Calvin Magee

Calvin Magee began his life journey on April 23, 1963, in New Orleans, Louisiana. He was the youngest of six children born to Daniel B. Magee, Sr., and Lou Ella Magee. Calvin grew up in a loving home where he was introduced to prayer and faith as a way of life. He attended Jerusalem Church of God in Christ until he left New Orleans for college.

Calvin grew up in the central city neighborhood where he discovered sports. He loved spending time with his older brothers and their friends. His football talent was noticed early in the streets of New Orleans and Taylor Playground. His older brother, Bobby, was a quarterback and often threw footballs to him. His ability to catch a football grew each year. After attending Andrew H. Wilson Elementary and James Derham Junior High, he started high school at Booker T. Washington, where he flourished. Calvin excelled in basketball, baseball, track, and football. Calvin was in the class of 1981 of BTW. He was highly recruited in all four sports and was considered one of the top football recruits in the country. He was a star tight end. After initially committing to Tulane University, he changed his mind at the last minute and decided to attend Southern University under Coach Otis Washington and Coach Burton Burns. That was the beginning of a lifetime friendship with Coach Burns. He packed his bags and moved to Baton Rouge to attend Southern.

Just as he had done in high school, Calvin had a successful football career at Southern University and the Tampa Bay Buccaneers. At Southern, he earned All-American honors in 1983 and 1984. He received All-SWAC honors in 1981, 1983 and 1984. In 2000, he was inducted into Southern University’s Football Hall of Fame.

Calvin played four seasons with the Tampa Bay Buccaneers. His best season with them was in 1986 when he had 45 receptions for 564 yards and scored five touchdowns. At age 26, Calvin decided to stop playing football. He had attended Southern for four years but had not graduated. He returned to school and completed his Bachelor of Arts Degree at the University of South Florida. He began coaching football at Tampa Catholic High School in Tampa and the Clearwater Vipers semi-pro team. He was hired as an Assistant Football Coach at the University of South Florida in 1996. This was a great career move as he joined the ranks of college coaching and impacted the lives of thousands of young men and women for 25 years. In 2001, Calvin joined Rich Rodriguez’s coaching staff at West Virginia and was later promoted to Offensive Coordinator. In 2007, Calvin won the American Football Coaches Association Assistant Coach of the Year. He was also a Broyles Award finalist as college football’s top assistant. He went on to coach at several other colleges, including Michigan, Pittsburg, Arizona, New Mexico, Ole Miss, and Duke. He had just joined the coaching staff at Jacksonville State as Assistant Head Coach and Offensive Coordinator under Coach Rodriguez again, his dear friend.

While Calvin’s coaching career is what most people know, it was his personal and spiritual life that brought him the most joy. Many times, all these areas were intertwined. Calvin loved his family. Rosie was the love of his life. They had three wonderful children, Jade, Bryson, and Jasmine; a beautiful daughter-in-law, Destinee; and five lovely grandchildren, Amare, Maejor, Cali Lou, Bella, and Stone, whom he adored. They were all crazy about him. It gave him tremendous pleasure to see them happy. He enjoyed taking them on trips, treating them to their hearts’ desires, and spending time with them. He taught them many life lessons.

Calvin was especially close to his family of origin. His mother constantly prayed for him and taught him about the Lord. His father taught him about the world. He had a special relationship with each sibling, Stean, Daniel, Bob, Pat, and Joyce, who was like his twin. He was happy when his siblings, nieces, nephews and other family and friends would visit him or attend his games.

Calvin took a special interest in the players he coached. He was more than a coach on the field. He was their advisor, their mentor, and their spiritual guide. When asked if he ever wanted to coach in the NFL, he would respond that he loved coaching at the college level because of the impact he could have on the young men’s lives. He also made an impact on his fellow coaches. They all recognized Calvin’s great qualities as a man. As Coach Rodriguez said, “Calvin was a great husband, great father and grandfather, great coach, great friend, and great man. He impacted my life and the lives of so many others in such a positive way. Our world is less, but heaven got better”.

Calvin was a humble, generous, and spiritual man. He often quietly helped others when he saw a need. He never talked about it. It was known only when the recipients of his generosity would reveal it. Calvin demonstrated Christ in all aspects of his life. He had accepted the Lord as his Savior. He believed in the power of prayer and trusted in the Lord. He stood solidly on God’s Word, especially Philippians 4:6-7, “Do not be anxious about anything, but in every situation, by prayer and petition, with thanksgiving, present your requests to God”. Calvin was a faithful member of Grace Temple Missionary Baptist Church in Tucson, Arizona under the leadership of Pastor D. Grady Scott.

He leaves to cherish his memory, his wife Rosie Levonne Magee; son, Bryson Aaron Magee and his wife Destinee Brooke Magee; two daughters, Jade Angelle Magee and Jasmine Janay Magee; five grandchildren, Amare Javon Thomas, Maejor Aaron Magee, Cali Louella Lillian Magee, Isabella Rose Rutledge, and Stone Calvin Magee; a brother, Bobby Ray Magee (Winnifred); three sisters, Selarstean Magee Mitchell (Lee), Patricia Magee Fears (Nate), and Joyce Magee Smith (James); brothers-in-law Charlie Smith (Wendy), and Eric Smith; sisters-in-law, Pauline Magee and Reba Smith; mother-in-law and father-in-law Flora Smith and Leroy Martin; father-in-law Frank Gregory, Sr.; and many uncles, aunts, nephews, nieces, cousins, friends, coach colleagues, and former players.

Calvin was predeceased by his parents, Daniel Magee, Sr. and LouElla Magee, and his brother, Daniel Magee, Jr.

Visitation will be held on Saturday, May 28, 2022 in the Booker T. Washington Auditorium, 1201 S Roman St, New Orleans, LA 70125 beginning at 8:00am until 10:00am. Interment will be private.

To view and sign the family guestbook, please visit lakelawnmetairie.com.