Adrian Benitez | Staff Writer
FIU football head coach Mike MacIntyre is facing some heat from former players and fans after a comment he made at his midweek press conference on Wednesday.
When responding to a question about if football’s next season is a “make or break year” McIntyre said the following in his response: “This program hasn’t had good history at all since the beginning of it.”
Though FIU football has suffered hardship in recent years, McIntyre saying “at all” in that statement may be disingenuous. There have been good periods in the program’s history.
Most recently, from 2017 to 2019, the Panthers compiled a 24-16 record under the stewardship of Butch Davis. The team also made bowl games in all three of those years, even getting a win in the 2018 Bahamas Bowl.
Many former FIU football players are not happy with McIntyre’s comments. Most notably, team legend and four-time Pro Bowler T.Y Hilton accused McIntyre of not knowing the program’s history.
Somebody does not kno his program history. Is he serious rite now!!
— TY Hilton (@TYHilton13) November 20, 2024
Maurice Alexander Jr., who played for FIU from 2015 to 2019, pointed out the success that the Panthers had in Davis’s early years as a rebuttal.
Went to 3 bowl games straight and had a 9 win season
— Maurice Alexander Jr (@_hardtime3) November 20, 2024
Lyndell Hudson II, who played for FIU from 2018 to 2022 before transferring to Florida, said MacIntyre was one of the reasons he left and also claimed the program would be in a better place if Butch was still coach.
He is one of the many reasons I left. If Butch doesn’t get fired this program is in way better shape! https://t.co/IZTdOjmJGk
— Lyndell Hudson II (@King_Hudson2) November 20, 2024
With the FIU football team currently sitting with a 3-7 record, the fallout from McIntyre’s comment certainly doesn’t help, potentially creating a new distraction to deal with.
In their next game, the Panthers play the Kennesaw State Owls on Saturday, Nov. 23 in Kennesaw, Georgia.
Follow Adrian Benitez on X: @ab305FIU
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