Introduction
Garrick Ladell McGee (born April 6, 1973) is an American football coach and former player. He is currently the offensive coordinator at the University of Illinois, a position he accepted March 9, 2016. McGee has previously been the head coach at UAB, offensive coordinator at Northwestern University, the University of Arkansas, and the University of Louisville. He played college football as a quarterback at Arizona State University, Northeastern Oklahoma A&M College, and the University of Oklahoma.
Early life
He was born in Tulsa, Oklahoma and graduated from Tulsa's Booker T. Washington High School. He went on to play as a quarterback at Arizona State University, Northeastern Oklahoma A&M College, and the University of Oklahoma.
Coaching career
Arkansas
McGee was named the offensive coordinator and quarterbacks coach of the Razorbacks prior to the 2010 season and helped lead them to a 10–3 record and an appearance in the 2011 Sugar Bowl. Arkansas' offense finished 8th in the nation, averaging 489 yards per game. The Razorbacks were also fourth in passing offense and 14th in scoring offense (37.3 ppg).
On January 13, 2011, media outlets reported that McGee was offered the job to take over the University of Tulsa's Golden Hurricane football team from the departing Todd Graham, who left the head coaching position to take over the program at the University of Pittsburgh. McGee withdrew his name from the search the following day.
UAB
On December 3, 2011, numerous media outlets reported McGee would become the next coach of the UAB Blazers and fourth head coach in school history, replacing Neil Callaway. On December 4, 2011, UAB officials officially announced they hired McGee to serve as the fourth head coach in the history of the program. McGee was officially introduced as the new head coach at a press conference on December 5, 2011. McGee's two-year tenure at UAB was not successful, as the Blazers compiled a 5-19 record over that span, culminating with a 62-27 defeat by the Southern Miss Golden Eagles, which had lost 23 games in a row prior.
Louisville
On January 9, 2014, McGee accepted the position of offensive coordinator at Louisville.
Illinois
March 9, 2016, McGee left Louisville, accepting the University of Illinois' offer for the same position.
Head coaching record
| Year | Team | Overall | Conference | Standing | Bowl/playoffs | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| UAB Blazers (Conference USA) (2012–2013) | |||||||||
| 2012 | UAB | 3–9 | 2–6 | 5th (East) | |||||
| 2013 | UAB | 2–10 | 1–7 | T–5th (East) | |||||
| UAB: | 5–19 | 3–13 | |||||||
| Total: | 5–19 | ||||||||
Coaching tree
Assistants under Garrick McGee who became NCAA or NFL head coaches:
- Jeff Brohm: Western Kentucky (2014–2016), Purdue (2017–present)