THIS IS THE SPORTS SPECTRUM PODCAST
WITH JASON ROMANO, FEATURING MIKE MACINTYRE
Mike MacIntyre is the head coach of Florida International University’s football team. Before coming to FIU, he was the defensive coordinator at Memphis from 2020-2021 and at Ole Miss in 2019.
From 2013-2018, MacIntyre was the head coach at the University of Colorado, where he led the Buffaloes to two bowl games and won the 2016 Grant Teaff National Coach of the Year award for leading his team to a 10-4 mark and CU’s first-ever appearance in the Pac-12 championship game. Coach MacIntyre also has five years of NFL coaching experience as an assistant with the Dallas Cowboys and New York Jets from 2003-2007.
Today on the podcast, Coach Mac joins us to talk about the importance of Christ in his life, helping his assistant coaches in their growth, his new role at FIU, and lessons learned from coaching in the NFL.
Mathew 1:23 The virgin will be with child and will give birth to a son, and they will call him Immanuel which means, “God with us.” Merry Christmas!
Frank Kaminsky with the Phoenix Suns in 2021. (AP Photo/Eric Gay)
THIS IS THE SPORTS SPECTRUM PODCAST WITH MATT FORTE, FEATURING FRANK KAMINSKY
Frank Kaminsky played eight NBA seasons with the Charlotte Hornets, Phoenix Suns, Atlanta Hawks and Houston Rockets, and is currently playing with Alvark Tokyo of the Japanese League.
He was selected ninth overall in the 2015 NBA Draft by Charlotte after a stellar college career at Wisconsin, where he was the 2015 Naismith College Player of the Year and a consensus first-team All-American. He led the Badgers to the Final Four twice (2014, 2015) and advanced to the national championship game in 2015 before losing to Duke, 68-63.
Today on the podcast, host Matt Forte talks to Frank Kaminsky about his love for the Chicago Bears (Matt’s former team), the phone call he got from Michael Jordan, playing in two Final Fours, growing in his faith, and becoming a dad.
THIS IS THE SPORTS SPECTRUM PODCAST WITH MATT FORTE, FEATURING PATRICK BAILEY
Patrick Bailey is the starting catcher for the San Francisco Giants. He was a first-round selection in the 2020 MLB Draft by the Giants and made his MLB debut with the team in May 2023. Bailey won back-to-back Gold Glove awards in 2024 and 2025, and last year became the first player in MLB history to hit a walk-off inside-the-park home run and a walk-off grand slam in the same season.
Today on the podcast, Matt Forte talks with Patrick Bailey about his faith in Jesus, winning two consecutive Gold Glove awards, and the identity battle he’s faced in keeping baseball in proper perspective.
North Carolina head coach Hubert Davis, Jan. 31, 2026. (AP Photo/Colin Hubbard)
The results on the court have been up and down for Hubert Davis in his five years as the head coach at North Carolina. What’s remained consistent, however, is his faith in Jesus and willingness to be bold in sharing it.
After serving as an assistant coach for Roy Williams from 2012-2021, Davis was elevated to head coach ahead of the 2021-22 season. From the start, he said he viewed his job as more than just coaching basketball.
“I’ve said this a number of times, that I’ve been put, placed, purposed and planned to be in this position at such a time as this,” Davis said on “The Drive with Will Dalton” ahead of this season. “I’m on assignment. It is missionary work. It’s an act of service … it’s a position of great honor, and I love being in [it].”
That perspective hasn’t changed, even as the results and the sport itself have.
On the court, his team’s next task is a first-round matchup in the NCAA Tournament on Thursday against a No. 11-seeded VCU team that just won the Atlantic 10 Conference Tournament. The No. 6-seeded Tar Heels enter the tournament looking to right the ship following a 15-point loss to rival Duke in the regular-season finale and a one-point loss to Clemson in their first game of the ACC Tournament.
After a first-round loss last year, UNC is looking to rekindle some of the magic that led to a run to the 2022 championship game in Davis’ first season at the helm. They’ll have to do so without star forward and projected NBA Draft lottery pick Caleb Wilson, who led the team in scoring (19.8 points per game), rebounds (9.4), steals (1.5) and blocks (1.4) before undergoing season-ending thumb surgery in early March.
UNC missed the NCAA Tournament the year after the runner-up finish, but returned as a No. 1 seed in 2024. That season ended with a Sweet 16 loss, however, to No. 4-seeded Alabama.
The topsy-turvy nature of UNC’s results have coincided with significant changes in the college game, most notably the transfer portal and NIL (name, image and likeness) rules that allow for players to make upwards of six or seven figures in some cases. That has resulted in heavy roster turnover, including losses of key Tar Heels like Caleb Love and Elliott Cadeau.
While some coaches have stepped away amid the changing landscape, Davis has embraced the challenge.
“Obviously there’s differences, but I think it’s been really exciting to maneuver through the differences in college athletics,” Davis told Dalton. “But again, with all the changes, my mission and my assignment haven’t changed at all. It’s to be in these kids’ lives and be able to serve them and give back to them.
“Regardless of how many changes happen, my assignment has stayed the same. I love this assignment. I enjoy it. As I’ve said before, it’s a privilege to be in this position, having a front-row seat to be able to do it on a daily basis.”
That sense of purpose is rooted in Davis’ own story.
Before his coaching career — and even before his 12-year NBA journey — Davis was a player at North Carolina under legendary coach Dean Smith from 1988-1992. It was during that time that his faith in Christ took shape.
In 1990, just before his junior year, Davis attended a service at Chapel Hill Bible Church while searching for answers following the death of his mother two years earlier.
“During that time, I was really struggling,” Davis said on Dalton’s show. “I was going to a number of churches, and the reason being I was looking for answers. I was looking for answers in regards to why my best friend, my mom, passed away two years earlier of cancer. That’s the only reason I was going to church.”
After that church service, a man named Mike Echstenkamper — who was working with Athletes In Action on the UNC campus — approached him.
“He introduced himself and I broke down crying,” Davis told Dalton. “I met him on campus the next day, and that was the day I accepted Christ into my life.
“I was going to church looking for answers, and obviously I never found that answer. But I did find out and was able to see the things that my mom told me — how much Jesus loved me and the plan and purpose that He had for me.”
“When I’m asked a question, the only thing I know how to do is to be myself,” he told Dalton. “My personality is my personality and this is what you get for 55 years. I’m very secure and confident in my own skin and I feel very passionate about the things that I love and care about.”
UNC and VCU tip off at 6:50 p.m. ET Thursday on TNT.
