FIU Football: A Return To Tennessee For Mike MacIntyre

A homecoming game for FIU head coach Mike MacIntyre

FIU Athletics

Second-year head coach for Florida International Mike MacIntyre will take on the Middle Tennessee Blue Raiders this week in Murfreesboro, Tennessee - a state where MacIntyre has more history than you might think.

MacIntyre's days in Tennessee go back to when he attended Brentwood Academy and played his high school football as a quarterback and defensive back.

"Actually played on that exact field when I was in high school," MacIntyre said of his trip to MTSU. "Now they built a little bit more stadium line, but I actually played there when I was a kid a few times, so I know the area well and there will be a lot of my family at the game, so it'll be a lot of fun."

MacIntyre briefly played at Vanderbilt before finishing his college playing days at Georgia Tech. He also had several coaching stints at college programs in the state of Tennessee, including as UT-Martin's defensive coordinator (1993-1996) and as the defensive coordinator of Memphis in 2020 and 2021.

This weekend feels, to a certain extent ,like a homecoming game for MacIntyre. As he noted, most of his family still lives in Tennessee. However, when it comes to recruiting aspect, it is like any other day for the Brentwood Academy graduate.

"Recruiting wise, it will be all of our games, helping the recruiting," said MacIntyre. "When you win, it helps recruiting. There's no doubt about it. Middle has been a dominant team in Conference USA for a long time and so being able to go there and be able to have a chance to beat them will be good for our program."

Currently, five-star quarterback and Mike MacIntyre's nephew, George MacIntyre, is playing for Brentwood and holds an offer to play both football and basketball at FIU.

MacIntyre's return to Tennessee will kick on Saturday at 3:30 PM ET on ESPN+.