When Things Went South for Orlando Mckay, It Was a Good Thing
Orlando McKay was bouncing around pro football, at a crossroads in his career, when had to make a decision.
He'd spent a season each with the Green Bay Packers and the CFL's Hamilton Tiger-Cats. To play a third, he became part of a grand expansion experiment and had to join one of three newly created Canadian franchises — in the U.S.
His choices: the San Antonio Texans, the Baltimore Stallions and the Memphis Mad Dogs.
Some people go with their gut in a moment like this. McKay let a voice influence him.
"Well, I like Elvis," he told his wife. "So let's go to Memphis."
Twenty-five years later, the former University of Washington wide receiver and starter for the Huskies' 1991 national championship team is still there, a deeply satisfied Southern man.
He's a teacher at Memphis University School, an all-boys private institution in the county, and an assistant football and track coach. He's at a place that puts an emphasis on academics and strives for athletic excellence, boasting 63 state championships overall since 1958. It's been a good fit for him.
"Living in a real conservative area of the South just suits me me well — it's not for everyone," McKay said. "I've raised my kids to be do-right kind of kids. The school I teach at is really great because they emphasize that your yes means yes and your no means no. We have an honor code and the kids police themselves, as far as cheating and things like that. I just love those traditional values."
An Arizona native, McKay started opposite All-American wide receiver Mario Bailey for the Huskies' 12-0 team, providing another deep threat for a high-powered offense. He could run, too, clocking 4.29 seconds in the 40-yard dash at a Pro Day. As a senior, he had 48 receptions to Bailey's 68.
"I love all those guys," he said of his 1991 teammates. "We'll be brothers forever."
His two brothers, one of whom was Ritchie McKay, a head basketball coach for Colorado State, Portland State, Oregon State, New Mexico and now Liberty, bet each other whose name would appear in Sports Illustrated first. With a pair of Rose Bowl appearances, Orlando was the winner.
McKay is the father of three boys, each of whom played or play high school football, and not all at Memphis University School. One was a wide receiver like him, the middle son was a quarterback at a Memphis public school and the youngest is a highly regarded tight end.
The 6-foot-4, 215-pound Gavin McKay, some six inches taller than his father, is committed to the University of Missouri. When he was 5, Gavin told his father that he was going to play in the NFL someday. As a teen, he began to back it up.
"He ran a couple of routes and I said, 'Wow,' " said the older McKay, who is the varsity receivers coach and head freshman coach. "He looked like Jerry Rice."
As football everywhere tries to play through a pandemic, McKay is hopeful Memphis University School can get the season in. The school is greatly encouraged after testing 250 staff members and players, and uncovering just three positive cases of COVID-19, a one percent finding.
Doing further research, the coaches have determined that their players will come into actual contact with others in a game less than a quarter of the time, providing hope that infection rates can be confined. Yet McKay and his fellow coaches realize high school seasons likely hinge on what the college teams do, and they hold their breath.
Regardless of how it all plays out, the former Husky standout is living in a town that's been good to him. To his family. And, of course, to Elvis.
"I can't imagine living anywhere else," McKay said. "I'll probably retire in Memphis. I love it here."
Thank you very much.
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