[5] McNair played college football for the Alcorn State Braves, with whom he won the 1994 Walter Payton Award as the top player in NCAA Division I-AA.

He attended Mount Olive High School as a freshman in the fall of 1987, where he played football, baseball, and basketball in addition to running track.

In that contest, McNair returned from an injury and helped Alcorn State, trailing late in the final period, move deep into Tigers' territory.

The victory over Grambling helped the Braves qualify for the I-AA playoffs where they faced off against then-Northeast Louisiana, falling 78–27 to the Indians on November 21, 1992.

In addition, McNair won the Walter Payton Award as the top I-AA player and finished third in the Heisman Trophy voting behind Rashaan Salaam and Ki-Jana Carter.

In 1996, McNair remained a backup to Chris Chandler until starting a game on December 8 in Week 15 against the Jacksonville Jaguars.

He also led the team in rushing touchdowns with eight and ranked second behind running back Eddie George with 674 yards on the ground, at the time the third-highest total for a quarterback in NFL history.

In 1998, McNair set career passing highs with 492 attempts, 289 completions, 3,228 yards, and 15 touchdowns for the Oilers, now playing in Nashville.

Early in the season, McNair was diagnosed with an inflamed disk following the Titans' 36–35 win over the Cincinnati Bengals, and needed surgery.

In his stead entered Neil O'Donnell, a veteran who had guided the Pittsburgh Steelers to the Super Bowl four years earlier.

The Titans opened the playoffs at home against the Buffalo Bills in a Wild Card game, winning on the "Music City Miracle" and eventually advancing to Super Bowl XXXIV in a rematch with the Rams.

Following the Titans’ bye week Neil O'Donnell started against his former team, but after O’Donnell threw three picks he was sacked out of the game in the final four minutes.

McNair came in and threw a touchdown to Erron Kinney; a missed Steelers field goal attempt resulted in the Titans winning 23–20.

Following a 13–3 season in 2000 which ended in a playoff loss to the Baltimore Ravens, McNair put together his most productive year as a pro in 2001.

The game had a controversial finish when, after missing a game-winning field goal at the end of regulation time and a second failed kick in overtime was negated because of a controversial running-into-the-kicker penalty on Pittsburgh's Dewayne Washington, kicker Joe Nedney won the game from 26 yards out 2:15 into overtime.

The Titans finished 12–4, the same record as the Colts, but Indianapolis took the AFC South division championship by virtue of its two victories over Tennessee.

McNair and Colts quarterback Peyton Manning were named co-NFL MVPs following the 2003 season, which ended for the Titans in a playoff loss to the eventual Super Bowl champion New England Patriots.

This series of season-ending injuries prompted the Titans to make the business decision of locking McNair out of team headquarters in the 2006 offseason.

The team would not let him rehab in its building because it feared an injury would force the franchise to pay him $23.46 million (his contract had been restructured so often that his salary cap reached a hard-to-manage amount).

The Players Association's filed a grievance on his behalf in which an arbitrator ruled that the team violated its contract, opening the possibility for a trade.

[20] Following the 2005 season, on April 30, 2006, the Titans allowed McNair and his agent, James "Bus" Cook, to speak with the Baltimore Ravens to try to work out a deal.

"[40] There was also a conversation about financial issues where McNair transferred $2,000 to Kazemi, who claimed she was "stressed" and needed to pay her phone bill.

[46][47] The 9mm gun used was found under Kazemi's body and later tests revealed "trace evidence of (gunpowder) residue on her left hand.

[49] The police later stated that after being released from jail, Kazemi purchased the gun from a convicted murderer she met while looking for a buyer for her Kia.

Our thoughts and prayers are with his family as they deal with his untimely passing.In a statement to the AP, Ozzie Newsome, executive vice president and general manager of the Baltimore Ravens, stated:[41][52] This is so, so sad.

He is one of the best players in the NFL over the last 20 years...The Titans held a two-day memorial at LP Field on July 8 and 9, 2009, where fans could pay their last respects to McNair.

During the 2009 NFL season, every member of the Titans wore a commemorative "9" sticker placed on the back of each helmet to honor McNair.

[54] On October 15, 2010, it was reported that McNair's widow went to a Nashville judge and asked that at least a portion of the assets be unfrozen for his children's care and expenses until the estate matters were resolved in court.