Where will a former NFL coach with a Super Bowl title spend his New Year’s holiday? Wrexham, of course.
Paul McCord and his family traveled from Florida to North Wales to watch the League Two match against Barrow after becoming passionate fans of the club through the documentary Welcome to Wrexham.
That meant leaving Tampa’s sunshine and daytime temperatures of 22 degrees Celsius (71.6 degrees Fahrenheit) for 9 degrees Celsius heat, but Paul, his wife Mindy, a successful women’s lacrosse coach, and 9-year-old son LJ were delighted Extremely.
“It means a lot to come to Wrexham and celebrate the New Year,” said Paul, a member of the coaching staff that led the Baltimore Ravens to a Super Bowl championship in 2001. He was wearing the commemorative ring he received after the 34-7 victory over the Baltimore Ravens. New York Giants.
“This is our second visit to Wrexham. The first time we came was in March 2023 to watch Southend United play. We then went on the US tour last summer, playing in Chapel Hill , Los Angeles, San Diego and Philadelphia watched the game.
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Wrexham, Chelsea and the $20m game
“It’s fantastic because we get to meet people again like Wayne (Jones, The Turf landlord and breakout star of the documentary), who we met on our first visit to Wrexham.
“We’ve fallen in love with this place and its people. In a very cynical world, having a place that’s authentic and full of gratitude makes you want to be here. That’s what draws us back.
“It was the documentary that brought us here in March, but it’s the people that bring us back.”
Paul and Mindy’s respective careers in elite coaching initially drew the couple to the first season of a show about the ownership of Ryan Reynolds and Rob McElhenney.
“As coaches, we all love watching sports documentaries like (ESPN’s) 30 for 30 series,” said Mindy, head coach of the USF women’s lacrosse program.
“Paul said, ‘Let’s watch this documentary.’ He was writing a book about underdog stories, and the show had that element. We could relate to the story immediately.
“I like the ‘blue collar town’ element. My father was an electrician and my grandfather was a coal miner from Yugoslavia. I also like the community aspect, especially the fan involvement in Wrexham.
“There’s a real personal element here, with players walking through the fans before every game, posing for photos and signing autographs.”
McCord family (back row, left to right): Paul, Mindy, daughter Taylor and son-in-law Spencer Zapper and (front row) LJ
The McCords spent New Year’s Eve at The Turf, a bar adjacent to the club’s StoK Cae Ras home ground, but both Paul and Mindy seemed in good spirits.
LJ was also excited as he brought a gift for Paul Mullin, a youngster who played an impromptu kick at the end of the summer tour against Chelsea in Chapel Hill.
“This gift is for Albie,” Mindy explained, Albie is Mullin’s autistic son. “We’d like to thank Paul and LJ for their fantastic partnership. That’s why we love Wrexham so much: the authenticity here and how welcome everyone is.”
The McCord family will always remember their first visit to Wrexham.
The Southend game was held until the very last minute after volunteers and club staff worked through the night to ensure the pitch was playable. Snow covered the area.
But there was another problem: The tickets Paul purchased online were in an area reserved for visiting team fans.
“We just realized it when we got to the turnstiles wearing all our new Wrexham gear,” laughs Paul, who stands 6ft 6in (198cm) but still looks as good as you’d imagine he’d once played with Dallas The guy the Cowboys signed is just as strong.
“The gentleman explained that we had purchased tickets for Southend by mistake, then looked at me and said, ‘You’ll be fine because they won’t give you too much trouble, but I can’t say that for Southend. Same thing. The other two’.
“It’s totally my fault. I didn’t know it was the away part. I had just seen ‘Wrexham’ and clicked to buy three tickets. The club was fantastic. They escorted us to another area of the stand where it was Where all the reserve players sit.”
Mindy quickly chimed in: “The funny thing is, we got a second season of the documentary because of it. We were watching the game at home and all of a sudden, on the screen, we looked like we were wearing Wrexham hats and scarves. Total tourist, sitting with all these players!”
There was no similar accident this time. As international members, the family purchased tickets to the main stand through the club to watch the 4-1 win over Barrow.
The second goal of Steven Fletcher’s hat-trick was a particular highlight, with James McClean heading home an inswinging corner kick at the far post. “The stacking in the corner is similar to the set pieces we use in lacrosse,” Paul said after the game.
The crossover between Phil Parkinson’s approach and the couple’s own coaching experiences is more common than many people think. Of course, the Wrexham manager’s famous “personality test” when assessing potential signings – he wouldn’t consider driving to London and back for a cup of tea to gauge a player’s suitability – echoes Mindy in Lacrosse management methods are similar.
Together with Paul, she implemented the famous “system” of up-tempo basketball theory pioneered by Paul Westhead at Loyola Marymount University in the late 1980s. and appeared on the TV show “Winning Time”. This made a huge impact when she took the helm of the Jacksonville University lacrosse organization. Building the right culture is key.
McCord couple brings Jacksonville University women’s lacrosse team together (Paul McCord)
“We need a good locker room,” said Mindy, who was named Coach of the Year eight times during her time in Jacksonville. “We achieve this through women who embrace our core values and mission.
“You said Phil is here interviewing players, we’re interviewing parents. You’re dealing with 17- to 23-year-olds, so how you raise them is important. Do parents value coaching and guidance? That has implications for how you deal with young people. had a great impact.
“There’s an art to finding the right people. We’re also very transparent and honest about who we are as people and coaches, our style, our personalities and what they’re going to get from us. You have to build trust.”
One aspect of coaching that Mindy didn’t share with the Wrexham boss was what the documentary’s makers called “Phil’s enthusiasm level” – he cursed multiple times during team talks.
She added: “Every time he said a bad word on the show we had a good laugh. But one day LJ said to me: ‘Mom, they say a lot of bad words – can I say that? “I thought, ‘No way, it’s just part of the language there’.”
Dad agreed. “I’ve been in a locker room like that,” he said. “Maybe not as much profanity, but certainly something said. This is when the adrenaline and testosterone kick in. It comes from the heart.”
Paul’s experience in high-level coaching is undoubtedly extensive. He was part of Brian Billick’s Ravens coaching staff, helping the team defeat the Giants in Super Bowl XXXV, and later joined the Jacksonville Jaguars in a similar capacity.
“I work with kickers, punters, rushers, ball carriers, punt return specialists,” he explained. “The Super Bowl is surreal. I’m on the coaching staff, assistant special teams coach. But just to be a part of it is unbelievable. When you go on this journey, you know something great is happening. .
“You pay so much attention to every game. And every moment. We didn’t really think anything about the Super Bowl until we got there. Once we got there, we felt like we were going to win this game easily.
“No one can score against our defense, which is the best. Our offense knows what to do and our field position is great. That’s the result.
“Mindy and her family were there and it was a wonderful experience.”
McCord practices with the Ravens (played by Sue Bloom)
As well as the book he is writing about disadvantaged people in sport and helping Mindy with her coaching career, Paul’s goals for 2024 include helping to spread the Wrexham gospel further.
“Family and friends know Wrexham,” he said. “We bought Wrexham shirts for Christmas for our daughter Taylor and son-in-law Spencer (Zapper). The plan now is to educate people in Tampa about this great club.
“The funny thing is, when I got into this industry, I wasn’t an Always Sunny (Philadelphia) fan. Or even a Ryan Reynolds fan. What attracted me was the sports element, especially the underdog story.
“But then I suddenly became a huge fan and never missed a game on iFollow (kickoff in Florida is usually 10 a.m. on Saturdays) and when we scored, I would yell, All the neighbors know.”
(Photo: Richard Sutcliffe/McCord Family)
