And Miami officials recently told the Journal-News work has begun on McVay’s statue and it will soon stand alongside the statues of NFL and collegiate football coaching greats already featured under the giant “Cradle Of Coaches” banner at Yager Stadium.
Waiting to welcome McVay at the popular coaching greats’ memorial are a total of nine statues of other former Miami players and coaches such as NFL icon Paul Brown, collegiate coaching giants like Notre Dame University’s Ara Parseghian and University of Michigan’s Bo Schembechler.
“We are in the process of working with Coach McVay on planning for the creation and installation of the statue and hope to celebrate this addition to campus soon,” said Miami Spokeswoman Jessica Rivinius.
Miami officials can also now tout a fact no other American university football program can: The Butler County school now has three former football alumni who have won NFL Super Bowls as coaches.
“Coach Sean McVay joined (Baltimore Ravens Coach) John Harbaugh and former New York Jets Coach Weeb Ewbank as an alumnus to win the Super Bowl as the head coach,” said Rivinius.
“His (McVay) doing so made Miami University the only school to count three Super Bowl winning head coaches among their alumni. Some universities have two, but only Miami now has three.”
No timetable has been set yet for the unveiling of McVay’s statue. He is youngest NFL coach in the league’s history to take his team to the Super Bowl and was a wide-receiver for the Miami RedHawks football squad and a graduate of the class of 2008.
“Miami University is proud of Coach Sean McVay and his accomplishments in coaching, including his recent Super Bowl win. We are excited to recognize him on campus with a statue in our Cradle of Coaches Plaza.
“Like those honored there, Coach McVay demonstrates the Miami athletics tradition of graduating champions. We hope that the array of bronze figures of these successful coaches serves as an inspiration for RedHawks and our community and a reminder of our potential for success.”
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