Wit and Wisdom: John McKay

15 Points Per Correct Answer - No time limit  

1. What did McKay say was his biggest reason for taking the job coaching the Buccaneers? The cigars Doesn't everyone want to spend at least part of their career in Tampa? Anything had to be better than coaching four national collegiate champions and two Heisman Trophy winners He heard that he'd get a free eye patch if he coached the Buccaneers

2. What praise did McKay have for his defense after Joe Namath and the New York Jets beat the Buccaneers, 34-0? They allowed him to see NFL quarterbacking at its finest They were the second-best defense on the field that day The score could just as easily have been 54-0 They were gentlemanly

3. How was his mind otherwise occupied during a 42-0 loss to the Pittsburgh Steelers in 1976? I started counting empty seats, but got tired and had to stop at 44,000 I was hoping my wife would pick me up on the sideline and make me help her with the grocery shopping There were times I felt like leaving the stadium and hitch-hiking home Wondering how much worse it could get kept me awake for the second half

4. After the 1976 Buccaneer team finished 0-14, McKay promised that they'd be back, but what was the caveat he added? Maybe not this century That's how we spent this season, right, going back? We might come back as hairdressers, but we'll be back Whether you like it or not

5. How did he assess the team's offense after a 31-0 loss to the Rams in 1977? We couldn't score against a strong wind They've been saving themselves for the past 22 games Our offense is offensive I think I saw one or two first downs in there somewhere

6. When the Buccaneers lost 17-0 to the Atlanta Falcons to go to 0-11 in 1977, what miscalculation did McKay admit to? Hoping that the officials would let him use 12 men on the field Expecting his linemen to block He thought that they'd spot the team a few touchdowns Counting on the players being able to hold on to the football

7. After a 10-0 loss to Chicago in 1977, the team's 26th in a row (11 of them by shutout), what did McKay speculate might be needed to improve the team's offense? Playing quarterback himself and instituting an offense from the 1920s Building a cage around the Buc's quarterback Hiring bears from the zoo to block the defense Placing tackling dummies just behind their offensive lineman to slow the defense up

8. When the Buccaneers won their first NFL game, then followed it up with another win, how did McKay say he'd celebrate? Die happy Watch the game film for 24 hours straight Expect to win 24 more games to even up the team's record Take a shower and tell himself what a great coach he was

9. Four years after breaking into the NFL, the Buccaneers made their first appearance on Monday Night Football in 1980, losing 23-0 to Chicago. What was McKay's assessment of the game? (ABC producer) Roone Arledge must be kicking himself for waiting so long to schedule us I'm sure we'll be on twice in 1981 We set Monday Night fooball back 2,000 years It was Monday Night Football, but we looked like Saturday morning cartoons

10. McKay thought that his 1983 quarterback was "a nice kid". What else did he have to say on that topic? Of course I'd trade him tomorrow for a nice passer If only we didn't play so many mean teams When Leo Durocher said nice guys finish last, I'd hate to think what he said about nice kids But so's my wife, and she's no quarterback