This is an archived article that was published on sltrib.com in 2004, and information in the article may be outdated. It is provided only for personal research purposes and may not be reprinted.
Two years after being unceremoniously dumped by the University of Utah, Ron McBride is coming home.
McBride, 65, who was fired by Utah athletic director Chris Hill just two days after the 2002 football season, today will be named the new football coach at Weber State. School officials in Ogden have called a noon press conference to announce the hire.
"It's true, and it is going to be fun," said Vicky McBride, Ron's wife, as she drove to the airport Tuesday night to pick up her husband, who was flying in from Lexington, Ky. "Most of all, he is just excited to be back in Utah. We've bought another house here [at the mouth of Big Cottonwood Canyon] and we are going to retire here."
Ron McBride, coach of the Utes for 13 years, has been the linebackers coach at Kentucky the past few years, but he resigned from that position last week. Vicki McBride said her husband will surrounded himself at Weber State with assistant coaches who played for him or coached under him at Utah and Kentucky.
"Ron feels great and is looking forward to having his own program again," Vicky McBride said.
McBride will replace Jerry Graybeal, who was fired last month after a 1-10 season, the worst in school history. Graybeal had been given a two-year contract with an option for a third year after the Wildcats went 8-4 in 2003, but was "reassigned" until his contract expires in December 2005.
Graybeal was 32-46 in seven years. At Utah, McBride was 86-63 in 13 years and took the Utes to six bowl games.