Nashville, TN – Quarterback Steve McNair’s No. 9 jersey and Eddie George’s No. 27 jersey will be retired by the Tennessee Titans this fall to honor two of the franchise’s all-time greats.
Quarterback McNair’s No. 9 jersey and running back George’s No. 27 jersey will be retired in a ceremony during the September 15th, 2019 home opener against the Indianapolis Colts, Titans controlling owner Amy Adams Strunk has announced.
“Steve and Eddie will be forever linked as two of the driving forces for our team in the late 90’s and early 2000’s,” Strunk said. “They were the heart and soul of the team and each made the other a better player and ultimately led to a great deal of team success.
“Their statistics will forever live in our record books, but their play and sacrifice is what our fans will always remember. For that and all that they have done for our team, the number 9 and 27 will be retired with the all-time franchise greats,” stated Strunk.
McNair and George join six other former Titans and Oilers to have their jersey numbers retired: safety/punter Jim Norton (43), defensive end Elvin Bethea (65), running back Earl Campbell (34), guard Mike Munchak (63), offensive lineman Bruce Matthews (74) and quarterback Warren Moon (1). Moon, whose number was retired on October 1st, 2006, was the most recent such honoree.
McNair played 11 seasons with the club (1995–2005), becoming its second all-time leading passer (27,141 yards) and recording more wins as a starter (76) than any other franchise quarterback.
George spent eight seasons with the team (1996–2003). He is the organization’s all-time leading rusher (10,009) as well as its all-time scrimmage yards leader (12,153).
During the duo’s time together (1996–2003), the team’s 80-48 record (.625) ranked third in the NFL behind only the Green Bay Packers’ 88-40 record (.688) and the Denver Broncos’ 83-45 (.648) mark. In their eight years as teammates, George and McNair experienced only one losing season, going 7-9 in 2001. They helped engineer the franchise’s only back-to-back 13-3 (or better) seasons from 1999–2000.
However, their significance during the franchise’s transition from Houston to Nashville was unquantifiable. As their careers blossomed on the field, they became arguably the Titans’ most important ambassadors off the field, gracefully nurturing the NFL’s arrival in Middle Tennessee and making themselves accessible in the community. They helped steady a roster that played in four different home stadiums in four seasons, culminating with the opening of Nissan Stadium and the renaming of the team in 1999.
The pair’s physicality and toughness became calling cards for the Titans offense. Those two qualities were the building blocks for what became the team’s identity as a whole.
In the same season the team became the Titans and opened a new stadium, George and McNair were instrumental in the run to Super Bowl XXXIV. Together they experienced four total playoff appearances (1999, 2000, 2002 and 2003), two division titles (2000 and 2002) and two AFC Championship games (1999 and 2002).
McNair earned three of his four career Pro Bowl berths with the Titans, receiving the honor at the conclusion of the 2000, 2003 and 2005 seasons. In 2003, he shared Associated Press NFL Most Valuable Player honors with Peyton Manning after leading the league with a 100.4 rating—the best single-season rating in team history. McNair’s 2003 season totals included 3,215 passing yards with 24 touchdowns and only seven interceptions. He became the first African-American quarterback to win the league MVP award.
McNair played the final two seasons of his career with the Baltimore Ravens (2006–2007) and was named to his fourth Pro Bowl as a Raven in 2006. In his 13 NFL seasons (161 games), he completed 2,733 of 4,544 passes for 31,304 yards, 174 touchdowns and 119 interceptions with a passer rating of 82.8. He added 3,590 rushing yards and 37 touchdowns on 669 rushing attempts.
Currently, there are three players in the history of the NFL who have passed for 30,000 yards and rushed for 3,500 yards: Fran Tarkenton, Steve Young and McNair.
Beyond the statistics, McNair perhaps gained equal notoriety for the toughness he exuded and the intangibles he brought to his teams. Despite a well-documented list of injuries, only Brett Favre (154) and Manning (137) started more combined NFL regular season and postseason games than McNair (134) from the time he became a full-time starter in 1997 through 2005. In 1999, he was voted by his teammates as the Ed Block Courage Award winner.
In December 2002, three separate injuries—turf toe, strained ribs and a sore back—prevented him from participating in any practice during the month, yet he led the team to a perfect 5-0 record and was named AFC Offensive Player of the Month. USA Today placed him third in its list of “The 10 Toughest Athletes in Sports” in February 2004, behind only Favre and the NBA’s Allen Iverson.
In the fourth quarter, McNair typically was at his very best. As a member of the Titans franchise, he was credited with 20 game-winning drives in the regular season and postseason, finishing second all-time behind Moon (23).
A native of Mount Olive, MS, McNair was selected by the then-Houston Oilers with the third overall pick in the 1995 NFL Draft. Prior to his NFL career, the 6-foot-2-inch, 230-pound signal caller attended Alcorn State University, where he became the first player in collegiate history to accumulate 16,000 yards (16,823) of total offense. He passed away on July 4, 2009.
George, the 14th overall selection in the 1996 NFL Draft, spent the first eight seasons of his nine-year NFL career with the Titans and eclipsed Campbell (8,574 rushing yards) as the franchise’s most prolific runner. His 10,009 rushing yards from 1996–2003 ranked second in the NFL behind only Curtis Martin’s 10,182 yards, while George’s 12,153 scrimmage yards in the same time frame were third behind the totals of Marshall Faulk (14,130) and Martin (12,887). His accolades included four Pro Bowl selections (1997–2000), AP All-Pro honors in 2000 and the AP Rookie of the Year Award in 1996.
George enjoyed his greatest statistical success in 2000, when he rushed for 1,509 yards, scored 16 touchdowns (14 rushing, two receiving), totaled six 100-yard rushing performances, and contributed 50 receptions.
A model of durability and consistency, George started every game he was with the franchise (128). He also established an NFL mark with 130 consecutive starts by a running back to begin a career—a total which ranks second in NFL history for consecutive starts by a running back at any point in a career, trailing Walter Payton (170). Additionally, he is the only running back in NFL history to record 300 or more carries for eight consecutive seasons, and his 403 carries in 2000 are the fifth-most in NFL history for a season.
George finished his career with the Dallas Cowboys in 2004. In 141 total NFL regular season games, he rushed for 10,441 yards and 68 touchdowns on 2,865 carries. He added 268 receptions for 2,227 yards and 10 scores.
The 6-foot-3-inch, 235-pound George averaged 1,160 rushing yards per season during his nine-year NFL career. Among all players who have played six seasons, only six averaged more rushing yards per season: Barry Sanders (1,527), Jim Brown (1,368), Payton (1,287), Martin (1,282), LaDainian Tomlinson (1,244) and Emmitt Smith (1,224). George, Tomlinson and Eric Dickerson are the only three NFL running backs to rush for 1,200 or more yards in each of their first five NFL seasons.
A native of Philadelphia, PA, George attended Ohio State and won the 1995 Heisman Trophy before entering the NFL.
STEVE McNAIR’S CAREER NFL STATISTICS:
Regular Season Passing Rushing
Year Team GP/GS Att Cmp Pct Yds Yd/Att TD INT Lg Sk Yds Rating Att Yds Avg Lg TD
1995 Hou Oilers 4/2 80 41 51.3 569 7.1 3 1 53 6 63 81.7 11 38 3.5 13 0
1996 Hou Oilers 9/4 143 88 61.5 1,197 8.4 6 4 83t 9 45 90.6 31 169 5.5 24t 2
1997 Tennessee 16/16 415 216 52.0 2,665 6.4 14 13 55t 31 190 70.4 101 674 6.7 47 8
1998 Tennessee 16/16 492 289 58.7 3,228 6.6 15 10 47 33 176 80.1 77 559 7.3 71t 4
1999 Tennessee 11/11 331 187 56.5 2,179 6.6 12 8 65t 16 74 78.6 72 337 4.7 38 8
2000 Tennessee 16/15 396 248 62.6 2,847 7.2 15 13 56t 24 141 83.2 72 403 5.6 25 0
2001 Tennessee 15/15 431 264 61.3 3,350 7.8 21 12 71t 37 251 90.2 75 414 5.5 24 5
2002 Tennessee 16/16 492 301 61.2 3,387 6.9 22 15 55 21 121 84.0 82 440 5.4 26 3
2003 Tennessee 14/14 400 250 62.5 3,215 8 24 7 73 19 108 100.4 38 138 3.6 23 4
2004 Tennessee 8/8 215 129 60.0 1,343 6.2 8 9 37t 13 95 73.1 23 128 5.6 23 1
2005 Tennessee 14/14 476 292 61.3 3,161 6.6 16 11 57 20 134 82.4 32 139 4.3 19 1
2006 Baltimore 16/16 468 295 63.0 3,050 6.5 16 12 87t 14 84 82.5 45 119 2.6 19 1
2007 Baltimore 6/6 205 133 64.9 1,113 5.4 2 4 30 11 85 73.9 10 32 3.2 13 0
NFL Totals 161/153 4,544 2,733 60.1 31,304 6.9 174 119 87t 254 1,567 82.8 669 3,590 5.4 71t 37
Titans Totals 139/131 3,871 2,305 59.5 27,141 7.0 156 103 83t 229 1,398 83.3 614 3,439 5.6 71t 36
Postseason Passing Rushing
Year Team GP/GS Att Cmp Pct Yds Yd/Att TD INT Lg Sk Yds Rating Att Yds Avg Lg TD
1999 Tennessee 4/4 107 62 57.9 514 4.8 1 2 32 5 27 65.7 30 209 7.0 51 3
2000 Tennessee 1/1 46 24 52.2 176 3.8 0 1 17 1 4 52.4 5 31 6.2 11 0
2002 Tennessee 2/2 80 48 60.0 532 6.7 3 2 39 3 27 81.9 13 82 6.3 16 3
2003 Tennessee 2/2 49 32 65.3 369 7.5 2 4 49t 3 10 67.5 6 27 4.5 12 0
2006 Baltimore 1/1 29 18 62.1 173 6.0 0 2 23 2 12 49.9 1 6 6.0 6 0
NFL Playoff Totals 10/10 311 184 59.2 1,764 5.7 6 11 49t 14 80 66.7 55 355 6.5 51 6
Titans Totals 9/9 282 166 58.9 1,591 5.6 6 9 49t 12 68 68.4 54 349 6.5 51 6
EDDIE GEORGE’S CAREER NFL STATISTICS:
Regular Season Rushing Receiving
Year Team GP GS Att Yds Avg Lg TD No Yds Avg Lg TD
1996 Hou Oilers 16 16 335 1,368 4.1 76 8 23 182 7.9 17 0
1997 Tennessee 16 16 357 1,399 3.9 30 6 7 44 6.3 15 1
1998 Tennessee 16 16 348 1,294 3.7 37t 5 37 310 8.4 29 1
1999 Tennessee 16 16 320 1,304 4.1 40 9 47 458 9.7 54t 4
2000 Tennessee 16 16 403 1,509 3.7 35t 14 50 453 9.1 24 2
2001 Tennessee 16 16 315 939 3.0 27 5 37 279 7.5 25 0
2002 Tennessee 16 16 343 1,165 3.4 35 12 36 255 7.1 14t 2
2003 Tennessee 16 16 312 1,031 3.3 27 5 22 163 7.4 22 0
2004 Dallas 13 8 132 432 3.3 24 4 9 83 9.2 28 0
NFL Totals 141 136 2,865 10,441 3.6 76 68 268 2,227 8.3 54t 10
Titans Totals 128 128 2,733 10,009 3.7 76 64 259 2,144 8.3 54t 10
Playoffs Rushing Receiving
Year Team GP GS Att Yds Avg Lg TD No Yds Avg Lg TD
1999 Tennessee 4 4 108 449 4.2 68t 3 10 72 7.2 32 0
2000 Tennessee 1 1 27 91 3.4 15 1 8 52 6.5 10 0
2002 Tennessee 2 2 30 100 3.3 17 1 1 9 9.0 9 0
2003 Tennessee 2 2 41 136 3.3 13 0 4 16 4.0 6 0
NFL Totals 9 9 206 776 3.8 68t 5 23 149 6.5 32 0
Titans Totals 9 9 206 776 3.8 68t 5 23 149 6.5 32 0
