Fred McNair was the head coach at Alcorn State University a year ago – today he’s the tight ends coach at rival HBCU Southern University.
That might sound like a step back – but it doesn’t appear that McNair feels that way. He recently opened up about his transition from his alma mater, and a school he led to two SWAC titles, in an interview with “Locked on HBCU.”
“When you’re at a place so long, a place that you love and you’re a two-time graduate of the university – getting an opportunity to get my BS and my Masters – You tend to love the place that you graduated from. Your alma mater,” McNair said. “But I think, at the same time, your alma mater has to love you too. The things that you’ve done in the past, the winning tradition that we’ve had and the championships that we’ve brought in as a coaching staff. But I think some of the things that I really expected to happen – didn’t happen. Just coming from the leadership, things that wasn’t done right.”
McNair didn’t elaborate on exactly what things weren’t done right. But he said he knew it was time to make a move when it cost him his peace.
“Sometimes you lose a lot of sleep at night with some of the things you can’t control. When that stuff started happening, and you’re not really happy anymore – it’s time to move on and find your happy place. The biggest thing for me – it was bittersweet but I had to do something for myself to kind of make myself happy and unstressful. I’m at a place now where I can sit back and enjoy myself, being a position coach. And hopefully one day I’ll have the opportunity to be a head coach again.”
It looked like he wouldn’t have to wait long to get that shot. McNair was reportedly the front-runner for the Texas Southern University job opening in December. McNair says he interviewed for the job and hoped to get it, but after several highly publicized board of trustees meetings, Cris Dishman – not McNair – was named as head coach.
The even-keeled McNair has taken the events of the last year in stride.
“I understand the business process of everything,” McNair said of the Texas Southern University job. “As a head coach and as a position coach – things happen. It’s really nothing to cry about. You just have to roll your sleeves up and find other employment.”
That other employment came from the HBCU in Baton Rouge, whom McNair often battled as a player and a coach. He said he always admired the program and its fan-base, even as an opponent.
“Thank God that Southern reached out to me. Coach (Terrence) Graves, and coach Mark Fredrick reached out to me one day and asked about this job here here. So I was head over heels when they called me.”
There’s no telling how long Fred McNair will be in Baton Rouge. While calling Southern his ‘happy place’ he also stated he hopes to be a head coach once again. For now, he’s in the Columbia Blue and Gold and loving it.