After short three seasons as head coach of the University of Hawai‘i football program, Greg McMackin has returned the Warriors back to national prominence. During last season’s 10-4 campaign, UH was nationally ranked in both the Associated Press and USA Today Coaches polls, while leading the Warriors to a share of their fourth Western Athletic Conference title.
UH also secured a berth to the Sheraton Hawai‘i Bowl in 2010, its second bowl appearance in three years under McMackin, while becoming just the sixth team in the school’s history to post double-digit wins. With 23 victories in three seasons, McMackin is tied with Bob Wagner for the most wins by a UH coach in his first three seasons during the school’s modern era.
Hawai‘i’s offense and defense both led the nation in various categories last season. Led by quarterback Bryant Moniz, UH topped the nation in passing while Moniz was the nation’s leader in passing yards, total offense, and touchdowns. Behind linebacker Corey Paredes, the Warrior defense led the nation in turnovers forced.
Under McMackin, the Warriors have a history of winning. The veteran coach has been a part of thee WAC titles (1999, ’07, ’10) and four bowl games (1999, ’07, ’08, ’10) with Hawai‘i. Throughout his career, he has been to 14 bowls. McMackin took over as head coach in 2008 after two years as the team’s defensive coordinator. He served two different stints as coordinator in 1999 and again in 2007.
In 2009, the only season UH did not qualify for a bowl during McMackin’s tenure, the Warriors nearly overcame a flurry of injuries by finishing one win shy of bowl berth. UH endured losses to its starting quarterback, wide receiver, right tackle, and middle linebacker all within the first half of the season. McMackin regrouped his unit and salvaged the season with a late four-game win streak before falling in the regular season finale.
In 2008, his first season after taking over as head coach for June Jones, McMackin and his staff had a tall task ahead of them with a schedule that was considered the toughest in school history with BCS conference opponents Florida, Oregon State, Washington State, and Cincinnati, and road games at traditional WAC powers Boise State and Fresno State. With nine offensive starters lost from a record-breaking 2007 squad, the Warriors relied on their defense led by all-WAC linebackers Adam Leonard and Solomon Elimimian.
After struggling out of the gates, UH won six of eight during October and November and its offense was firing on all cylinders behind Alexander. A 24-10 home victory over Washington State secured an invitation to the Sheraton Hawai‘i Bowl against Notre Dame.
In 2007, McMackin returned to the Manoa campus as defensive coordinator and helped the Warriors to a perfect 12-0 regular season and trip to the Allstate Sugar Bowl. That year, his defense ranked 34th nationally, up from 93rd in 2006, and also ranked among the nation’s best in tackles-for-loss (5th), sacks (9th) and interceptions (11th).
Following that season, the departure of then-head coach June Jones enabled McMackin to become the program’s 21st head coach. With that announcement, McMackin’s endearing personality and the state’s euphoria for Warrior football, season-ticket sales jumped to the highest since the early 1990s.
In 1999, McMackin’s first go-around as defensive coordinator, UH improved from 109th nationally in total defense to 35th and became the NCAA’s all-time turnaround team (from 0 wins in 1998 to nine wins in 1999). His defense accounted for five touchdowns, 17 interceptions, 33 sacks, and 17 fumble recoveries.
One of McMackin’s top priorities as head coach is to graduate his players. In 2008-09, a total of 24 Warriors earned their diplomas during the winter and spring commencement exercises, which was the most football student-athletes to graduate in one year in school history. That mark was eclipsed in 2009-10 as another 28 earned their degrees.
Prior to joining the Warrior staff during his second go-around in 2007, McMackin spent three years with the National Football League’s San Francisco 49ers as associate head coach and linebackers coach under Dennis Erickson from 2003-05.
In 2000, McMackin left UH to take the defensive coordinator position at Texas Tech, where he spent three years as one of the nation’s top assistant coaches by American Football Magazine. In 2001, he was named the Big 12 Conference’s top recruiter by rivals.com. His defense made an immediate impact as the Red Raiders finished the 2000 campaign ranked sixth nationally in pass defense and 10th in pass-efficiency defense.
Prior to joining UH in 1999, McMackin was the defensive coordinator for the Seattle Seahawks for four seasons under Erickson, where he coached 10 All-Pro selections. The Seahawks recorded an NFL-record 14 defensive touchdowns in 1998 while establishing a franchise-best seven interceptions in one game. During his first three seasons in Seattle, the defense jumped from 30th to eighth while the pass defense improved from 30th to sixth.
McMackin spent the 1993 and ‘94 seasons at Miami (Fla.), also coached by Erickson. The team won two Big East Championships and ranked first in the nation in total defense, scoring defense and pass defense. Prior to Miami, he spent one year with Navy in 1992 and two years with Utah from 1990-91. He helped improve the Ute defense from 106th nationally to first in the Western Athletic Conference in 1990, while his defense led the WAC in five categories.
McMackin’s first head-coaching stint was at Oregon Tech from 1986-89, where he also served as assistant athletics director. The team enjoyed four winning seasons and established 48 school and 18 national records. Oregon Tech advanced to the national championship playoffs and semifinals and was ranked third nationally during his tenure. McMackin earned Coach of the Year honors twice, including Columbia Football Association Mt. Hood Coach of the Year in 1988, and coached the first two Oregon Tech football players drafted by the NFL.
His first taste of professional football came during the 1985 season when he served as assistant coach for the Denver Gold of the USFL, coached by former UH assistant Mouse Davis, widely regarded as the inventor of the run-and-shoot offense. Denver ranked first in the Western Conference in defense and led the USFL in interceptions.
McMackin served as linebackers coach for one season under head coach Jack Elway at Stanford, where the rushing defense ranked among the nation’s best in 1984. In 1979, he began a five-season stint at San Jose State, helping the team to two conference titles while coaching three NFL Draft picks and eight players who played professionally.
McMackin also served as defensive coordinator at Idaho for three seasons. While at UI, his team ranked second in the nation in quarterback sacks and improved its pass defense from last to first in the Big Sky Conference.
McMackin began his coaching career as an offensive backfield coach at Arizona in 1968 and moved on to Aloha High School in Beaverton, Ore., where he was an assistant coach and head coach for three seasons. He then moved on to Western Oregon State College for three seasons as defensive coordinator, recruiting coordinator and assistant professor in physical education.
McMackin earned his bachelor of science degree at Southern Oregon College and his master’s of education at Arizona. He is a published author, having written “Coaching the Defensive Backfield” in 1992, which is in its eighth printing, and has had several articles published in national coaching publications. He is a member of the National Football League Coaches Association and the American Football Coaches Association.
McMackin and his wife, Heather, have a daughter, Shannon, and two grandchildren, Kayla and Taylor.
