Posted by ESPN.com's James Walker
With former Baltimore Ravens and Tennessee Titans quarterback Steve McNair retiring this week, the biggest debate involving McNair over the next five years will be his candidacy for the Hall of Fame.
So Hashmarks decided to get a head start on the process. We checked in with a trio of Hall of Fame voters to get a sense of where McNair stands today.
"He's borderline at best,'' one voter said. "When they were winning it was (running back) Eddie George's team, and (Titans coach) Jeff Fisher played defense. It's five years before he's even on the ballot, but right now I would say he's not a Hall of Famer.''
Another Hall of Fame voter was even more definitive.
"I think Steve was a real good QB but has no chance for the Hall,'' the voter said.
A third member agreed that they wouldn't vote for McNair today but added that it's possible McNair's candidacy could get stronger with time.
"I can't say that I would never vote for McNair,'' the member said. "There are some guys like Warren Moon that I didn't think was a Hall of Famer at first, but as time passed, the numbers stood out and I was convinced that he was.''
The Hall of Fame Board of Selectors is an exclusive group consisting of 44 of the top NFL writers and media members in the country. Most years, a candidate must get 80 percent of the vote to be enshrined in Canton.
So far McNair is 0-for-3. The three voters all acknowledged that McNair was a very good quarterback, but his inability to win a Super Bowl and not putting up huge statistical numbers seemed to be the resounding themes against him.
In 13 seasons, McNair recorded 31,304 passing yards, 174 touchdowns and 119 interceptions. He led the Titans to a Super Bowl appearance following the 1999 season and came up a yard shy of potentially tying the game in a 23-16 loss to the St. Louis Rams.
