Fred “Air” McNair is entering his first season on the bluff and serves as the Tight Ends Coach.
Coach just finished his 8th season as the head coach at Alcorn State. Coach McNair coached the Braves to four Southwestern Athletic Conference (SWAC) East Division titles and two SWAC Championships. He was named SWAC Coach of the Year two-times and helped take the Braves to the Celebration Bowl in both 2018 and 2019.. He is the original “Air McNair”, and the older brother of the late Tennessee Titans quarterback and 2003 National Football League (NFL) Co-Most Valuable Player – Steve “Air II” McNair.
McNair has a 37-17 SWAC record after eight seasons on the Alcorn State sidelines, while posting an overall record of 48-33. He became Alcorn State’s first SWAC Coach of the Year winner since Cardell Jones achieved the feat in 1992. All this while enduring the cancelation of the 2020 fall playing season sue to the COVID global pandemic.
In 2019, Alcorn played in their second consecutive Celebration Bowl, and the school’s third in the five-year history of the bowl. Alcorn’s 44 points scored in a losing effort in the 2019 edition of the Celebration Bowl were the most the school has scored in a postseason bowl or playoff game to date. The program’s previous high was 36 points in the 1968 edition of the Orange Blossom Classic. The Braves posted their first 7-0 record at home inside Jack Spinks-Marino Casem Stadium history during the 2019 campaign. In fact, Alcorn entered the 2022 season having won its last 13 games consecutively in the friendly confines of Jack Spinks-Marino Casem Stadium.
At the end of the 2019 season, McNair saw his quarterback Felix Harper earn his second consecutive SWAC Offensive Player of the Year award. He developed Harper who ranked fourth in the Football Championship Subdivision (FCS) in passing touchdowns (33), fifth in points responsible for (19.7 points/game), seventh in passing efficiency (160.7), eighth in yards per completion (14.5) and ninth in yards per pass attempt (8.7). McNair’s defense led the nation in both interceptions (21) and turnovers gained (36) in that same SWAC title-winning season.
In 2018, McNair’s squad earned 12 All-Conference selections, including 10 on the First Team, six HBCU All-Americans, a STATS FCS Third-Team All-American and a HERO Sports Sophomore All-American. Additionally, he coached Noah Johnson to the SWAC Offensive Player of the Year honor and De’Shawn Waller to SWAC Newcomer of the Year accolade. McNair’s defense ranked first in the FCS in both sacks per game (4.0) and tackles for a loss per game (9.5). The defense was also third in the country in rushing (91.2 ypg), eighth in total defense (291.4 ypg), 10th in red zone defense (.714), 18th in scoring defense (21.5 ppg), 22nd in third down percentage defense (.324) and 24th in interceptions (14). Alcorn led the SWAC in total offense (473.3 yards/game), total defense (291.4 yards/game), scoring defense (21.5 points/game), rushing (285.8 yards/game), rushing defense (91.2 yards/game), interceptions (14), sacks (4.0 per game), tackles for a loss (9.5 per game), first downs (23.2 per game), fewest first downs allowed (16.2 per game) and time of possession (32:42).
McNair was named as the 21st head football coach of Alcorn State University on Feb. 2, 2016. Prior to that, he worked at Alcorn as the quarterbacks coach for three seasons under former head coach Jay Hopson. McNair began his collegiate football career as a wide receiver at Alcorn in 1986, before moving to quarterback his junior season. After making the move under center, McNair went on to finish fifth in the FCS (formerly Division I-AA) in passing efficiency during his senior year, and was named to the SWAC all-conference second team following the 1989 campaign. He received his bachelor’s degree from Alcorn State in 1992, before going on to earn his master’s in education in 1996.
McNair is responsible for turning Alcorn quarterback John Gibbs Jr. into a force on the field. Under the tutelage of McNair, Gibbs passed for 2,482 yards, 21 touchdowns and rushed for 1,006 yards in 2014. In 2013, Gibbs passed for 2,567 yards and 21 touchdowns. He also rushed for 455 yards that same season. After Gibbs was forced to sit midway through the 2014 season following an injury, Lenorris Footman stepped in and found success, thanks in part to McNair’s coaching methods. Footman rushed for 1,023 yards and 11 touchdowns, while also passing for 1,106 yards and 14 scores through the air.
Prior to his time on the sidelines at his alma mater, McNair was hired as head football coach, athletic director and teacher at Collins High school in April 2011. The CHS Tigers made it to the second round of the 2011 3-A football playoffs. In addition, McNair coached at Millsaps College in Jackson, Mississippi for four years. During his tenure at Millsaps, they won two Southern Collegiate Athletic Conference (SCAC) championships. In June 2009, McNair was hired as a teacher and coach at Mt. Olive High School. He was the offensive coordinator for the Mt. Olive Pirates.
Upon McNair’s retirement from the Arena Football League (AFL), he held various records at the time. He is a seasoned AFL veteran (Albany 1993-95); Florida (1996-00); Carolina (2000-01). He holds almost all passing records, including passing yards in a season (3,269 – 1999), passing touchdowns in a season (60 – 1998), passing touchdowns in a game (8, four times) and passing yards in a game (362 – 2000). McNair also holds all of the now-defunct Carolina Cobras passing records, and became the 13th quarterback in AFL history to surpass the 10,000-yard career passing mark (vs. Carolina in 2000).
Before the league was disbanded in 2019, McNair was ranked in the top eight in the AFL in all-time passes attempted, passes completed and passing yards. Over his eight-year career, McNair completed over 57 percent of his passes, while throwing for 16,591 yards and 291 touchdowns. McNair had a career season in 2001, setting career-highs with 3,271 yards, 63 touchdowns, 434 attempts, 282 completions and a 118.16 quarterback rating.
McNair and his wife, Barbara, reside in Collins with their son, Ahkeem.
