LA Times feature on how the USC game is important to Mack

LAT = LA Times

About taking over at UH after UH's Sugar Bowl season, Mack said:
"Yeah, that's not an easy deal to follow. It's always a little easier when you go somewhere they've been losing a little bit." (LAT)


About the spotlight and pressure on Mack, Chris Hart (sports radio host in Honolulu) said:
"It's not him personally; people just want to win. A lot depends on how it starts this season." (LAT)


About JJ leaving UH, Hart said:
"I mean, people here were really in a panic. It was one of the darkest times in the program's history." (LAT_)


About being called by UH's President to ask if he'd be interested in taking the UH job, Mack said:
"He asked me if I'd be interested. I said yes, if it was sincere and it would be quick." (LAT)


LAT Note: "Hawaii gave McMackin more than a $1 million a year to stick around, a hefty sum for a small school and substantially more than Jones had been paid. The new coach quite suddenly became the state's highest-paid employee. And his salary became a point of contention on a campus, in a region, hurt badly by the economic downturn."


About the spotlight on Mack's salary, J.N. Musto (executive director of the faculty's union) said:
"Obviously, faculty are concerned about both the level of compensation for the head football coach and the deficits that the athletic programs are running up." (LAT)


LAT Note: "The next summer, McMackin attended a preseason media gathering for the Western Athletic Conference and used a slur toward gays to describe a chant by Notre Dame players before the bowl game. The university suspended him for 30 days without pay and required him to work with gay and lesbian students on campus. The coach had previously agreed to a voluntary 7% pay cut."


About the criticism he's received from some UH fans, Mack said:
"Anywhere you are, there are positives and negatives as far as fans go. You always have people who aren't happy that are on the blogs and the radio shows." (LAT)


About coaching with Mack in the early 1990s at Miami, current USC defensive coordinator Ed Orgeron said:
"He was fun to coach with. Kind of a low-key guy. I don't think he let a lot of things get to him." (LAT)


About how Mack's personality gets people to support him, Hart said:
"He's like your Uncle Harry or something. He makes a point to shake everyone's hand and smile. It's a small town and if you run into Greg McMackin, you feel like you've known him for 10 years." (LAT)


About how their offense will look like what UH ran under JJ, Mack said:
"We're doing it exactly by the book. It'll look very much like you've seen in the past." (LAT)


About how the Warriors are important to Hawaii fans, Mack said:
"We're the only show in town. They pray for you, they will you to win." (LAT)


http://www.latimes.com/sports/la-sp-hawaii-football-20100830,0,4852103,full.story