Red McCombs

There was a weird...

Because you know who the head coach of Texas was at the time who was really good friends with Red McCombs and happened to be an owner of the radio station I was working at at the time, if you remember that.

Clear Channel Radio, Clear Channel Media.

He had influence on that.

I'm the owner, and I get to talk about it like I'm the owner.

Even the big money boosters in other places like Texas, where we're going here in a second, when a guy like a Red McCombs, for example, came out and said, oh, Charlie Strong would be a good linebackers coach here, but I don't think he's worthy of being the head coach, which was a horrible look.

It wasn't perceived as it's Red McCombs' program.

No.

He is one loudmouth booster saying something.

I appreciate you, uh, buddy and, uh, boss.

But, uh, do you remember this? I mean, Red McCombs, God rest his soul, he really liked to push and keep people on edge so they performed well.

Yeah, so he wasn't necessarily always as over the top with, "I don't think this is great.

I don't- I think this, you know, really, really needs improvement." Maybe he believed that, maybe he didn't.

So you know, they set the bar very high in his first, uh, first time owning an NFL team.

Yeah.

And, uh, Red McCombs, you know, he had some broadcasting experience, uh, uh, in his back pocket, and he got an opportunity with the first, uh, Sunday Night Football game I had the privilege of calling.

[laughs]

And it was the Glenn Denning sale, the Fiesta sale.

And kind of the poetry there is the first business I ever bought, I bought from Red McCombs 20 years ago.

And so it just made a lot of sense to go to that sale and buy a few animals.

The only problem was is that I didn't have any fences.

You know, one memory I have from that week up to that game is you guys were having trouble finding a middle linebacker.

Now, you know, with respect to Red McCombs, may God rest his soul, it just seemed like the purse strings were a little tight.

So, like, you're crossing names off lists and stuff like that.

And then you ended up with a former Raider named Greg Beekert who had been here like eight days.

All right, so let's talk about that because you and I have had conversations about this.

The titans that come to my mind are Red McCombs, Bartell Zachary, General McDermott at USAA, Tom Frost.

Fully Klingman.

Fully Klingman.

partially because the politics of the council has shifted, partially because the business community has not really been always united.

On Vista Ridge, they came together, and on some other issues, they've come together, but on a day-to-day basis.

But the point you have often made, Paul, is – We've gone from the power being in the hands of the few to it being more diffused and a wider, broader net of business leaders who may not have the stature of Red McCombs, but who still are very effective in communicating their messages.

Absolutely.

Yeah.

Red McCombs Toyota.

Uh, Paul, yeah, Paul works at Red McCombs, uh, at a car dealership now.

Hmm.

Number, number nine.

Went to see somebody you know very well and, of course, who worked with for a long time.

That would be Mike Buffenbarger over at Red McCombs Toyota.

Oh, yeah.

Good old Mike.

And he apparently was going to see Mike for a Tacoma four-wheel drive.

And Paul says he's been a faithful listener for a decade.

And you pointed him to Mike over at Red McCombs three new trucks ago, he says.

Wow.