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Column: How Mike MacIntyre Answered His “Outsider” Status

MIAMI, FL — Outsider — noun.

Definition: a person who does not belong to a particular group.

The son of longtime college coach George MacIntyre, FIU head coach Mike MacIntyre is far from a coaching outsider— football and coaching is in his blood.

However, when he was announced as the fifth head coach in Panthers’ history on December 9, 2021, the question from South Florida amounted to “who was this outsider coming here — especially so having been chosen over one of our native sons?”

Last Monday, MacIntyre earned verbal commitments from two rising South Florida products, getting an early jump locally on the 2024 recruiting class— coming off of the 2023 class that saw 13 of South Florida natives sign with FIU.