How do you put Cy McClairen's 55-year coaching career at Bethune-Cookman in perspective? Can you?

In the opening moments of "Rent," the characters ask us "How do you measure … a year in the life?" Hmmph. They struggled with 525,600 minutes. We have 28.9 million to break down.

Before we start analyzing in daylights, sunsets, midnights and cups of coffee, let's also make sure this doesn't become another one of those silly and simple  Kobe vs. Michael vs. LeBron type takes on the basis of rings (Enough Already! Bill Russell has 11. Robert Horry, that's right, Robert Horry, has seven.) or best baseball player on the basis of home runs (If Willie Mays had played anywhere else other than that wretched Candlestick Park, he'd have 1,000 home runs and not even Hank Aaron enters the argument) or best football player (Offense? Defense? Pre Super Bowl era or Modern Day?) of all-time. You can't define a lifetime by points scored, games won, awards garnered, especially at a school like Bethune-Cookman and a man like Cy McClairen.

But since this is sports, we debate using statistics as our primary source. What are the three types of lies? Lies, darned lies…and statistics. Aargh.

When it comes to Cy McClairen's career, context is a better tool than perspective. And there's a lot to observe.

First are the obvious ones no one can quantify:

1)      First Bethune-Cookman player drafted by the NFL.

2)      Branch Rickey, the executive who brought Jackie Robinson into baseball, scouted his homecoming game.

3)      That touchdown pass he caught against Florida A&M in 1952. We're still talking about it six decades later.

4)      In the NFL, he ran with folk like Jim Brown and Frank Gifford. The Pittsburg Steelers in 1955 kept him and cut some quarterback named [Johnny] Unitas instead.

5)      Conference champion athlete in three sports.

6)      Won conference basketball championships as player and coach.

7)      Named Football and Basketball Coach of the Year At A Division I Conference (Think about it. Krzyzewski never had to go up against Bowden. Saban never matched wits with Calipari or Pat Summitt.)

8)      He used to kick Lynn Thompson out of the gym when Thompson was a kid. Thompson's now the Vice President Of Athletics – our boss.

Now the numbers.

FOOTBALL

Okay, 71 football coaching victories may seem somewhat pedestrian in the legendary coach discussion, but again, and maybe especially here, is where we need context.

1)      When Cy came back here 1961, he had NO previous coaching experience, not even as  an assistant,and is a lso coaching basketball and running the athletic department at the same time. So what does the inexperienced ex-NFL player pull off? Seven consecutive winning seasons to start his career, and finishing his first stint with a non-losing record in 11 out of 12.

2)      Cy had to go head-to-head in the Southern Intercollegiate Athletic Conference with Florida A&M and Jake Gaither in the Rattlers' heyday of the '60s. This is like being in the same World Cup Group Stage with Argentina year-after-year. [That soccer analogy was brought to you by our Manchester City loving Associate Athletic Director Bryan Harvey].  The year before Cy got here, Florida A&M beat Bethune-Cookman 97-0. By the end of the decade, Cy had got that down to 23-20 – and considers that 1969 loss the best coaching effort of his first term. Yes, Cy might have gone winless against Florida A&M from 1961-72, but he set the stage for Charles Wesley Moore and Andy Hinson winning three out of the next four after he stepped down.

3)      The Wildcats never played an 11-game schedule in the first McClairen era – 10 was the most in 1972 and there were a couple of only seven game seasons. Had the Wildcats played an 11-game schedule each year, there would have been 31 more opportunities for McClairen to run up his win total, and at his then winning percentage of .631, he would have gone 19-12 in those games. Do the math: 71 + 19 would give him 90 career wins—same as Alvin Wyatt Sr.'s school record. Just sayin.'

4)      Cy only registered 10 wins in his 1994-96 return, but those seasons were more about getting a struggling program back on its feet. You actually had trustees asking if a Division II football helmet cost as much as a Division I helmet those days. However, one of those wins was a 1994 victory over Florida A&M and he picked up a Mid-Eastern Athletic Conference Coach Of The Year award as well. And just like the first time, Cy set up a stage – the one that Wyatt, Brian Jenkins and Terry Sims have done quite well on the past two decades.

5)      Cy sent his share of players to the next level, most notably Hall of Famer Larry Little. Put yourself in his position watching the 1972 Miami Dolphins not only with two of his former players (Maulty Moore the other) but with his former Pittsburgh Steeler teammate Earl Morrall quarterbacking. Better yet, put yourself in Little's perspective – "Great, [starter Bob] Griese's out and we gotta go with a quarterback who played with my college coach to make it back to the Super Bowl." Which they did.

BASKETBALL

Again, Cy arrived here in 1961 with no previous coaching experience. But all he did – while coaching a football team at the same time – was run off 16 consecutive winning seasons – four of those with 20 or more wins – with four post-season appearances before having a 12-15 mark in 1979. He wins the 1980 championship with a team that went 10-14 (3-7 in the league) in the regular season.

Back in the day, those teams were LOADED.  Without a shot clock or 3-point line, the 1967-68 SIAC Champion's team scoring average of 102.6 points per game was better than the 2015-16 Orlando Magic and 15 other NBA teams. For four years, Cy had two future ABA players on his roster. And since the ABA merged into the NBA…that's right, Bethune-Cookman had two NBA players on the court on the same time.

However, when financial matters came into play in the 1980s and 1990s, Cy took one for the team, sacrificing his won-loss records for guarantee games that brought in cash reserves for both the men's  and women's teams.  While alum of those teams can say they went against future NBA superstars -- Alonzo Mourning dunking over Alvin Wyatt Jr. is a priceless memory—the wear and tear of losing finally got to Cy, and his career winning percentage slid under .500.

Again, he set the stage. One of his former players, Clifford Reed, coached the Wildcats to their only MEAC championship in 2011. Many other former Cage Cats of the McClairen era went on to coach high school or college ball. He even has one former player in the NBA today, even though Eric Lewis has made his mark as a veteran official.

LONGEVITY

Cy had 26 winning seasons – 16 in basketball and 10 in football – during his Bethune-Cookman coaching career – all in the first 16 years. His combined 467 wins over 32 years is a record that should stand a few years. It has since 1996 despite strong runs by Mervyl Melendez in baseball and Laura Watten in softball, and those sports play at least 50 games in a season. Only Watten (341) has a shot a passing McClairen in the foreseeable future.

But again, we're talking stats.

Think using genealogy for a second. Cy coached Larry Little. Larry Little wins two Super Bowls and has a bust in Canton. Larry Little coaches Bernard Hawk and J.D. Hall and Lee Williams.  Cy coaches Alvin Wyatt, Sr.-- "Shine" coaches Allen Suber, Rashean Mathis, Eric Weems and Nick Collins. One of Cy's basketball players is now a Junior College coach who just sent a player to Bethune-Cookman who'll get quality minutes at point guard this season. How do you measure that kind of reach?

How do you measure keeping an athletic program going? Every instance of coaching. Telling some novice sports PR guy "You're a professional. I trust you" or some kid you used to kick out of the gym "You're good enough to be my boss?"              

Twenty-eight million, nine hundred and eight thousand minutes. How can you measure, the career of Cy?