By John Sarianides

Former Syracuse and Patriots coach Dick MacPherson passed away yesterday at the age of 86. 

MacPherson was named the 11th head coach of the Patriots in January of 1991 and served as head coach for two seasons (1991-92). MacPherson came to New England after a successful ten year run as head coach at Syracuse. 

MacPherson was the Patriots first big time hire. Sure, they had hired Ron Meyer and Hall of Famer Raymond Berry before him but neither of them had the lofty expectations placed upon them that MacPherson did.

Coach Mac as he was known quickly turned the Patriots around from a laughing stock in 1990 to a six win team in 1991. The five game improvement led to MacPherson finishing fifth in the Coach of the Year balloting. 

Unfortunately, MacPherson couldn’t build on that momentum. In 1992, the Patriots finished 2-14 and started four different quarterbacks. MacPherson was fired and replaced by Bill Parcells. Parcells hiring served as a turning point in the history of the franchise and the rest is history.

While Coach Mac couldn’t turn the Patriots around, he is remembered by members of the local media as being a gentleman and a pleasure to deal with.

 Some felt he was almost too nice to be an NFL head coach. That might have been the case but at the time of his hire, Coach Mac was a high profile coach and a big time get if you will for the down trodden Patriots. He just couldn’t turn things around.

Rest In Peace Coach Mac. You were a true gentleman who tried to do things the right way.