Ex-Cardinals HC, Titans assistant Dave McGinnis dies at 74
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- Dave McGinnis died at 74 on Monday at Ascension St. Thomas Midtown Hospital with family by his side, after being hospitalized for an illness since early March; a Catholic priest gave him his last rites that morning
- McGinnis went 17-40 as Arizona's head coach from 2000 to 2003, earning the role after nearly five seasons as defensive coordinator, and was fired following a 4-12 final season that included a breakout from Offensive Rookie of the Year Anquan Boldin
- McGinnis joined the Titans as linebackers coach under Jeff Fisher in 2003, was promoted to assistant head coach, and remained in the role through 2011 before returning to Nashville in 2017 as a Titans Radio color analyst
- McGinnis coached in the NFL from 1986 to 2016 across the Cardinals, Bears, and St. Louis/Los Angeles Rams in addition to the Titans, working with eight Hall of Fame players during that span
- McGinnis coached Cardinals safety Pat Tillman, who left the NFL in 2002 to enlist in U.S. Army Special Operations after the Sept. 11 attacks and was killed in Afghanistan in 2004
- Titans controlling owner Amy Adams Strunk called McGinnis 'family,' while Cardinals owner Michael Bidwill remembered him as a 'ball coach through and through' who was 'one of a kind'
Why it matters: McGinnis bridged four decades of NFL sidelines and was a beloved figure in two franchises, with the Cardinals and Titans both losing a deeply connected alumnus. His death removes a living link to Pat Tillman's Cardinals tenure and to the Jeff Fisher-era Titans coaching staff. For the Titans organization, it ends a 20-plus-year relationship that spanned coaching, broadcasting, and community work.
