Keith McCants obit

Keith McCants, former NFL and Alabama star, dead at 53

 

He was not on the list.

Keith McCants, the former NFL and Alabama star, was found dead early Thursday morning in his St.

Petersburg home. He was 53 years old.

A Pinellas County Sheriff’s Office spokesperson confirmed to AL.com on Thursday it is conducting a police investigation after responding to a call at 5:10 a.m. local time.

“Deputies responded there, went inside and it was an obvious death,” the spokesperson told AL.com. “There was no sign of life. He was pronounced deceased. As of this time, it appears to be a drug overdose.”

There were multiple people living in the home, and the call to authorities was made by one of the residents.

The medical examiner’s office will investigate the official cause of death.

“I talked to him all the time. Nothing was out of the ordinary,” McCants close friend and St. Petersburg city councilman Robert Blackmon shared with AL.com from Florida. Blackmon added he talked to McCants last week and had lunch with him a week before that.

In 1990, McCants - a Mobile, Alabama native - went No. 4 in the NFL draft to the Tampa Bay Buccaneers following an All-America career at Alabama.

McCants endured addiction, depression, homelessness, financial ruin and early-onset dementia since leaving the NFL in 1995 — and says he once attempted suicide.

“He was just such a good guy,” an emotional Blackmon explained. “He suffered a lot in his life, but he never stopped caring about others.”

McCants played only six seasons in the NFL with three different teams. In 88 games as a pro (39 of them starts), he totaled 192 tackles and 13.5 sacks.

For all the success on the field, his life off the field turned into a story of redemption. In 2012, he was featured in the ESPN 30 for 30 documentary “Broke,” in which he detailed the financial problems he’s endured since his NFL career ended.

McCants had been arrested a number of times on mostly drug-related charges, including as recently as June of 2018. He was also homeless for more than two years.

Through it all, he made it a mission to make sure his tale was told as a warning for others.

“Keith always wanted his story out there,” Blackmon said. “He wanted other to benefit from the adversity he faced. I just loved him so much. I just don’t know what to say.”

As a senior in 1986 at Mobile’s Murphy High School, McCants had 130 tackles and three interceptions. He had a huge year at Alabama in 1989 with 119 tackles — including 16 against Tennessee and 18 each against LSU and Auburn.

McCants had a number of accolades bestowed upon him including being named a 1989 Unanimous First Team All-American (AP, UPI, WCFF, AFCA, FWAA, FN, TSN) and a 1989 Butkus Award Runner-up. He was a member of the 1990 Sugar Bowl team and was named the National Defensive Player of the Year in 1989 by CBS. In 1988 as a sophomore, McCants finished second on the team with 78 tackles, second only to Derrick Thomas. Additionally, McCants recorded the most tackles on the team four times during the 1988 regular season, against Tennessee (8), Mississippi State (14), Auburn (17), and Texas A&M (11). The Texas A&M game, dubbed the Hurricane Bowl, was originally to take place September 17, but Alabama head coach Bill Curry refused to travel to College Station due to the threat posed by Hurricane Gilbert. The Tide ended the season with a win against Army in the 1988 Sun Bowl, in which McCants had a game-high 13 tackles.

In 1989, he led the Crimson Tide with 119 tackles and 4 sacks. After Alabama's victory against Tennessee, McCants was named the SEC Defensive Player of the Week by the league office for his 16 tackles and two sacks. Three weeks later, he was named Sports Illustrated defensive player of the week after totaling 18 tackles in an Alabama victory over LSU. In the last game of the 1989 regular season against Auburn, dubbed the Iron Bowl, McCants was named the CBS Player of the Game for Alabama with 18 tackles, an interception, and a forced fumble. A high point for the Tide from the game was McCants' display of "incredible athletic talent" in running down Auburn receiver Shane Wasden from behind and preventing a touchdown. Additionally, it was the second straight Iron Bowl in which McCants led the Tide in tackles, combining for 35 total between the 1988 and 1989 matchups. Even with the loss to Auburn, Alabama would still claim the title of 1989 SEC Champions, the school’s first conference title since 1981.

McCants was for a time expected to be the first player selected in the 1990 NFL draft, but the Atlanta Falcons backed off due to rumors of knee trouble and allegations that his family had been paid money by a sports agent while he was still in college.[16] Still, McCants' strength and 4.51 second time in the 40-yard dash[17] guaranteed he would still be a high pick, if not #1. After being drafted fourth overall by the Buccaneers in 1990, McCants signed a 5-year, $7.4 million deal with the team, including a then-record $2.5 million cash signing bonus. A highly touted prospect, McCants rookie card by Score quoted former Kentucky head coach Jerry Claiborne as saying "Keith is one of the best football players I have ever seen. Have you ever seen a linebacker as big as he is? I never have. He looks like an elephant and he runs like a deer". Buccaneers coach Ray Perkins said that "He plays like he is never out of the play. That is an intensity level I like".

Floyd Peters was brought to the Bucs in 1991, and converted McCants from a linebacker to defensive end. Although McCants resisted the change, Peters convinced him that with time he could become a success story along the lines of Chris Doleman, another Peters conversion. Although privately unhappy he accepted the position, and tried to make the best of it, claiming "Teams won't take me lightly. I can tell you that...I can play any position on this football team, except maybe quarterback. When this season is over, I could be in the Pro Bowl. You don't know how hungry I am. It doesn't matter what position I'm playing. What matters is me."

Although McCants was not fond of the move, he did have some success, as he led the Buccaneers in 1991 with 34 quarterback pressures and recorded 5 sacks, prompting Patrick Zier of the New York Times to remark "considering the circumstances, McCants first year was a success. . .despite having to learn an entirely new position". In December 1991, Coach Peters told the media "I think he's played a decent season. If you watch films, Keith is a producer." McCants continued to build upon his experience and was second on the Buccaneers in sacks (5) and quarterback pressures (21) in 1992. Eventually, Tampa Bay cut him during their 1993 training camp.

Within 48 hours, he was picked up off waivers by the New England Patriots, where he was reunited once again with Ray Perkins, then New England's Offensive Coordinator. Regarding his cut from the Bucs and resigning, McCants remarked at the time "This is a lot off my shoulders...The rumors had been spreading for some time now concerning my future with Tampa." He played in a preseason game the day he was signed, against the Kansas City Chiefs, before being released.

In 1993 while with the Houston Oilers, McCants stepped in to separate Buddy Ryan and Kevin Gilbride when Ryan punched Gilbride in the face following an Oilers fumble. That season, the Oilers would go on to finish first in the AFC Central Division, sending them to their seventh straight postseason, and McCants's first. When asked what it meant to go to the playoffs, McCants replied, "Let me tell you something, this is big-time. This is football ... I haven't had a winning season since I left college, and it feels great to win again."[28] In 1994, McCants went to the Cardinals, following Buddy Ryan to Arizona after he was named head coach. In a game against the Chicago Bears, McCants picked off Steve Walsh and ran back a 46-yard touchdown; it was the Cardinals' longest interception return of the season. In 1995 McCants scored his second NFL touchdown, on a fumble recovery against the Seattle Seahawks.