SAN JOSE, Calif. — Six years before he was named the top coach in college football, Mike MacIntyre came to this Silicon Valley town and told one of the worst teams in the country that he could help it change its fortunes.
MacIntyre took his first head coaching job at San Jose State in 2010. The Spartans finished 2-10 the prior season. Their academic progress rate scores were among the worst in the NCAA. But before MacIntyre told his new players, still skeptical about this new guy with the Southern accent, about how they would win games, he told them about the kind of team they would become.