He played as an offensive guard in the National Football League (NFL) with the Tampa Bay Buccaneers (1987–1992), Philadelphia Eagles (1993–1994) and Miami Dolphins (1995).
Born in Gaithersburg, Maryland, he attended Gaithersburg High School and then Wyoming Seminary in Kingston, Pennsylvania, before playing college football at Maryland (1983) and Cornell (1986), graduating from the Cornell University School of Hotel Administration.
On the morning of May 25, 2008, McHale was found dead at age 45 at the home of a friend in Wesley Chapel, Florida.
[2] An examination of McHale's brain at Boston University's School of Medicine found that McHale had chronic traumatic encephalopathy (CTE),[3] a condition found in several other NFL veterans who had received repeated hits to the head, some of which may have caused concussions.
[5] His widow, Lisa McHale, now works as a family relations liaison at the Boston University CTE Center.