The Tennessee Titans will retire the jersey numbers of two legends.
Steve McNair’s No. 9 and Eddie George’s No. 27 will be retired at a ceremony during the Sept. 15 home opener against the Indianapolis Colts, the group announced Wednesday.
“Steve and Eddie will be forever linked as just two of the driving forces for our team from the late 90s and early 2000s,” Titans controlling owner Amy Adams Strunk said in a statement. “They were the heart and soul of the group and each made another a better player and ultimately led to a great deal of team success. Their figures will forever live in our listing books, however their play and forfeit is exactly what our fans will always recall. For that and all that they’ve done for our team, the number 9 and 27 will be retired using the all-time franchise greats.”
The quantities of the duo being retired collectively is apropos, as their time together (1996-2003) marked the zenith of the Tennessee franchise in its very first years after the move from Houston in 1997. Together McNair and George helped the Titans earn four playoff appearances (1999, 2000, 2002 and 2003), two division titles (2000 and 2002), two AFC Championship games (1999 and 2002) and an appearance in Super Bowl XXXIV.
George, a first-round pick in 1996, is the Titans/Oilers record holder for career rushing yards with 10,009 in eight seasons with the group and is the organization’s all-time scrimmage yards leader with 12,153. George is the only running back in NFL history to record 300 or more carries for eight successive seasons, according to the team. After one year in Dallas, George retired in 2004 with 10,441 rushing yards and 68 rushing touchdowns. George averaged 1,160 rushing yards per season during his nine-year NFL career — only six backs who played with six or more seasons averaged more yards per year to get a career.
McNair, the No. 3 overall pick by Houston in 1995, created the No. 9 Titans jersey iconic with magnificent play, and affinity for leading epic game-winning pushes. As a part of the Titans, he was credited with 20 game-winning drives in the regular season and postseason, second just behind Warren Moon (23). His most famous late-game driveway, however, arrived one yard shy of winning Super Bowl XXXIV. McNair completed his career with 31,304 total passing yards, 27,141 of that came in 11 seasons with an Tennessee/Houston franchise.
McNair was murdered in Nashville on July 4, 2009.
McNair and George will join Jim Norton (No.43), Elvin Bethea (No.65), Earl Campbell (No.34), Mike Munchak (No.63) Bruce Matthews (No.74) and Warren Moon (No.1) as the only players to own numbers retired from the Titans/Oilers franchise. McNair and George would be the first two who played with the majority of their professions in Tennessee.

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