Former Auburn center McCracken nears end of coaching journey

McCracken points to one of Shug Jordan, his coach at Auburn, offering condolences to Bear Bryant after a win over Alabama. There are pictures of smiling high school players, of some of the greats whose paths he’s crossed, of former teammates, of other coaches, of family.

It’s been quite a journey for McCracken, who went to Auburn in 1967 from Montgomery’s Robert E. Lee High School, became a 215-pound starting center and eventually a Hall of Fame high school coach.

When this season, his 36th as a coach and 14h at Opelika High School, is over, McCracken will call it a career. At 59, he’s ready to spend more time with Peggy, Mack, Toby, J.T. and the grandchildren.

“I honestly feel like the time has come for somebody else to do this,” McCracken told AuburnUndercover.com. “I think, at this point in time, somebody else could do better than what I’m doing. I don’t think it’s fair to the kids if I don’t put every bit of my energy and strength into this program.

"I just don’t have that energy level and that strength to give these people at Opelika what they want. It has nothing to do with my health, nothing to do with anybody I don’t like. The Lord and I had a little talk about it and said this is it.”

McCracken will leave with no regrets. He went home to Robert E. Lee in 1984 and won three state championships. He’s made Opelika an annual contender. He was inducted into the Alabama High School Athletic Association Hall of Fame in 2004.

“I’d like to try to see something besides a football stadium in the fall,” McCracken said. “I’ve never been to New York. I’ve never been there and I’ve always wanted to go there. I’d like to do some different things. I tricked my wife into marrying me 31 years ago, and I’d like to spend more time with her.”

For the next two years, McCracken plans to remain on the faculty, teaching physical education and working in the weight room at Opelika. But for the first time in 36 years, the pressure will be on someone else.

“I want to be around the program to help the kids out and help out whoever the new coach is going to be,” McCracken said. “I don’t know what’s going to happen. I might change my mind about some things, but it won’t be coaching here. Right now, I want to get this year on and give it all I have. I really want to enjoy this year.”

From the time he was a little boy, McCracken was taught how to compete. Dwight Henry McCracken, his father, was a career military man who had been an All-America basketball player in Indiana. His Washington High School team beat Muncie 32-21 at the Butler Fieldhouse to win a state championship.

“He was a real strict dad,” McCracken said. “He was real hard on me. He wouldn’t let me beat him in anything.”

McCracken’s father also gave him a lifelong passion for underdogs.

“He brought me up on underdogs,” McCracken said. “When I was a boy, we pulled for the Washington Redskins, who were horrible, and the Indians. The Boston Celtics were the only team we pulled for that was good. He always pulled for the underdog and always expected the best out of me.”

McCracken, born in the Panama Canal Zone, was 2 when his father was stationed at Gunter Air Force Base in Montgomery. The family lived there, on the base, for the next 13 years. As he grew up, McCracken thrived on competition. He became a standout high school player at Robert E. Lee in the glory days of Montgomery high school football. When Lee and Sidney Lanier played, 24,000-seat Cramton Bowl was filled beyond capacity.

As a Boy Scout, McCracken ushered for games at what was then Cliff Hare Stadium. And he dreamed of playing on that field.

“All I ever wanted to do,” McCracken said, “was play football at Auburn.”

In 1967, he got the opportunity. He played on the freshman team, then sat out a redshirt season. In 1969-71, he was an integral part of the glory days of Pat Sullivan and Terry Beasley. Like most Auburn players of his era, he says Jordan made a lasting impact on his life.

“Coach Jordan was just a great gentleman,” McCracken said. “When I was a senior, I got some money stolen out of my locker, about $110. I knew who got it. I ended up beating the guy up, but I didn’t get my money back. I went and told Coach Jordan privately. I’d never been in Coach Jordan’s office. He gave me that money out of his own pocket.”

McCracken had an education degree and thought about teaching and coaching, but family members cautioned him there was little money in it. He went to work in the food service business, but the itch wouldn’t go away. He wanted to be around the game he loved.

So it was that McCracken went to Decatur (Ga.) High School in 1973, moved back to his high school alma mater as an assistant in 1974, to Montgomery Academy as head coach in 1979 and back to Lee as head coach in 1984. He won state championships in 1986, 1991 and 1992.

“That was so much fun, being with Jimmy Perry and Jim Arrington, Jim Tuley, all those guys,” McCracken said. “Those were some great times. I had a great coaching staff. I think anybody would tell you that, when you go back to your old school and you are asked to bring that program back to where it used to be, that’s great. The advantage I had was that it was a large school.

“I gripe about Opelika being a small 6A, but at Lee, we won nine or 10 every year. We got Fred Beasley and just kicked butt there for two or three years.”

Ben Blackmon, now the head coach at Greenville, and Mack McCracken are almost lifelong friends. Blackmon played for Spence McCracken at Lee and worked on his staff at Opelika.

“His self-motivation is greater than any person I’ve ever been around,” Blackmon said. “He just has motivation inside him. He will outwork anybody. He’s also a great family man. He’s genuine. When he talks to you, you know he cares about you. He cares about every one of his players and coaches.

“It was a special time in my life to be able to play for him and coach for him. I’ve known him since I was 4 years old. Mack and I played pee-wee, YMCA, all the way up together. Coach McCracken is just a great man. Words can’t describe.”

In 1995, McCracken moved to Opelika. He says he moved partly for money, but mostly because that old underdog mentality kicked in.

“We had beaten them in 1986, 1991 and 1992 on the way to winning the state championship,” McCracken said. “They were the toughest team we played. We barely beat them all three years and shouldn’t have beaten them one year.

“I felt like these guys had never won a state championship. I thought, ‘Why don’t we go down there and see what we can do?’

McCracken has been on the verge of winning it all on numerous occasions at Opelika, but it hasn’t happened. He’s sent players on to college and to the NFL. But he wasn’t won another championship. That, he says, has been frustrating.

“It has been,” McCracken said. “We’ve been pecking right there. It’s been frustrating, but if you let it, it will drive you absolutely insane. I can look back and say we’ve done real well.”

McCracken won’t rule out coaching again somewhere else. He says he doesn’t know what the future holds. But when he looks back over the decades, there is satisfaction.

“I’ve had a good life,” McCracken said. “I’ve enjoyed every minute.”