John Mackovic John Mackovic ( born October 1 , 1943 ) is an American football coach and former player . He is currently the head coach of United States national American football team , which was formed to compete in the American Football World Cup . Previously , Mackovic served as the head football coach at Wake Forest University ( 1978 – 1980 ) , the University of Illinois at Urbana - Champaign ( 1988 – 1991 ) , the University of Texas at Austin ( 1992 – 1997 ) , and the University of Arizona ( 2001 – 2003 ) , compiling a career college football record of 95 – 82 – 3 . He was also the head coach of the National Football League ' s Kansas City Chiefs from 1983 to 1986 , tallying a mark of 30 – 34 . Coaching career . Mackovic ' s coaching career began at Miami University in Ohio as a graduate assistant in 1965 . He then served stints as offensive coordinator at San Jose State University and the University of Arizona before serving as offensive coordinator and assistant head coach at Purdue University in 1977 . Mackovic earned his first head coaching job in college football , taking over at Wake Forest from 1978 to 1980 . Prior to his arrival , the Demon Deacons went 1 – 10 ; Mackovic led his teams to a 14 – 20 record , including their first bowl game in 30 years . In 1979 , he was named the Coach of the Year by the Walter Camp Football Foundation . In 1981 , Tom Landry hired Mackovic as assistant head coach and quarterback coach with the Dallas Cowboys , with whom he spent two seasons before accepting a head coaching job with the Kansas City Chiefs in 1983 . Mackovic would later name himself his offensive coordinator , a position he held all four seasons in Kansas City . Mackovic ' s first three Chiefs teams missed the playoffs . In his final season , the Chiefs made the playoffs as a wild card , their first playoff appearance in 15 years and only their second since the AFL – NFL merger . However , owner Lamar Hunt fired Mackovic only days after they were eliminated in the first round due to a lack of chemistry . The catalyst behind Mackovic ' s dismissal was a meeting between Hunt and eight of the most prominent Chiefs . Mackovic ' s record with the Chiefs was 30 – 34 . Following a year off , Mackovic resumed his coaching career when he was hired as the head football coach and athletic director at the University of Illinois at Urbana – Champaign in 1988 . Mackovic took over a team that went 4 – 7 before his arrival , but with whom Mackovic led to a 30 – 16 – 1 , four straight bowl appearances , and a share of the 1990 Big Ten Conference title . Mackovic ' s previous success of turning around college programs led him to the University of Texas in 1992 . Texas had gone from a Southwest Conference title in 1990 to a 5 – 6 record in 1991 . Mackovic won a share of the Southwest Conference title in 1994 and won it outright in 1995 . He also won the inaugural Big 12 Championship Game in 1996 . A year later , however , the Longhorns were pounded 66 – 3 by UCLA , the worst home loss in school history ( and the second - worst loss overall ) . The defeat is known to this day as " Rout 66 . " They never recovered and finished 4 – 7 . Mackovic was fired after the season . During his tenure , Mackovic led the Longhorns to a 41 – 28 – 2 record and three bowl games . Following his firing at Texas , Mackovic became a college football analyst for ESPN in 1998 for whom he worked until January 2001 , when he accepted the head coaching job for the University of Arizona . Frustrated by an offense that was perceived as too conservative , Arizona hired Mackovic as head coach to replace Dick Tomey ; however , Mackovic never posted a winning record in two and one - half seasons in Tucson , with a 10 – 18 record ( a . 357 winning percentage ) . Midway through the 2002 season , Mackovic told tight end Justin Levasseur that he was a disgrace to his family . This and other incidents led 40 players ( including future Pro Bowl er Lance Briggs ) to hold a secret meeting with school president Peter Likins . The players complained about Mackovic ' s constant verbal abuse , such as an ugly tirade after a loss to Wisconsin . Mackovic offered a public apology to his players , the university and fans . However , whatever goodwill that he ' d managed to restore quickly evaporated a season later ; quarterback Nic Costa said that despite a very talented roster , many players had lost their love for the game due to Mackovic ' s brusque manner . Five games into the 2003 season , Mackovic was fired and replaced by defensive coordinator Mike Hankwitz . School officials said they had to act because it was obvious the Wildcats would not win with Mackovic at the helm . In 2006 , Mackovic again returned to coaching when he was named as the head coach of the U . S . national team . He led Team USA to win the 2007 IFAF World Cup in their first appearance in the American Football World Cup held in Kawasaki , Japan .