Former Ole Miss assistant coach Calvin Magee passes away

OXFORD, Miss. – Former Ole Miss assistant coach Calvin Magee passed away Friday. He was 59.

Magee coached tight ends for the Rebels in 2019.

The New Orleans native also coached at South Florida, West Virginia, New Mexico, Michigan, Pitt, Arizona, and Duke in his career. At the time of his death of a suspected heart attack which occurred Sunday, Magee was the offensive coordinator at Jacksonville (Ala.) State after being hired by Gamecocks’ coach and former Ole Miss offensive coordinator Rich Rodriguez.

“Our hearts are broken with the loss of our beloved friend Calvin Magee,” Rodriguez said.

“Calvin 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. 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.”

Rich Rodriguez on Calvin Magee

In 2007, Magee was named the AFCA’s assistant coach of the year while serving at West Virginia.

Magee played tight end at Southern University in Baton Rouge, La., before starring in a four-year NFL career with the Tampa Bay Buccaneers.

Although his time was brief at Jax State which recently moved to the Football Bowl Subdivision level, Magee touched many at the northeast Alabama school.

“Our hearts are broken over the loss of Coach Magee, who touched many lives in just a few months here at Jacksonville State University,” JSU Athletics Director Greg Seitz said. “Our thoughts and prayers are with his wife Rose and his wonderful family, our football staff and student-athletes and the countless people that he has impacted over his playing and coaching career.”

Funeral arrangements will be announced in the near future.

Steve Barnes

Steve Barnes joins The Rebel Walk staff as a senior writer and brings a trifecta of journalistic experience. As a writer, he has covered college sports for Rivals.com, Football.com and SaturdayDownSouth.com as well as served as a beat writer for various traditional newspapers.

He has been a broadcaster for arena football and several national tournament events for the National Junior College Athletic Association as well as hosting various shows on radio.

A former sports information director at Albany (Ga.) State University and an assistant at Troy and West Florida, he has helped host many NCAA conference, regional and national events, including serving five years on the media committee of the NCAA Division II World Series.

Barnes, a native of Pensacola, Fla., attended Ole Miss in 1983-84, where his first journalism teacher was David Kellum. The duo has come a long way since that time.

He will bring a proven journalistic track record, along with a knack for finding the out-of-the-ordinary story angles to The Rebel Walk.

Barnes continues to reside in Pensacola a mere ten minutes from the beach because he does have taste and a brain.