Buffs Nation is mourning the loss of legendary Colorado football coach Bill McCartney.Coach Mac, as so many knew him, passed away Friday night after "a courageous journey with dementia," according to family. He was 84 years old.It's a sad day for Buffs Nation. Coach Mac meant a lot to a lot of different people, said Rick George, athletic director for CU Boulder.Bill McCartney is the all-time winningest coach at the University of Colorado, with a record of 93-55-5.He leaves behind quite the legacy as a coach both on and off the field.Former Colorado Buffaloes linebacker Chad Brown remembers his time playing for Coach Mac with fondness.We always refer to Coach Mac as Coach Mac because of the football coaching aspect, but he was coaching life, said Brown.McCartney coached the team from 1982 to 1994, transforming it from one with 14 wins over six seasons to claiming multiple conference titles and the 1990 consensus national championship.He was inducted into the College Football Hall of Fame in 2013 and remains the only Colorado football coach to do so.Additionally, 18 of his players are in CUs Hall of Fame.He was always about accountability and discipline in the way he treated his players and in the drive that he gave them. And the leadership was incredible, recalled George.George, who McCartney hired as his recruiting coordinator in 1987, built a lifelong friendship with the legendary coach.George says McCartneys unwavering faith and love for family was at the heart of everything he did at CU Boulder.If I was having a down day, he'd say, Come on, Rick. Let's go, Ricky G. And you know, he's just an incredible human being, and we're going to miss him, he said.In a statement, the McCartney family says:"Coach Mac touched countless lives with his unwavering faith, boundless compassion, and enduring legacy as a leader, mentor, and advocate for family, community, and faith. As a trailblazer and visionary, his impact was felt both on and off the field, and his spirit will forever remain in the hearts of those he inspired."Those lessons beyond the field continue to resonate for former players like Brown.He would tell you, as a young man coming into Boulder, there was a vision for your life, and he had a vision for your life, and that the University of Colorado and your time there, and your time in that program was going to be a springboard for the rest of your life, said Brown. So these life skills that I learned on campus in Boulder, they've translated into the rest of my life, and are literally used by me almost every single day.McCartneys words have inspired so many they are now immortalized on the walls of the CU Coaching and Administrative offices: Big dreams create the magic that stir mens souls to greatness.Those are great words by a great coach. Just look at Brown, for example.Brown went on to play for the NFL, choosing to come back to Colorado to settle down with his family upon retirement. His children went on to attend CU Boulder as well.Brown says those life milestones were accomplished due to the mindset his former coach instilled during his time as a Buffalo.As Buffs Nation remembers Coach Mac, Brown tells Denver7 he hopes that message continues to honor the beloved coachs legacy.To unite people around a common cause brings the greatness out of people. To give those people belief that brings greatness out of people. So if you can exhibit those two qualities to people in your life, you can be a little bit of a Coach Mac too and bring greatness out of people.If you want to pay your respects to Coach Mac, a tribute and memorial service is being planned at CU Boulder.According to the McCartney family, details will be shared in the coming days. Bill McCartney, who coached Colorado to its only football national championship in 1990, has died