Former NFL coach Dave McGinnis dies at 74

Dave McGinnis, a longtime NFL coach who spent three decades in the league as both a head coach and assistant, has died at the age of 74 following a prolonged illness, the Tennessee Titans announced Monday.

According to The Athletic, McGinnis died of renal failure.

Tributes quickly followed, reflecting his influence beyond the field. Titans controlling owner Amy Adams Strunk said, “My heart aches with the loss of Coach Mac, who was so much more than a coach and broadcaster — he was family.”

McGinnis served as head coach of the Arizona Cardinals from 2000 to 2003, finishing with a 17-40 record. He took over the role midway through the 2000 season and led the team to a 7-9 record in his first full campaign in 2001.

Before reaching the NFL head coaching ranks, McGinnis built his career through both college and professional football. After 13 years at the collegiate level, he joined the Chicago Bears’ defensive staff in 1986, shortly after the team’s Super Bowl-winning season. He worked as linebackers coach from 1986 to 1995.

He later moved to the Cardinals, serving as defensive coordinator from 1996 to 2000 before being promoted to head coach.

Following his tenure in Arizona, McGinnis continued his NFL career with the Tennessee Titans under Jeff Fisher, working as linebackers coach from 2004 to 2011. He then followed Fisher to the St. Louis Rams, where he served as assistant head coach from 2012 to 2016.

McGinnis returned to Tennessee in 2017, transitioning into a broadcasting role as an analyst for the Titans’ radio team, a position he held through 2025.

Those who worked with him emphasized his character as much as his coaching résumé. Titans president and CEO Burke Nihill said, “Much more than his love for the game, I just so appreciated being around the man because he was always so positive, so optimistic, and he always left everybody feeling better about themselves.”

Nihill added, “He’s been around my family, he’s been around our fans and our partners, and he just always made you feel like you were the most important person in the world. He had this unique gift of investing in people through his time and attention and conversations. He was one of one.”

McGinnis leaves behind a legacy defined not only by his decades in the NFL, but also by the lasting personal impact he had on players, colleagues, and the broader football community.