Steve McNair

Football Player

• Born: February 14, 1973
• Birthplace: Mount Olive, Mississippi
• Died: July 4, 2009
• Place of death: Nashville, Tennessee

Sport: Football

Early Life

Steve LaTreal McNair was born in Mount Olive, Mississippi, in 1973. He was the fourth of five children born to Lucille McNair. He grew up in a cramped three-bedroom house. His mother gave him the nickname “Monk,” short for monkey, because of his tendency to climb trees near his home.

Steve’s older brother Fred was the heralded quarterback in the family and was considered the best athlete. Steve attended Mount Olive High School, where he excelled at football and participated in basketball and baseball. In ninth grade, he told his mother that he was disappointed that everyone always mentioned Fred and that he was going to be better than his brother. True to his word, he became Mount Olive’s starting quarterback and led the team to a state title in 1989. He also played defensive end, tying a state record with 30 career interceptions, with 15 in his senior year alone. In his senior season, he was a high school all-American selection by Prep magazine and made the all-state team.

The Road to Excellence

At Alcorn State University, outside of Lorman, Mississippi, Steve really began to showcase his talents. While he had offers to play defensive back at other schools, he desired to play quarterback, and Alcorn State was the only university to give him that opportunity. Normally, a quarterback playing at a division I-AA, all-black school with an enrollment of approximately 3,300 would not garner serious national attention. However, Steve compiled eye-catching statistics.

As a freshman at Alcorn State in 1991, Steve rushed for 242 yards; passed for 2,895 yards; and had 30 touchdowns, 6 rushing and 24 passing. Sports Illustrated named him its offensive player of the year for all NCAA divisions. He was also named to the all-Southwestern Athletic Conference first team.

During the four years Steve played for Alcorn State, he displayed the full range of his football talents. By the time he was a senior, he had become the only player in NCAA history to gain more than 16,000 yards in total offense during his career. Because of his incredible college passing statistics, he became known as “Air McNair.” He also set a collegiate record by averaging 400.5 yards in total offense per game, and he threw for a total of 119 career touchdowns. He broke every Alcorn State game, season, and career passing and total-offense record.

In 1994, Steve made his fourth consecutive all-Southwestern Athletic Conference team and was a unanimous Associated Press all-American. He won the Walter Payton Award for the top NCAA Division I-AA player; was awarded the Eddie Robinson Trophy, for the top player at a black college; and finished third in the Heisman Trophy balloting.

The Emerging Champion

Some teams were reluctant to draft him because he played at a small school, and they wondered if he could compete in the NFL. However, the Houston Oilers drafted Steve third overall—which at the time was the highest position a black quarterback had ever been drafted. The Oilers developed him slowly, keeping him in the backup position and allowing him to adjust to the professional game. He played in four games—two as a starter—and passed for 569 total yards, with 3 touchdowns and 1 interception. He also rushed for 38 yards on 11 carries.

In 1996, Steve played in ten games and started four times. He completed 61.5 percent of his passes for 1,197 yards and 4 touchdowns. He rushed for an additional 169 yards on 31 carries with 2 touchdowns.

In 1997, the owner of the Oilers, Bud Adams, moved the team from Houston, Texas, to Nashville, Tennessee, and changed its name to the Tennessee Titans. Steve was the Titans’ starting quarterback in sixteen games. He helped set a team record for the fewest interceptions, 13, in a single season. He also led the team in rushing touchdowns, 8, and ranked second in team rushing with 674 yards, the third most in NFL history by a quarterback.

Continuing the Story

In 1998, Steve set career highs in pass attempts, 492; completions, 289; yards, 3,228; and passing touchdowns, 15. He led all NFL quarterbacks in rushing, with 599 yards, for the second consecutive season and helped set a new team record for fewest interceptions with 10. Steve also gained a reputation as a “comeback player,” as he led the team to several last-minute scores during the year.

In 1999, Steve missed five games because of back surgery. His backup, Neil O’Donnell, led the Titans so well in Steve’s absence that some fans did not want Steve to return immediately as the starter. However, coach Jeff Fisher named Steve as the starter following his recovery, and he went on to win nine of his eleven starts. In fact, he led the team to the NFC Championship game, in which the Titans beat the Jacksonville Jaguars 33-14 to advance to the Super Bowl against the St. Louis Rams.

In the 2000 Super Bowl, Steve led his team to a remarkable comeback after trailing the Rams at halftime 16-0. Although he only threw for 214 yards, compared to Rams quarterback Kurt Warner’s 414 yards, his performance on critical drives kept the Titans in the game until the last play. He set a Super Bowl record for quarterbacks when he rushed for 64 yards. However, Steve and the Titans were stopped one yard short of sending the game into overtime when Kevin Dyson was tackled by Rams linebacker Mike Jones to end the game.

Steve was never able to replicate his incredible statistics from college, but he was an excellent quarterback. For the 2003 season, he was named the most valuable player, sharing the honor along with Peyton Manning. He also showed amazing grit and determination.

In April 2006, Steve was traded to the Baltimore Ravens. He quickly became the team’s starting quarterback but suffered through two injury-plagued seasons. Worn down by his recurring injuries, he announced his retirement from professional football in the spring of 2008. With a home and business interests in Nashville and a farm in Mississippi, Steve was still only thirty-five years old and appeared set to enjoy a busy life as an entrepreneur and philanthropist. Just over one year later, however, his life came to a sudden and shocking end. On July 4, 2009, he and a young woman friend were found shot to death in a Nashville condominium. Investigators concluded that the woman, with whom Steve had been having an affair, shot him several times while he was sleeping and then shot herself.

Summary

Despite the apparently sordid nature of his untimely death, Steve McNair will be remembered as one of football’s great quarterbacks. From his spectacular college career through his years in the NFL, he was a double threat to defenses because he had a strong passing arm and was an explosive runner. He was also known as one of the NFL great“gamers”—a player who absorbed hard knocks without complaining and returned to the playing field, even in pain. He never won a Super Bowl, but he will also be remembered for the athletic skills and competitive nature with which he led the Tennessee Titans to one of the most exciting Super Bowl finishes of all time. Had receiver Kevin Dyson managed only one more yard on Steve’s last Super Bowl pass play, Steve might now also be remembered as a Super Bowl MVP.

Bibliography

Collie, Ashley Jude. Gridiron Greats: Eight of Today’s Hottest NFL Stars. New York: Rosen, 2003.

Legwold, Jeff. Steve McNair: High-Flying Quarterback. St. Charles, Mo.: GHB, 2001.

Pompei, Dan. “More Air for McNair.” The Sporting News, August 7, 2000, 39.

Price, S. L. “Air McNair.” Sports Illustrated 81, no. 13 (September 26, 1994): 40.

Stewart, Mark. Steve McNair: Running and Gunning. Brookfield, Conn.: Millbrook Press, 2001.