UNT's McCarney happy to be back after stroke

DENTON — No coach in the country was looking forward to the start of spring practice last week than North Texas' Dan McCarney.

It was McCarney's first time on a practice field since suffering a stroke in February.

"I've never enjoyed being at a practice more than I did yesterday," McCarney said. "I mean that. I honestly didn't stop smiling the whole time I was out there."

McCarney, 58, can smile now thanks to the quick action of paramedics and doctors. Other than a little numbness and tingling in his left hand and foot, he said he has no other lingering effects of the stroke.

McCarney's father had suffered a heart attack in his 50s and two strokes, but that still didn't prepare him for the moment his own life came to a screeching halt.

He had just finished a workout at his home with his wife, Margy, when the symptoms struck without warning.

"We were just sitting here watching TV, I had a sandwich and was texting Rick [Villareall, the UNT athletic director], and there was just this loud ringing in my ears," McCarney recalled. "I said, ‘Margy is that the TV?' And she said, ‘What are you talking about?'

Margy McCarney remembers the moment vividly.

"The look in his eye, I knew it was something serious," she said.  

An instant later, McCarney felt the left side of his body go numb.

"Not like a little tingling, like major numbness," McCarney said. "I thought 911, something's up."

Paramedics arrived within moments. McCarney was rushed to a nearby hospital, then flown by helicopter to another hospital in Fort Worth.

McCarney could not move his left arm or left leg, but his speech was not affected. Being able to communicate helped, but didn't lessen any of the concern and worry.

"It scared the hell out of me for my wife and my children," McCarney said. "My wife and son, Shane, were with me and to see the look in their eyes and their concern and their emotions, that's really hard.

"And then here come my daughters [Jillian and Melanie] flying in from Minnesota and Lubbock. It's just scary. I wasn't scared for me as much as for my kids and my wife."

McCarney's mind was swirling. What if his condition is permanent? How would his family manage? What if things get worse? And, of course, the ultimate dread.

"You hate to even think about it, but you do," McCarney said. "You go back to those things. I don't spend a lot of time, but I'd be lying to you if I said I hadn't spent some time thinking about those things."

McCarney's thoughts also turned to North Texas and the responsibility he feels being in charge of the program. How would things get done if he were disabled? How will this affect the players and staff?

"That doesn't surprise me," Margy said. "He's always worried about everybody else."

The Mean Green went 5-7 in 2011, McCarney's first year, matching the win total of the previous two seasons.

They opened brand-new Apogee Stadium, right across I-35 from the main campus, with a 24-21 win over Indiana of the Big Ten. The Mean Green won four of their last seven, including a 59-7 rout of Middle Tennessee in the season finale.

A strong nucleus returns for McCarney's second season, and unlike last year, when the players weren't familiar with McCarney's approach and tactics, everyone is on the same page from day one.

McCarney realizes it's trite to say a football program is a family, "but other than my family, this is your life."

Fortunately for McCarney, he began recovering within 24-48 hours. McCarney attributes his recovery to the fast action of doctors and paramedics who were able to get him the treatment necessary to break up the blood clot that was blocking the artery to his brain.

"They made all the right moves, just made all the right moves," McCarney said. "What it really did was it just saved the quality of my life."

Then came what was the hardest part, physically, for McCarney: five weeks of physical inactivity.

McCarney admits he's one of those people who just can't sit still. He's always got to be doing something.

"To just to go home and hang out and relax, I cannot do that," McCarney said. "I can't sit there for three hours and just watch TV."

The one place McCarney can get away from the text messages, video tapes and meetings is at his second home in Sarasota, Florida.

"When I relax, I can really relax," McCarney said. "When I go to the beach, I can relax with the best of them."

McCarney has exercised nearly every day since he was an offensive guard at Iowa, but a vacation to Sarasota got him through his five-weeks of forced inactivity.

"That helped a lot to take a little bit of a break where he could relax and not visit doctors and go to hospitals," Margy said. "He does have a hard time relaxing. He's just high strung, high energy."

To see McCarney hustling around UNT's new athletic offices, one would never know he had a stroke less than two months ago. There's certainly been no difference at practice.

"There was talk a week or so ago that he might have to be in a golf cart or taking it easy," said receivers coach Nick Quartaro. "He was setting the tone, hustling from field to field. In terms of actual, physical moving around, he was every bit the same, absolutely."

Quartaro was teammates with McCarney at Iowa and was an assistant under him at Iowa State. He said the stroke hasn't changed McCarney, and neither has the pressure of coaching.

"That's the greatest thing that I can say about him, having been in this business for a while," Quartaro said. "Here's a guy, whether he's the head coach in the Big 12 or the Sun Belt or whatever, he's still the same guy, in all aspects of his life, as he was as a college student athlete."

McCarney said his commitment to his job is as strong as ever, he just plans to dial back on the intensity at times.

"Intense" is the way most people would have described McCarney's personality as a coach. After stroke, Kansas State coach Bill Snyder, who was on the same staff with McCarney at Iowa, called and told him, "Mac, I always thought you would be one of the top 10 candidates for a stroke."

"I said thanks," McCarney laughed. "That's nice."

McCarney has pondered whether the stress and long hours of coaching contributed to his stroke, but nothing he's been told has enabled him to advise his peers in the business.

"What I can tell people, and I have many of them, is just appreciate life," McCarney said. "I mean that sincerely. I've had plenty of chances to think about it. I've enjoyed life and loved life and loved my friends and family as much as anyone in the world, but when you go through something like that it's just increased even more."

Follow Keith Whitmire on Twitter: @Keith_Whitmire