Dave McGinnis, a 33-year coaching veteran, enters his third season with the Titans as the club’s linebacker coach.

McGinnis has 20 seasons of NFL experience, including three and a half years as the head coach for the Arizona Cardinals. One of the most respected defensive minds in the game, McGinnis directed the Cardinals defense as their defensive coordinator from 1996 to 2000.

Under McGinnis’ direction is linebacker Keith Bulluck, who has matured into one of the finest linebackers in the NFL. Bulluck led the team in tackles in each of the last four years, posting 150 or more stops in every campaign and posted a career-high five sacks in each of the last two seasons. Last year, three of the top four tacklers were linebackers (Bulluck, Sirmon and Kassell) accounting for 328 stops, 7.5 sacks and three interceptions. This year, free agent David Thornton from the Indianapolis Colts has been added to the linebacking corps along with three draft choices – Stephen Tulloch, Terna Nande and Spencer Toone.

As defensive coordinator in Arizona, he led a group that produced three Pro Bowlers in CB Aeneas Williams, DT Eric Swann and DE Simeon Rice. Rice also earned AP Rookie of the Year honors in 1996 and tallied 51.5 sacks in his tenure with the team, including a franchise record 16.5 sacks in 1999. His 1998 defense helped lead Arizona to the playoffs and ranked third in the league in takeaways with 39. He totaled 16 wins (16-33) in three full seasons as head coach.

McGinnis built his reputation and knowledge during a 10-year (1986-95) stint with the Chicago Bears as a linebackers coach, where he worked with one of the best linebacker corps in the game: Mike Singletary, Wilber Marshall and Otis Wilson. He coached Hall of Famer Mike Singletary for seven of his 12 years in the league with each ending in a trip to the Pro Bowl. During his tenure in Chicago, the Bears advanced to the playoffs six times and the defense finished in the top six of the NFL in defense six times, including a first or second place ranking three times.

Prior to joining the NFL ranks, McGinnis spent 13 years in college football with stops at his alma mater Texas Christian University (1973-74, ‘82), Missouri (1975-77), Indiana State (1978, ’80-81) and Kansas State (1983-85).

McGinnis was a three-year starter at TCU as a defensive back where he graduated in 1973 with a degree in business management.

Born in Independence, Kan. (8/7/51), and raised in Snyder, Tex., McGinnis resides in Nashville, Tenn., with his wife Kim.