John Mckay

Not since Duke Snider's early days in Brooklyn some 60 years ago have the Dodgers boasted a young center fielder who brings as much to the table as Matt Kemp . . . . Kemp's mammoth home run Saturday was a thing of beauty. . . . Snider, of course, wound up in the Hall of Fame, the Dodgers also retiring No. 4 in honor of the Compton High graduate. . . . The Dodgers' schedule between now and the playoffs looks like something that was slapped together by a college football coach trying to save his job: Only 12 of their last 37 games are against teams with winning records.

You aren't just USC's football coach, you're a crossover star who gets the red-carpet treatment all over Los Angeles. You've coached multiple Heisman Trophy winners and have filled Heritage Hall with national championship trophies. But an NFL team from Florida beckons, and you're attracted to the challenge and money associated with coaching at the next level. What are you going to do, John McKay? The answer: Leave USC -- and wind up regretting it for the rest of your life.

What does it mean to be USC's football coach, with a couple of national championships under your belt, living in the entertainment capital of the world? J.K. McKay learned early. He remembers having dinner as a kid at Chasen's in Beverly Hills with his dad, the late Trojan coach John McKay, and legendary Alabama coach Paul "Bear" Bryant. The waiter approached with a request. "Coach McKay," he said. "Mr. Sinatra has a table in back and wants you to stop by."

It was a clash of wills that threatened to tear apart the Tampa Bay Buccaneers. On one side was Coach Jon Gruden, once the boy wonder of coaching, a renowned workaholic so confident in his own philosophy and methods that he walked out on Al Davis rather than submit to the Raider way. On the other side was General Manager Rich McKay, whose claim to fame in his younger years was that he was the son of legendary USC Coach John McKay. Whom would you take?

Nancy Jean 'Corky' McKay, the widow of former USC and Tampa Bay Buccaneers football coach John McKay, died of cancer Saturday in Tampa, Fla. She was 73.

Somebody should tell Karl Dorrell that it's not against the rules to punt the ball out of bounds. George Vye Ventura Please don't let it be true: Steve Lavin has been reincarnated and has returned in a "subdued" form of Karl Dorrell. The ruination of Bruin Nation is too close for comfort. Carl Wada Torrance UCLA now stands for Useless Coach Loses Another. Jon Banks Brentwood Don't get me wrong, I'm a dyed-in-the-wool 'SC fan and graduate ('64)

Rich McKay wants out as general manager of the Tampa Bay Buccaneers, and the Super Bowl champions are willing to let him go without receiving compensation. The Buccaneers gave McKay permission to talk to other teams, and Tampa Bay's general manager since 1995 could end up with the Atlanta Falcons, who are looking for a general manager to lead their coaching search to replace the fired Dan Reeves.

John McKay, the colorful and innovative coach who restored dominance to USC's football program, making it a feared college powerhouse, died Sunday in Tampa, Fla. He was 77. In 16 seasons at USC, McKay led the Trojans to four national championships and coached two Heisman Trophy winners. He was almost as well known for his legendary one-liners and quick retorts.

John McKay is gone, another pillar fallen. How better to measure a man's legacy than to say, a quarter-century after he left USC, the school has yet to replace him. Oh, how the Trojans have tried. John Robinson gave it a good run, winning one-half share of a national football championship, USC's only since McKay. USC trotted in Larry Smith, Ted Tollner, Robinson II, Paul Hackett and now Pete Carroll. None are/were/or will ever be John McKay.

As The Times' beat writer for USC in some of the glory years for John McKay, I found him to be humorous, waspish, insightful, moody and extremely helpful in analyzing the game for myself and other reporters. I learned more about the game from him than any other coach I covered. McKay was usually accessible and could be found many evenings at Julie's, the popular restaurant near the campus.