McGee: Who’s Lived Nine Lives

If a Silver Creek High School student has taken a business class, played football, or ran track, it is likely that they know Brian McGee. Head of the business department, head football coach, and throwers coach, McGee is an important member of the Silver Creek community.

He wasn’t always this business teacher and football coach. McGee has had quite the road leading up to where he is today. Night janitor, submarine worker, working for Loveland Industries, and coaching at other schools are just a few of his past jobs.

Starting at the beginning, McGee was a night janitor for some extra cash while being a full time student at Colorado State University.

“I got a job working for the college as night time janitorial,” McGee said. “I went to school during the day, and four nights a week I cleaned up office buildings and campus buildings.”

After CSU, McGee went off to nuclear power school through the navy. Nuclear power school is widely acknowledged as one of the most demanding programs in the U.S Military. McGee finished near the top of his class, and had his choice of jobs after finishing school. McGee decided to work on a submarine, and did seven three-month-long patrols. Spending long periods of time in the submarine underwater wasn’t always a good time for McGee.

“Something happened every patrol,” McGee said. “We had fires, floods and reactor problems, just to name a few.”

Fires, floods and other disasters on the submarine were just part of the job. Separation from his family back on land was the main stressor of working on a submarine. Once McGee decided it was time to stay on land, he got a job with Loveland industries and became the feedlot group manager for seven years managing his division in California, Colorado, Texas, Kansas, and Nebraska.

His father also worked at Loveland industries, and when the time came, McGee took over for his dad. He had salesmen all over the United States, and even a few international salesmen working for him.

After a few years at this job, McGee’s son became a freshman here at Silver Creek High School. This was when McGee started coaching football here in 2002.

“I got really into coaching, I really enjoy coaching at the high school level,” McGee said.

McGee was given the choice by the company he was working for to either continue his current job or committing to coaching, he chose coaching.

After getting his teaching license, Fort Lupton offered him a job to teach there. McGee was still coaching football at Silver Creek, but taught and was the head track coach at Fort Lupton. He stayed at Fort Lupton for 7 years.

Finally moving to our district, McGee taught business classes at both Longmont and Erie and was still continuing to coach at Silver Creek. Both Longmont and Erie offered McGee a full time job, but they didn’t want him to continue to coach at Silver Creek.

McGee approached Finnestead about a teaching job at the school he loved coaching football at, Silver Creek. For a year, McGee taught science before being moved into the business department, where he is today.

“You can say it has definitely been a long journey for me,” McGee said.

Silver Creek science teacher and head track coach Jacy Riel knows that although McGee has had a long past, including being part of the navy, he has a soft spot.

“Although he has this grumpy face on all the time, deep down McGee is a little softie on the inside,” Riel said.

The McGee that Silver Creek students know today was shaped through many experiences in his past. He is still his caring self through the life he has lived. His experience with business, coaching and military leadership brings a lot of great knowledge and wisdom to the Silver Creek building.