Bill McGovern, a distinguished collegiate and professional football coach whose impact on his players and the game spanned parts of five decades, has died after fighting cancer, UCLA officials and the McGovern family announced Tuesday.
McGovern’s surviving family members issued a poignant statement.
“Early this morning we said goodbye to our beloved father and husband, Bill, after his long and difficult battle with cancer came to an end,” the family statement read, “and today, we would like to thank the entire UCLA community for all of the love and support you gave to Bill and our entire family during this very difficult struggle. In particular, the McGovern family would like to thank UCLA head football coach Chip Kelly and his wife Jill as well as all of the players, coaches, trainers, and support staff of the UCLA football program and their families.
“It was the honor of Bill's coaching career to be the defensive coordinator for the UCLA Bruins and this past season was one of the highlights of Bill's coaching career. We are so thankful for the opportunity to be a part of such a historic athletic tradition and, more importantly, we could not have made it through this past year without the love and prayers of our UCLA family. The McGovern family is so grateful and thankful to all of you for your help during this difficult time and we will be indebted to you all forever. Thank you so much and we will cherish the wonderful memories we have of UCLA and our UCLA football family for the rest of our lives."
McGovern was heralded by his peers; he was named FootballScoop’s 2008 Linebackers Coach of the Year during a distinguished stint at Boston College.
The architect of the Bruins’ 2022 defense, McGovern helped spearhead a resurgence in UCLA football – which posted its first nine-win season under Chip Kelly and one of the program’s top marks of the past decade.
Though most recently UCLA’s defensive play-caller and having transitioned into a director of football administration role while battling cancer, McGovern – an Oradell, N.J., native who played at Holy Cross – left an indelible impact on seven different collegiate programs as well as with the NFL’s Philadelphia Eagles, Chicago Bears and New York Giants franchises.
Beginning his career as the freshman coach at the University of Pennsylvania in 1985, McGovern also posted coaching stints at his alma mater and UMass before he garnered his first major Football Bowls Subdivision opportunity at Boston College.
From 1994 through 2012, McGovern served steadfastly for both Boston College and Pittsburgh; all but three of those seasons came at BC, where McGovern ascended to become the Eagles’ defensive coordinator from 2009-12.
McGovern then spent most of the next decade in the NFL, squeezing in a 2020 stint at Nebraska under former Cornhuskers legend Scott Frost.
FootballScoop joins the entire football community in sending its condolences and lifting up the McGovern Family in prayer.