McCarney, still hospitalized, confirms stroke but sounds cheery

[ 0 ] February 14, 2012 | Randy Peterson

Take it from Dan McCarney – something bad, something like a stroke — can happen even when you’re in tip-top physical condition.

“But tell everyone back there that I’m doing fine,” the former ISU head football coach said Tuesday from his bed in a Denton, Texas, hospital. “I’ve got too much Irish in me to stay down very long.”

McCarney, now coach at North Texas, confirmed that he suffered a stroke Sunday morning, shortly after his daily workout.

“I was just sitting down to eat a sandwich when my left side went numb,” said McCarney, the North Texas coach who coached at Iowa State 12 seasons. “Talk about a scary feeling.”

McCarney was rushed to the hospital in a helicopter, where a stroke was detected.
“Something happened on the left side in the back of my brain,” said McCarney, a former Iowa player and assistant coach. “My left side – all of a sudden everything went numb.”

He underwent tests Monday and was undergoing tests Tuesday morning.

“The doctors – and they’ve been fantastic – say I’m fine,” McCarney said. “They’re expecting a full recovery – no permanent damage.”

Spring practice?

“I’m supposed to get out of the hospital in a couple days,” he said. “I feel good right now. I’ve got a little tingling feeling, but hey, if that’s the worst of it, I’d say I’m a pretty lucky guy.

“Nothing wrong with me that a little Grey Goose won’t cure.”

McCarney, 58, is entering his second season as the North Texas coach. Monday, the university issued this statement:

“After returning from Miami (Sunday afternoon) I spoke with Margy McCarney who said that her husband, Dan, had experienced some medical difficulties significant enough that he was taken to the hospital.

“The details that we know at this time are that he was admitted and is currently undergoing a battery of tests and will continue to be under observation. The exact cause and nature of the symptoms of his illness are not immediately known by us at this time.

“The family has asked until a complete diagnosis and a course of treatment is established that their privacy be respected. We can’t comment any further at this time and will release information as it becomes available and approved by the family.”

McCarney, an Iowa City native, coached Iowa State from 1995 to 2006, and then became defensive line coach for two seasons at South Florida before becoming defensive line coach at Florida for two seasons.

In a Twitter message Monday, Iowa State women’s basketball coach Bill Fennelly wrote: “Please keep Dan McCarney in your thoughts and prayers after a recent stroke-no better people than he and his wife Margy!”

McCarney compiled a 56-85 record at Iowa State, with five bowl game appearances.

He played football at Iowa from 1972-74 and was an assistant coach, mostly under Hayden Fry, from 1977-89.

He served as defensive coordinator under former Hawkeye assistant Barry Alvarez at Wisconsin from 1990-94 before taking over at Iowa State.

“When I first heard (Sunday) I kind of did a double-take,” former Cyclone quarterback Bret Meyer said. “The way he carries himself, he was somebody who was never down. If there was a setback, you just know it’s not something that’s going to keep him down for very long.”