BATON ROUGE, La. — Few names carry more respect in HBCU football circles than Fred McNair, and now the longtime Alcorn State leader finds himself back in the spotlight — this time in Baton Rouge. Southern University announced Monday that McNair will serve as interim head coach for the remainder of the 2025 season following the dismissal of Terrence Graves.
McNair, who joined the Southern University coaching staff in the fall of 2024, brings both stability and championship pedigree to a program searching for direction. The older brother of the late NFL quarterback Steve McNair, Fred McNair spent seven seasons as head coach at Alcorn State, where he guided the Braves to multiple SWAC East Division titles and a conference championship in 2019.
After stepping down from Alcorn State following the 2023 season, McNair arrived in Baton Rouge as the Jaguars’ tight ends coach. He was promoted to quarterbacks coach prior to the 2025 season and then to co-offensive coordinator. He shared duties with Mark Frederick — as Southern tried to spark an offense that had grown stagnant. Now, in a matter of days, he’s gone from co-coordinator to caretaker of one of the most tradition-rich programs in HBCU football.
McNair will lead Southern against his HBCU
At Alcorn, McNair’s teams played with discipline and clarity. They didn’t waste possessions, didn’t flinch late in games, and often made the routine look surgical. That’s what Southern is hoping to rediscover after a 1–6 start that has seen it average just 17.5 points per game while surrendering nearly twice that…