[4] After his three years of military service, he attended junior college and transferred to Florida State, where he was on the roster for the 1961 and 1962 seasons as an end and center,[5][6][7] and also played linebacker and fullback.
[13] McNease succeeded Steve Musseau and placed a new emphasis on the passing game;[4] the Vandals were 5–5 and 3–1 in the Big Sky in his first season,[14] but they struggled with injuries and slipped to 2–8 with only one win in conference in 1969.
[1][13] Additionally, an altercation reportedly occurred with a player in a Memorial Gym hallway and resulted in a ripped coat.
[18] In August 1971, over a year after his dismissal, McNease filed a $250,000 (later $1 million) breach of contract lawsuit in U.S. District Court against the university.
[23] McNease left coaching and worked in the insurance and financial services industry, with stops in Athens, Georgia, and back on the Palouse in the Moscow-Pullman area in the early 1980s.