Issue date: January 7, 2001

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Remember this Titan

By Ralph Wiley

'Frisco. That was the call." Steve McNair, the Tennessee Titans' do-it-all-and-do-it-quick quarterback, smiles as he reminisces over the final two plays in last year's Super Bowl. The Titans had come roaring back from a 16-0 deficit to tie the game in the fourth quarter, only to give up a Hail Mary touchdown pass to the St. Louis Rams. It was 23-16, and less than two minutes left. With the game on the line, McNair drove the Titans 87 yards downfield, over 12 gut-wrenching plays, in the most thrilling ending to a Super Bowl game ever.

On the penultimate play, McNair dropped back and came face to face with Kevin Carter, the Rams' 300-plus All-Pro defensive lineman. Carter grabbed a fistful of the 6-foot-2, 225-pound McNair and yanked him down. But McNair kept his footing and fired a 20-yard bullet that put his team 10 yards away from the end zone with under 10 seconds left. The Titans, of course, never did make another touchdown. They were stopped 36 inches short of the goal line. That's how close McNair got to realizing his dream of becoming only the second African-American quarterback in history to win it all.

This week, the Titans mount another campaign behind McNair to return to Super Bowl XXXV on Jan. 28. Smart money won't bet against McNair, a quiet, young (age 27) but already enduring man who pulls games out of fires with big-time plays. His powerful build, accurate passing and gymnast's agility have made McNair football's prototype playmaker. He's "country strong," says CBS commentator Phil Simms.

McNair was born on Valentine's Day in Mount Olive, Miss., in the southwestern part of the poorest state. Growing up the fourth of five sons meant McNair "got my butt kicked a lot," he says. "I don't think it hurt me -- it prepared me." When he was still learning to walk, his parents divorced, and for a while he lived with his grandmother. There were chores before and after the 10-mile trip to school. "We rode bikes, hitched rides; when all else failed, we walked," McNair says. "If you got 30 minutes to play, you were lucky. People said I was mature, but I had fun."

After high school, McNair seemed destined for a major football factory such as Nebraska or Miami. Instead, he chose Alcorn State, a small, historically black college in nearby Lorman, Miss. He put up some amazing numbers, becoming the only player in NCAA history to gain over 16,000 total yards. He averaged 400 yards of total offense per game, good enough to finish third in the Heisman Trophy balloting despite never having appeared on national television. "My high school basketball coach, Sonny McGee, told me, 'It's not where you go; it's what you do once you get there,' " he says. "If you play good enough, you don't have to find the big time. The big time will find you."

Once McNair gained professional experience, the game slowed down in his eyes. His "reads" are superb. "He's one of the few players who keep you up the night before the game wondering how on Earth you can possibly contain him," says Ernie Accorsi, general manager of the New York Giants. "He's special."

McNair's instinct for making the right call isn't limited to the football field. A few years ago, he decided to buy his mother a new home and purchased more than 600 acres by the Mississippi River. "When I showed her where it was, she couldn't believe it. She cried," says McNair, who had unknowingly stumbled upon the exact place where his mother was brought up. "I hadn't known."

McNair himself shares a sprawling ranch-style home in suburban Nashville with his wife, Mechelle, and their 2-year-old son, Tyler. In keeping with his upbringing, he is a man of the land who loves to grow vegetables and ride horseback when he wants to get away and think.

This season, the Titans rose to the top of their division with a punishing ground game headed up by running back Eddie George. But clearly, McNair is the leader, the one who inspires the team in big games or crises. As for the postseason, he offers no predictions.

"This won't be the last Super Bowl the Titans contend for, I can promise you that much," McNair says. "We'll just keep on sawing wood, working hard, and good things are bound to happen."

Ralph Wiley is a contributing writer at ESPN Magazine.

Photo by EILEEN BLASS, USA Today