The Tennessee Titans will retire the jersey numbers of 2 legends.
Steve McNair’s No. 9 and Eddie George’s No. 27 will be retired in a ceremony during the Sept. 15 home opener against the Indianapolis Colts, the team announced Wednesday.
“Steve and Eddie will probably be forever linked as just two of the driving forces for our staff in the late 90s and early 2000s,” Titans commanding 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 finally resulted in a great deal of team success. Their figures will forever reside in our listing books, however their play and forfeit is exactly what our fans will always recall. For this and all that they’ve done for our staff, 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 first years after the move in Houston in 1997. Together McNair and George aided 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 your Titans/Oilers record holder for career rushing yards with 10,009 in eight seasons with the group and is the company’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 consecutive seasons, according to the team. Following one year in Dallas, George retired in 2004 with 10,441 racing yards and 68 rushing touchdowns. George averaged 1,160 rushing yards per year during his nine-year NFL career — only six backs who played with six or more seasons averaged more yards per year for a livelihood.
McNair, the No. 3 overall pick by Houston in 1995, made the No. 9 Titans jersey renowned with spectacular play, and affinity for top epic game-winning pushes. As a member of the Titans, he was credited with 20 game-winning drives at the regular season and postseason, second just behind Warren Moon (23). His most famous late-game drive, however, came one yard shy of winning Super Bowl XXXIV. McNair finished his career with 31,304 total passing yards, 27,141 of which came in 11 seasons with an Tennessee/Houston franchise.
McNair was killed in Nashville on July 4, 2009.
McNair and George will combine 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 by the Titans/Oilers franchise. McNair and George would be the first two who played with the vast majority of their careers in Tennessee.

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