Calvin Magee, a former NFL tight end for the Tampa Bay Buccaneers and college coach, has died at age 59.
The news was first shared on Friday by Jacksonville State University head coach Rich Rodriguez, who wrote that Magee was “a great husband, great father, and grandfather, great coach, great friend and great man.”
“He impacted my life and the lives of so many others in such a positive way,” Rodriguez wrote. “Our thoughts and prayers are with his beautiful family – wife Rose, daughters Jade and Jasmine, son Bryson, his grandchildren, and all his friends and relatives. Our world is less, but heaven got better. I miss him dearly already. I love you, my brother.”
Magee, whose last position was as an offensive coordinator at JSU after joining December, got his start as an All-American tight end at Southern University, before playing in the NFL for 4 seasons and took on 56 games for the Bucs. He then went on to coach at South Florida (1996-2000), West Virginia (2001-07), Michigan (2008-10), Pittsburgh (2011), Arizona (2012-17), New Mexico (2018), Ole Miss (2019) and Duke (2021).
“Calvin Magee was part of the Tamp bay community for many years, first as a Buccaneers player, and then as a high school and college coach,” the Bucs organization wrote in a statement. “We send out condolences to his family, friends, and the countless players he impacted in his more than three decades coaching the game.”
Herb Hand, OLine coach at UFC, said Magee was one of the “best men I’ve ever known.”
“I’ll forever cherish the memories left in his wake,” he said. “We are praying for his wife Rose and his children. A life well done by a Good and Faithful Servant. I love you brother.”
