Former FIU football coach Mike MacIntyre comments on his recent firing: ‘No regrets’

No regrets.

That’s the sentiment of former FIU football coach Mike MacIntyre, who spoke exclusively with the Miami Herald on Tuesday afternoon.

MacIntyre, 59, produced three straight 4-8 seasons before getting fired by athletic director Scott Carr during a brief meeting on Sunday afternoon.

“I don’t have any (regrets) other than I wish we would’ve had a few more points that the other team in a few more games,” MacIntyre said.

“Our team worked extremely hard. We just lost a lot of close games this year.

“But I was once told that if you leave a place better than you found it, then you did a good job, and I think we did.”

To MacIntyre’s points, he inherited a team that had posted a 1-16 record in the two years before he arrived.

Also, the Panthers were competitive this year, but they went 1-6 in games decided by single digits. That includes an overtime loss to Liberty and a three-point loss to Jacksonville State.

Liberty is bowl eligible for the sixth straight year, and the Flames have gone 21-4 the past two years. Jacksonville State, meanwhile, was the best team in Conference USA this season with a 7-1 league mark.

Granted, there were some FIU losses this season that were unimpressive, including getting beat at home by an FCS program, Monmouth.

FIU also went 0-6 on the road, and that included losses to a pair of 3-9 teams -- Florida Atlantic and Texas-El Paso – as well as a loss to 2-10 Kennesaw State.

Off the field, MacIntyre was ripped on Twitter/X by FIU fans and former players for the way he handled a question at his weekly press conference.

MacIntyre, who had no ill intent, said FIU “hasn’t had a good history since the beginning.”

A strong argument could be made that MacIntyre was correct about the overall program, which has produced just five bowl seasons and a 78-170 record since they started playing football in 2002.

Carr, who hired MacIntyre in December of 2021, said in a statement released on Sunday that the criticisms on X did not factor into his decision to remove the coach.

“This was a decision based solely off of on-field results,” Carr said.

MacIntyre, asked by the Herald if he believes that the outside noise had no bearing on his dismissal, said simply: “Yes.”

Carr also echoed MacIntyre’s sentiments about hard work and improving the program.

“I want to thank Mike for pouring three years of his heart and soul into the program and for solidifying the foundation,” Carr said. “Coach ‘Mac’ inherited a challenging situation three years ago, but he improved numerous areas within the program – from posting our highest-ever GPA to bettering the operations and budgets. The culture shift was evident.”

On the field, FIU also had some success as MacIntyre’s son, wide receivers coach Jay MacIntyre, coached Kris Mitchell to a record-breaking season in 2023 and Eric Rivers to an even bigger year in 2024.

Mitchell broke FIU’s receiving record with 1,118 yards.

Rivers went one better, breaking FIU’s records for reception yards (1,172) and reception touchdowns (12).

Other FIU standouts in 2024 included quarterback Keyone Jenkins, running back Devote Lyons, wide receiver Dean Patterson and linebacker Travion Barnes.

Jenkins finished with 22 TD passes, the second-best single-season performance ever by an FIU quarterback.

Lyons, a true freshman, got carries in FIU’s final three games, and he finished with 288 yards, offering hope for the future.

Patterson, a former walk-on, was also developed well by FIU’s coaching staff as he had career highs this year in catches (50), yards (685) and TDs (seven).

Barnes, in just 11 games, finished with 129 tackles. He fell just three tackles short of FIU’s single-season record.

“I think we were really close (to turning the program around),” MacIntyre said. “I saw us having a really good year next year.”

MacIntyre said he expected to get at least one more season in charge of FIU football, but that’s not how it was decided by Carr.

FIU now owes MacIntyre for the three years remaining on his contract, a payout estimated at between $1.5 million and $2 million.

MacIntyre said he is not bitter regarding the decision.

“I like Scott,” MacIntyre said. “I like everyone here.

“(Getting fired) is part of our business. I’m never shocked in college football.”

MacIntyre was asked if he would like to coach again.

“As a coach, you always think about coaching again,” MacIntyre said. “We’ll see where this leads.

“I’ve done it (coaching) for 35 years. I’ve had a lot of great moments, met great people and worked with a lot of great young men.

“(After getting dismissed), I got hundreds of (supportive) texts from our current players and from former players all around the country. It just shows you the impact you have as a coach.”

MacIntyre said he and his wife have not yet decided whether to sell their house in Miami.

“We will stick around a bit,” he said. “We really love Miami. We made lifetime friends here.”

As for college football, MacIntyre said the game has changed.

In the old days, including when his father, the late George MacIntyre, coached, players would arrive as 18-year-old freshmen and leave four or five years later as grown men.

“The game used to be transformational,” MacIntyre said. “Now it’s transactional.

“I still love working with young people. But with NIL and the transfer portal, kids don’t stay and grow with the program and the coaches like they used to.”

MacIntyre, as he prepares for whatever his next challenge might be, said he is reminded of something his father – who was the head coach at Vanderbilt for seven years -- taught him decades ago.

“Coaches,” MacIntyre said, “are hired to be fired.”