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What may have been Dave McGinnis' last game as Arizona Cardinals coach hardly could have been more memorable.
After Josh McCown's 28-yard touchdown pass to Nathan Poole on fourth-and-25 as time expired gave Arizona an 18-17 victory Sunday over Minnesota, the receiver gave the ball to his coach.
When McCown took
a knee on the ensuing conversion, that ball, too, went to McGinnis.
``I hope it shows he's capable of taking a group of guys and getting everything
out of them, even in a bad situation,'' McCown said.
Poole had been on and off the Cardinals' team over three seasons.
``I cut Nate Poole four times,'' McGinnis said. ``Every single time I cut him, our conversation ended with him hugging me and saying, `Coach Mac, if you ever need me, I'll be back, because you're the only coach I want to play for.''
Several players said they hope the victory will save the coach's job, but that seemed doubtful.
Owner Bill Bidwill, his son and team vice president Michael, and vice president of football operations Rod Graves all were conspicuously absent from the Cardinals' locker room after the game. McGinnis has a year left on his contract, and an announcement on his future is expected soon, perhaps as early as Monday.
``There's been a lot of speculation about what's going to go on,'' McGinnis said. ``I don't know. I really don't know.''
He said he hasn't thought about whether he's coached his final game with the Cardinals.
``I really never did,'' McGinnis said. ``Those things don't enter into it. I know it's hard for people on the outside to believe it, but it's true. That doesn't even enter into it, not when you're immersed at this level. If I'd have let any of that sidetrack getting ready to play this game, you wouldn't have seen that outcome today.''
McGinnis was 17-31 in three full seasons as head coach, 18-38 if his stint as interim coach after Vince Tobin was fired in 2000 is counted. His teams went from 7-9 to 6-10 and 4-12.
As likable as anyone in the NFL, and highly popular with the media, McGinnis often regaled those around him with his west Texas humor. He is close with the elder Bidwill, often having lunch with him after practice.
But the Cardinals move into a new stadium in 2006, and the fan base has dwindled so low that crowds barely reach 20,000 unless the opponent is someone like Green Bay or Minnesota, which has a big following in the Phoenix area.
Offensive lineman Pete Kendall played briefly despite still recovering from a separated shoulder.
``I'm happy for Mac, more than anything else, more than anybody else,'' Kendall said. ``Of course, I've got my fingers crossed, just like everybody else.''
Emmitt Smith, consistently lauded by McGinnis for his impact throughout what has been an injury-plagued, unproductive season for the running back, sidestepped the issue of whether the victory will help the coach keep his job.
``That's not my job,'' Smith said. ``I don't determine whose coming here or anything. I don't even know what my future is.''
McGinnis coached linebackers for 10 seasons, then spent five years as the Cardinals' defensive coordinator. He may be through in Arizona, but he indicated he will always be a coach as long as someone will give him a job.
``This is what I do. I'm
a football creature,'' McGinnis said. ``When that's what you do, that's what
you are, and you plow through everything else that it entails.''