The staff over at The Athletic compiled a list of 25 Nashville athletes for its Nashville Sports Hall of Fame, and four former Tennessee Titans made the list.
In descending order, here’s where the Titans who made the cut were ranked:
22. Bud Adams
Adams brought the NFL to the city, and while it took a lot of work from folks here to make this an attractive landing spot, it was Adams’ decision to move the Houston Oilers and take Nashville to a different level as a sports city. Before that, he was a football trailblazer. He started the American Football League with Lamar Hunt in 1959. Competing with the NFL seemed an unwise strategy at the time, but the leagues merged in 1966.
Titans fans love their football team in Nashville and have Adams to thank for making it happen. His daughter, Amy Adams Strunk, is the current controlling owner of the team and has done a sensational job.
13. Bruce Matthews
Matthews was an integral part of the rock-solid offensive line that characterized the Houston Oilers when they moved to Tennessee in 1997. Primarily used at guard, Matthews played 19 seasons in the NFL, starting 293 of the 296 games he played in. He made 14 straight Pro Bowls and was named first-team All-Pro nine times. Matthews played so long in the NFL that his former college teammate at USC — Jeff Fisher — eventually became his head coach. The North Carolina native was inducted into the Pro Football Hall of Fame in 2007.
Matthews stands among some of the great offensive lineman to ever play the game. He spent his entire 19-year career with the organization and was a 14-time Pro Bowler and a seven-time First-Team All-Pro. Matthews was rightfully elected to the Pro Football Hall of Fame in 2007.
5. Eddie George
George won the Heisman Trophy in 1995 — his senior season at Ohio State — and became the first-round pick (No. 14 overall) of the Houston Oilers in the ensuing spring. When the Oilers moved to Tennessee a year later, George and quarterback Steve McNair emerged as the faces of the franchise. George topped 1,000 yards in seven of eight seasons with the Oilers/Titans, making four Pro Bowls and twice earning All-Pro status. George was a workhorse in the Super Bowl run of 1999, rushing 108 times for 449 yards and three touchdowns in four postseason games. He started 128 straight regular-season games with the franchise, finishing with 10,009 yards and 64 touchdowns.
To this day, George remains a leader for the Titans organization. His voice is still well-respected among the team’s current players and the mark he left on the franchise will never fade. The four-time Pro Bowler and one-time First-Team All-Pro had his number retired in 2019 and is the greatest running back of the Titans era.
1. Steve McNair
The NFL’s arrival in Nashville coincided with the ascension of McNair, who led the newly christened Tennessee Titans to Super Bowl XXXIV in 2000. McNair and Eddie George embodied the Titans’ hard-nosed brand of football, and McNair shared the MVP award with Peyton Manning in 2003, throwing 24 touchdowns and rushing for four. McNair, who died in 2009, had his No. 9 retired by the Titans last season.
What can you say about the greatest quarterback in Titans history?
Since his departure in 2006, Tennessee has never found another quarterback who made the kind of impact McNair did during his time with the team.
The former No. 3 overall pick of the Titans took them to their only Super Bowl appearance, and a pair of AFC Championship Games. The former co-MVP and three-time Pro Bowler had his number retired in 2019.