After a lifetime of coaching football, Jim McNally has returned to the University at Buffalo, looking to give back to the school where he starred on the gridiron and got his start on the sideline. McNally retired from coaching professionally in January and has signed up to serve as a volunteer for UB's Athletics Development Office, working on expanding the university's athletic facilities.
"Officially I'm a volunteer. I'm a volunteer in football, but there are some restrictions," McNally said. "The restrictions are I cannot go on the field, I can't be in an official staff meeting, but there's a way I can get over there and do some things and visit, but I have to follow compliance. So I do work on a limited basis with football and whatever I'm able to do legally."
McNally is currently organizing a football alumni weekend in the fall. Sorting through almost 1,000 names, McNally is in charge of making phone calls to get in touch with all of the former players. The weekend will include a Friday night sit-down dinner, the Saturday game with a tailgate, an outing after the game and a Sunday brunch. McNally says that bringing back all the alumni is something UB has never done before.
While McNally travels around the country for football clinics and seminars, he also stays close to home to help out the community. He volunteers at high schools like St. Francis and Canisius to work with their football teams. He's also been approached to write a book.
A graduate of nearby Kenmore West High School, McNally came to UB in 1961 as a walk-on with the football team. His small 5-foot-8 stature didn't allow him to get a football scholarship until after his sophomore year, but it did earn him the nickname Mouse, which he still holds to this day.
"I'm short," McNally said. "I didn't grow any taller. But I was recruited to play football here at UB, I just didn't get a scholarship...UB, at that time, was probably the biggest school football-wise that I was looking at. All the other schools were smaller colleges...for me to be able to play on a team like UB was a great thrill."
McNally was inducted into the UB Athletic Hall of Fame in 1982, but feels that a large part of that honor is due to his coaching resume. He began his coaching career as a graduate assistant after graduating with a degree in business administration in 1964.
"I just always loved sports, athletics, football, so when I went for my master's degree I was a graduate assistant in football," McNally said. "I got a semi-scholarship for football as I was going to class for my graduate work. Being that graduate student in football showed me that this is really what I want to do even though I was a business major. There were a few coaches at UB at that time that motivated me and I wanted to be like them."
After Buffalo dropped their football program in 1970, McNally found his next coaching position out of a tragic event. On November 14, the Marshall University football team was killed in a plane crash as they were flying back from a game against East Carolina. The story was the inspiration of the 2006 film, We Are Marshall.
"Since UB had dropped football and I was a coach, I needed a job," McNally said. "So I ended up going to Marshall and I was there four years, and the rebuilding process was something. It was very dramatic and heartwarming. I was right there. There's a guy playing me in that movie, We Are Marshall. It was a great experience trying to start a program up from new. We didn't do a whole lot those first four years there, but since then the team has grown. But we were right there at the beginning of that rebuilding process, so it was very dramatic and it was a great experience."
Following his time at Marshall, McNally spent time with Boston College and Wake Forest. He then made the jump to the NFL in 1980 where he worked with the Cincinnati Bengals, Carolina Panthers and New York Giants, reaching three Super Bowls. During that time, he earned the reputation as one of the best offensive line coaches in the game. A lifelong Buffalo Bills fan, McNally returned home to coach the Bills' offensive line in 2004.
"I had a couple opportunities to come back to the Bills before and I didn't," McNally said. "I thought it was going to be a great ending when I came back because I kind of knew if I came back here to the Bills that I always had my university and my high school and my homeboys, per se. I came full circle and there are not too many people who can do that."
McNally's final season as a coach was highlighted by Bills right tackle Jason Peters' selection as a starter in the Pro Bowl.
"I'm 64 years old and I just felt that it was time to smell the roses a little bit and to be able to do things on my schedule," McNally said. "I have a lot of friends and relatives in the area and I think I can spend more time with them and visit my family when I want to. Kind of do what I want to do because I don't have to be somewhere at a particular time. Everything is done on my terms."
McNally also feels that just because he is involved in athletics doesn't mean that he can't reach out to help other students. McNally said that any student wishing to meet with him can simply e-mail him at mcnally4@buffalo.edu.
He has expressed interest in possibly teaching a class at some point down the road if the university would allow him to. While he hasn't officially spoken about that opportunity to anyone, he feels that the lessons he learned as a coach could be useful to many college students. He believes that he would be able to help students that are not necessarily football players, but students that may want to venture into the coaching field.
"I'm sure there would be a lot of students on campus that would want to visit with me or ask questions," McNally said. "I'm here. I've got an office. I'm not a professor but I guess anybody could make an appointment with me if they wanted to get any advice. I coached for 43 years, in college and the NFL. Maybe I've got some expertise that some student might want to draw on...I'd be glad to help in any way."
Photo: Courtesy of Laron Fomby
