Ron McBride

Head Coach

Ron McBride was announced as the new head football coach at Weber State University on Dec 8, 2004. McBride is the school's eighth head football coach since the school attained four-year status in 1962-63.

McBride brings nearly 40 years of coaching experience on the high school, junior college and four-year level to the Wildcat football program, including 13 years as head coach at the University of Utah.

McBride comes to Weber State after spending the past two years coaching the inside linebackers at the University of Kentucky under head coach, Rich Brooks. It is the fourth time he has returned to the state to serve as a football coach.

In 1990, McBride was tabbed as the head coach at the University of Utah where he served for 13 seasons. Under his direction, the Utes posted an overall record of 88-63, the second most wins by a coach in the history of Utah football. He took the Utes to six bowl games during his tenure, a note worthy feat considering the Utes had played in just three bowls games in the previous 97 years. His teams posted bowl wins over Southern California, Arizona and Fresno State.

His best season came in 1994 when the Utes won a then-record 10 games and attained the highest post-season ranking, at the time, in school history climbing to No. 8 in the USA Today/ESPN poll and No. 10 in the Associated Press poll. In conference games, he guided the Utes to a 58-42 record and won a share of two conference championships (1995 in the WAC and 1999 in the Mountain West). McBride excelled in the rivalry games within the state of Utah. His Utes dominated Utah State (11-2), and held their own against perennial power Brigham Young. Utah won six of their last 11 against the Cougars after losing 16 of the previous 18 before he took over.

A native of Los Angeles, California, McBride was an all-city football and baseball standout at South Gate High School. He attended San Jose State University where he played for the Spartans from 1959-62 and served as team captain his senior year. He later played professionally with the San Jose Apaches of the USA League.

McBride began his career at San Jose State in 1965, serving as the freshman coach, defensive coordinator and linebackers coach. He then spent two years as an assistant coach at Piedmont Hills High School (1966-68) and as an assistant at Gavilan Junior College (1969-71), before returning to the NCAA collegiate ranks.

From 1972-73, he served as an assistant coach at UC-Riverside, where he was in charge of the offensive line and served as offensive coordinator. He then served in the same capacities at Long Beach State from 1974-76.

McBride first came to Utah in 1977 to serve as the offensive line coach and offensive coordinator under Coach Wayne Howard at the University of Utah. In 1983, he accepted a position as the offensive line coach at the University of Wisconsin, where he served two seasons before returning back to Salt Lake City, coaching the offensive line from 1985 through 1986 under Coach Jim Fassel.

In 1987, he left the Utes to join Dick Tomey's staff at the University of Arizona. He served two years as the offensive line coach and was elevated to assistant head coach during the 1989 season.

McBride has sent a steady stream of players into the National Football League. Some of the more notable performers include All-Pro running back Jamal Anderson, who played for the Atlanta Falcons; Mike Anderson of Denver Broncos, the 2000 NFL Offensive Rookie of the Year; Kevin Dyson, the first wide receiver taken in the 1998 NFL draft and a starter for the Tennessee Titans in the 2000 Super Bowl; Andre Dyson, brother of Kevin and defensive back for Tennessee; Luther Ellis, All-Pro defensive lineman for the Detroit Lions; Steve Smith, who led the NFL in kickoff returns in 2001 and the only rookie named to the Pro Bowl team, and Jordan Gross, the number eight pick in the first round of the NFL draft and current starting offensive tackle for the Carolina Panthers.