athletic program-EVER-even when he left the program. i think he was totally clueless and naive about college football. I don't think he understood the hole that Pye was digging. McCartney was your typical God Squad coach who preached morals and values while his program was veering out of control behind closed doors. But he would have known what a major college program needed to do in order to build a competitive program unlike Forrest Gregg. Just about EVERY decision made by SMU in the first decade after the DP was the WRONG decision for a strong athletic program.McCartney would have provided better advise on every one of those issues-doubt he would have lasted more than a year though

Gregg was a great coach and McCartney was a great coach, although they went about things very differently. The "never raised his voice" comment seems very unlikely. He probably never raised his voice in the media, but I bet if you asked him if he sought change in the way things were being done, you'd get a very different answer than the one you're presenting.

Yes, that's just a hunch, but neither of us knows. That's just my guess.