Texans founder McNair, 81, dead
HOUSTON — Robert “Bob” McNair, the man who brought the NFL back to Houston after the Oilers left for Tennessee by founding the Texans, has died. He was 81.
One of the league’s most influential owners, McNair had battled both leukemia and squamous cell carcinoma in recent years before dying in Houston on Friday. The team did not immediately release a cause of death but said he died peacefully with wife Janice and his family by his side.
“He was a very caring, thoughtful and passionate individual,” Texans coach Bill O’Brien said in a released statement. “As much as he cared about winning,
I think the thing
I will remember most about Mr. McNair is the way he cared about the players.”
When Houston lost the Oilers to Tennessee after the 1996 season, McNair made it his mission to return the NFL to the city. He formed Houston NFL Holdings in 1998, and on Oct. 6, 1999, he was awarded the 32nd NFL franchise. The Texans began play in 2002.
“He was the reason professional football returned to Houston, and he (led) our franchise with a laser focus on honesty, integrity and high character,” team president Jamey Rootes said in a released statement. “He was an amazing champion for Houston and worked hard to make sure our city received maximum value from the presence of the Texans and the NFL.”
His son, Cal McNair, who has been serving as the team’s chairman and chief operating officer, will lead the team in the wake of his father’s death. President George H.W. Bush, McNair’s longtime friend, issued a statement on his passing.
“Bob McNair wasn’t just the brightest point of light in Houston; he was one of the kindest and most generous people anywhere,” Bush said. “Nobody cared — or helped people — more, and that’s just one of the reasons I will always be proud Bob was my good friend. He was simply the best.”
Dallas Cowboys owner Jerry Jones raved about McNair and his contributions to the NFL.
“His love for his team, and especially his players, was unsurpassed by any NFL owner that I have known,” Jones said in a released statement. “I am most grateful and indebted to him for bringing Houston back the NFL and re-establishing that great metropolitan area in our state as an NFL city. I am privileged to have been his friend. We have lost a great Texan, sportsman and a wonderful person.”
McNair came under fire in 2017 when he said “we can’t have the inmates running the prison” during a meeting of the NFL owners about players who protest social and racial injustice by kneeling during the national anthem. McNair issued two apologies after the remarks became public, calling it a “very regretful comment.”
In response, almost all of the Texans kneeled during the anthem before their game against the Seattle Seahawks on Oct. 29, 2017, after no one on the team had kneeled before.
A powerful force in the NFL, McNair served as chairman of the league’s finance committee and as a member of the audit committee.
In August 2014 he spoke candidly about his battle with cancer, outlining the many procedures and treatments he endured to recover.
“In the past, if you mentioned cancer, people thought it’s a death sentence,” McNair said at that time. “That’s just not nearly the case.”
It was then he revealed he’d dealt with skin cancer for about 20 years. He also noted that he would remain in charge of the team but would work on delegating responsibilities to other members of his staff.