During the month of June, the Last Word On Sports NFL department has began constructing a Mount Rushmore for each team. For this series, we will only consider players. Today, the Tennessee Titans are the focus. The Titans were originally the Houston Oilers, but the team moved to Tennessee in 1997.
Tennessee Titans Mount Rushmore
Steve McNair
Steve McNair is probably the Titans’ most well-known player. He is the only real franchise quarterback the team has known since it moved to Tennessee. With his great arm strength, good accuracy, elusive feet, and fearless nature, McNair took the Titans to the playoffs four times and won one MVP award. He was also selected to three Pro Bowls. Steve “Air McNair’s” overall ability to make plays helped him throw 156 touchdowns in the ten years he played for Tennessee and rush for 36 more. One of the most famous plays in NFL history kept McNair from winning a Super Bowl ring when Kevin Dyson stretched toward the end zone only to come up a few inches short with time expiring in Super Bowl XXXIV. In 2009, Steve McNair was tragically killed in a murder-suicide.
Bruce Matthews
Offensive linemen usually do not get much recognition, but in the discussion of a face being sculpted for being the best of the Titans/Oilers, Matthews is a must. He was drafted ninth overall by the Houston Oilers in 1983 and he anchored the offensive line in three different decades (80’s, 90’s, and 2000’s) over the course of his 19 seasons in the league. During that span, Matthews played all three positions on the line (center, guard, and tackle). Matthews is also the only player on this Mount Rushmore to have played for both the Titans and the Oilers. He was selected to 14 straight Pro Bowls, and he was a first team All-Pro nine times. If you were in an argument with your friends and you made the claim that Bruce Matthews was the greatest offensive lineman to ever play the game, you probably would not get much of an argument back and you would look really smart in front of your friends.
Warren Moon
Warren Moon was the original dual-threat quarterback. He could run better than any quarterback in the league, and he arguably had the greatest arm in the league at the time. Even with all of this talent, it was not easy for Moon to get into the NFL. He started his professional football career with the Edmonton Eskimos of the Canadian Football League. After breaking a few CFL records and winning five straight Grey Cups, the Houston Oilers gave him a chance. Moon would not disappoint. He was the NFL Offensive Player of the Year in 1990 and he was selected to nine Pro Bowls during his career along with three All-Pro selections. After his career in Houston, Moon turned into a journeyman, playing with Minnesota, Seattle and Kansas City. When Moon eventually retired, he held several professional gridiron football passing records in both the CFL and NFL.
Earl Campbell
Anyone who has ever seen Earl Campbell’s highlights would say he belongs with the elite on any carved facial mountain anywhere. He ran like a spanish video of running with the bulls where the bull is just trampling human beings under his feet. His career only lasted eight seasons, but no human could last longer running the way Campbell did. He holds 12 rushing records for the Houston Oilers that will never be broken (unless the Oilers come back) and he had three NFL rushing titles. He made five Pro Bowls and he was a three-time first team All-Pro selection. In Campbell’s 115-game career, nothing stands out more than the eye test. Most fans would agree that there is no highlight reel more fun to watch than that of Earl “The Tyler Rose” Campbell.
Main Photo:
