ATHLETE

One of the most endearing players of the Tennessee Titans era, O’Donnell retired following the 2003 season, his fifth year with the organization and 14 th NFL season. In his tenure with the Titans (1999-03), he became one of the team’s most respected personalities in the locker room and in the community. On the field, he was widely considered one of the best and most proven back-up quarterbacks in the NFL, serving as a mentor for Steve McNair and Billy Volek, among others. The former Maryland Terrapin showed his ability to lead the team to victory when inserted as a starter or as a McNair’s replacement during games. Overall, he was 6-2 starting in place of McNair. O’Donnell ranked third in career passing yardage for the Steelers (10,104) after playing six years in Pittsburgh. He led the Steelers to Super Bowl XXX in 1995 and earned his first career Pro Bowl invitation following 1992 season. At the time of his retirement, he ranked 22 nd all-time with an 81.8 passer rating, and no active player at the end of the 2003 season had a lower career interception percentage than O’Donnell’s 2.1 percent (68 INTs, 3,229 attempts). In his 100 career regular season starts, he earned a 55-45 record (.550) and was 3-4 as a starter in the postseason. He was signed by the Titans on July 23, 1999 after being waived by Cincinnati on April 19. O’Donnell played with the Steelers (1990-95), New York Jets (1996-97), and Cincinnati Bengals (1998) before joining the Titans. He was originally drafted by Pittsburgh in third round (70th overall) of the 1990 NFL Draft.