Together in spirit: Louisiana game brings bittersweet reunion for Florida State's Coleman

This is a weekend Lanier Coleman has eagerly anticipated since the end of last season, if not longer.

Coleman, who is in his third year as Florida State’s senior associate director of football strength and conditioning, played for the Louisiana Ragin’ Cajuns from 2004-08. He started at various points on the offensive and defensive lines, and he went on to become a team captain.

So with his current school, Florida State, scheduled to host his old school, Louisiana, today at noon, it figured to be a perfect opportunity for a reunion.

Many of Coleman’s former teammates planned to come into town. Several more familiar faces would be on the opposing sideline, including Cajuns head coach Michael Desormeaux and defensive coordinator LaMar Morgan. The three played together in college, and Desormeaux and Coleman were captains at the same time.

With that as a backdrop, no matter what happened on the field, this was going to be a weekend filled with laughs and hugs. Of reminiscing about their playing days and sharing all the latest updates about their families and professional lives.

That still will be the case.

But with one very important and painful exception.

Brad McGuire, a popular teammate of Coleman’s who played quarterback and other positions during his career at Louisiana, was tragically killed in a car accident in Jacksonville on June 15. He was 33 years old; he would have turned 34 earlier this month.

McGuire, a father of one young son, was an emergency room doctor who actually earned his medical degree from Florida State University’s College of Medicine in 2018. So he was both a Ragin’ Cajun and a Seminole.

McGuire graduated from FSU a little more than a year before Coleman arrived in Tallahassee as part of Mike Norvell’s staff.

“Brad was awesome,” Coleman said this week, as the Seminoles continued preparations for today’s game against his alma mater. “The way he worked. The way he played. The way he acted on the football field. It could be the hottest day ever out there, you know. We could be having a horrible practice, and we’ve gotta get on the line and do sprints again [as punishment]. And this kid is still telling jokes — not because he’s not serious about it. He was just trying to break up the pain, the tension. He was like, ‘We’re going to get through this, and we need to do it together.'”

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This summer’s tragedy would have been devastating had it happened to virtually any of Coleman’s former teammates. But there was something special about McGuire.

A native of Gulf Breeze, Fla., McGuire made a strong impression during his very first recruiting visit to Lafayette, La., as a high school senior. According to Coleman, McGuire had an uplifting personality and made it clear that he was looking for one main thing in his college choice — a program filled with like-minded players who would work hard and fight for each other.

He found that with the Cajuns.

“I took him on his recruiting trip,” Coleman said. “He came in town, we went to a buddy’s house, and he was just one of those guys you didn’t have to say much to him — there was just a connection. He kind of just blended in well with us and how we approached our days down there. He was about working for what he wanted, and what he wanted was the success of his teammates. Because he knew that that was something that meant success for him.

“You could tell he really wanted to see other people smile, and that made him smile. Which is just so much fun. You’d be filled with excitement because you see him excited for you. He was an incredible dude. And when you see how he worked and how he played; he played with an attitude, man. He was incredible.”

While McGuire didn’t post sensational statistics during his career at Louisiana, he played a critical role in the Ragin’ Cajuns’ success. During his last two seasons, in 2010 and ’11, he served primarily as the team’s backup quarterback and as a starting H-back. He also was a force on special teams.

Back at Gulf Breeze High in the Florida panhandle, McGuire was a standout quarterback and free safety. Looking back, Coleman laughs about teammates calling McGuire, “Tebow,” because of his hard-nosed running style and passion for the game.

“He did everything,” Coleman said. “And the team used to change when he’d come in the game. The offense would just move a little bit differently. And everybody really, really liked him. Really loved him. He was awesome.”

Brad McGuire, part of Louisiana football's first New Orleans Bowl win, dies at 33 in Florida car accident https://t.co/mn38JZuQad

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McGuire’s final season at Louisiana was one that will always be cherished by the Ragin’ Cajuns’ fan base. He and his teammates finished with a 9-4 record and played in a bowl game for the first time in school history; they knocked off San Diego State, 32-30, in the New Orleans Bowl.

One of the most memorable plays in that victory was a fake punt that saw McGuire deliver a 22-yard pass on fourth-and-9 to pick up a first down. He also was credited with two carries and a reception in the game — whatever the Cajuns needed to record the victory.

“One of my buddies has a clip of Brad playing, and he has the ball and he’s either dropped back to pass or it’s a quarterback power, and man, he runs and drops his shoulder on this safety,” Coleman said. “And it’s just like, ‘That is him.’ But even though he played and looked violent and looked hard, he was probably smiling underneath that helmet. Because he was just having fun.”

While life took Coleman and McGuire in different directions, there always were common bonds.

Like Coleman, McGuire briefly embarked upon a career in strength and conditioning before going off to medical school. And Coleman was good friends with McGuire’s ex-wife, who was a star softball player at Louisiana when they were in school.

Five months have now passed since McGuire’s fatal accident, yet Coleman, a massive and intimidating human being at 6-foot-5 and well over 300 pounds, still gets emotional when recalling the moment he received the news via text message. It came from a close friend on the current Louisiana staff.

At the time, Coleman was on his way to a summer workout with the Florida State football team.

For a few moments after reading the text, he didn’t think he could report to the Seminoles’ facilities. He was absolutely crushed.

But it actually was the memory of McGuire’s unwavering passion — and the need to practice what he preaches — that helped give Coleman the strength to be there for the Seminoles.

“As strength coaches, it’s not just about how much you can lift, how far you can run, how high you can jump,” Coleman said. “That’s part of it. But we also try to develop your emotions. So when you come out through that tunnel, and there’s a million things rushing through your body at once when you’re about to do that job, that you can rein all that in and execute what the coach is asking you. And that has to start long before you ever get out there on the field.

“So we always teach players to be where their feet are. That whatever is happening around you, you’ve got to do the task that is being asked of you. So in that moment, when I’m walking in the indoor [facility] with this news that is beating the back of my brain in, I’m just like, ‘I’ve got to be the best I can for these kids.’ And Brad wouldn’t have it any other way. He’d be like, ‘Man, I want you to go out there and put a smile on those kids’ faces. I want you to make them excited like we used to make each other excited to work out.'”

McGuire won’t be in the stands for today’s game, and he won’t be there when the former teammates get together to share laughs and tell old stories throughout the weekend. But Coleman takes comfort in knowing how fondly they all will remember him.

The smile he seemed to always wear, even during the toughest of times. The way he could make everyone laugh during the most grueling workouts.

“We’ve got some old teammates who live in the area who are coming in town to watch,” Coleman said. “The furthest teammate is actually coming in from Canada. So that’s going to be fun. It’s going to be a lot of old friends and faces — guys I have texted with forever, but we’ll get a chance to see them. To go out and see what brought us together in the first place: Football. That’s awesome.”

Long after this weekend, Coleman knows he will carry the pain of losing McGuire with him. But he also will smile when reminded of his good friend’s beautiful spirit.

The Seminoles’ strength coach says he already has started using the lesson of a brilliant life cut short as a reminder for Florida State’s current players.

It’s one, he says, he will never forget.

“Just don’t take life for granted,” Coleman tells his players. “Losing a teammate, you just never know when you won’t be able to pick up the phone and just call somebody or text somebody again. … Or just be thankful for the time that you have here to do what you love to do, and what you’re gifted and blessed to do. Because you never know when your time is up.

“All you have is right now, so why not maximize it? Your days aren’t guaranteed to you. So why not go as hard as you possibly can?”

That’s how Brad McGuire lived all 33 of his years. It’s how he worked out and competed as a football player. How he pushed his way through medical school. And how he approached his work as a physician in emergency medicine.

No, Brad won’t physically be inside Doak Campbell Stadium today. But Lanier Coleman knows for sure his spirit will be.

“I’ve got a lot of ties over there [on Louisiana’s staff], and it will be fun to see everybody,” Coleman said. “But them coming back this close, there’s going to be a lot of emotions. I’ll get to stare across the line at some good friends of mine who I know are tough competitors. And I’ll be with this team that I’ve been through a lot of things with — and who I know are tough competitors as well. To see them kind of clash is going to be fun.

“But after the game, it’s going to be really good to hug my friends. Because,” Coleman said, his voice trailing off, “you don’t know if you’re going to be able to do it again.”

Talk about this story with other die-hard FSU football fans on the Tribal Council.