BOCA RATON, Fla. — Mike McCarthy was at the NFL Scouting Combine in 2003, walking through the lobby of the Canterbury Hotel on his way to morning workouts.
McCarthy, a Greenfield native who went to the former Bishop Boyle High School in Homestead, at the time was the offensive coordinator of the New Orleans Saints. The night before, he got a phone call from a young assistant coach at Fairfield University named Ben McAdoo, who was looking to get into the NFL. Fairfield had just disbanded its football program and McAdoo was looking for a job.
Like McCarthy, McAdoo was a Western Pennsylvania native, growing up in Homer City and later playing football at IUP.