IF you can't beat 'em, ask 'em to join to you. McMackin a
quality pick
for RainbowsThat might be June Jones' philosophy in hiring dismissed Seattle Seahawks defensive coordinator Greg McMackin to be the Rainbows' defensive coordinator.
The 51-year-old McMackin said last night from his home in Bellevue, Wash., that Jones spoke to him about joining him at Hawaii when the Chargers played the Seahawks in Seattle on Dec. 13.
The occasion of the Seahawks' 38-17 thrashing of San Diego couldn't have been more appropriate for Jones to make such an overture.
That's because McMackin's defense forced Jones' Chargers to commit eight turnovers, including a Seattle franchise record seven interceptions.
Making the game even more memorable were Terry McDaniel's 43-yard interception return for a touchdown and Cortez Kennedy's 39-yard fumble return for another score to break the NFL record for defensive touchdowns in a season. The old record was 11 by the Kansas City Chiefs in 1992. Seattle wound up with 14 on the season.
Even though the Seahawks finished out of the playoffs with an 8-8 record, McMackin made them one of the NFL's best defensive units.
They were first in turnovers (41), second in sacks (51), fifth in red zone defense and sixth in scoring defense.
You sure couldn't ask for much more in Aloha Stadium.
UESTION is, will McMackin have the tools to build a defense at Hawaii that remotely resembles what he's developed elsewhere?
With recruits escaping left and right from the islands and most of the mainland's best already committed, McMackin may feel a little deprived at first out here.
But there's no question he is the most highly credentialed addition to the Hawaii staff to date.
Look at his resume and you'll see that he took the NCAA's worst defense at Utah in 1990 and turned it into the Western Athletic Conference's best.
Before joining the Seahawks in 1995, McMackin had the NCAA's best defense at Miami.
I really go for McMackin's defensive philosophy. It can be summed up in one word: Speed.
"We're going to be an attacking, swarming defense that gang-tackles and makes big plays," he said. "So, we need to get as much speed as we can on the field."
McMackin said he's heard Hawaii already has good linebackers who can run, but ...
"But I don't really know the personnel. The thing we need will be a four-man front, just like we ran at Miami and Seattle, and even Utah. We need two big defensive tackles to hold the point and force the double teams, and then everybody else is a speed guy."
He said his defensive ends will just be big linebackers with a hand on the ground. Pass rushers. "Safeties who get bigger, we move to linebacker, so you can see we're trying to put as fast a guy as we can out there," he said.
McMackin said his priority is finding some cornerbacks who know how to sprint.
I don't know where they're going to come from but McMackin has passed his NCAA test and is already out looking for them.
THE other Hawaii hire announced yesterday was Ron Lee, the St. Louis School offensive coordinator who was McMackin's offensive coordinator at Oregon Tech in the late 1980s.
Not a bad choice as wide receivers coach. He'll fit right into Jones' offensive philosophy.
And if there had to be a Lee on the Hawaii staff, Ron was a more logical choice than his brother, Cal, the St. Louis head coach.
Ron is the more direct, more gregarious personality. And with the long, difficult rebuilding task ahead for the football program, I'm sure Jones will appreciate his poise under media scrutiny.
Pat Bigold has covered sports for daily newspapers
in Hawaii and Massachusetts since 1978.