- 2 days ago
Shaun & PC bring on hall of famer John McClain as he remembers & tells stories of the McNairs.
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00:00Remembering Janice McNair for everything you did for the Texans and the city of Houston.
00:07Sports Radio 610 says thank you.
00:10Here's Area 45 with Berjani and Creighton.
00:15Joining us on the Texas Mattress Makers Hotline.
00:19Normally you hear him on Wednesday nights.
00:21In fact, maybe we will have him again tomorrow night on Wednesday night.
00:25But with the news of the passing of the matriarch of the Houston Texans, Janice McNair,
00:32we needed to speak with the one and only General John McClain who joins us right now.
00:39John, I know that you are doing a couple of screenings tonight for your movie.
00:44And I really appreciate on behalf of Sean and Colin and everybody here at the station,
00:49you taking time with us yet again today to talk about the passing of Mrs. McNair.
00:55I don't think anybody in media has spent more time with the McNairs than you have.
01:01You've been here with the McNairs from day one, from before the team was even here.
01:06What was your first impression upon meeting Mrs. McNair?
01:13Well, first of all, thanks for having me.
01:15And, yes, I will be back tomorrow night if you guys want me.
01:19And I did walk out of the screening because I've only seen it 110 times.
01:26So you guys gave me a nice break.
01:29But the thing that I always knew about Janice from the time I met her in 1997 when I went
01:40over to interview Bob
01:41and I thought Janice, to meet him for the first time, this was – we all thought Bud was leaving
01:49in 2000 after the 15th season.
01:53But then Houston wanted to put the screws to him, make him stay one more year through the end of
01:58his lease.
01:59So Bob McNair had already started his bid to get a team to replace the Oilers.
02:05And Bob was the only person to come forward.
02:10If Bob and Janice McNair had not gotten the Texans, we would not have a team because, you know,
02:18we would have had to get somebody to move.
02:21Maybe they would have.
02:22But nobody else stepped up because the price of doing business, $800 million.
02:28The McNair's would have to be nutso to give $800 million for an NFL franchise.
02:36Now, of course, it's worth $6 or $7 billion or more.
02:39And so Janice always thought she should be in the background.
02:44Bob liked to run decisions by her.
02:48They'd known each other since college in South Carolina.
02:52They came here in 1960.
02:54They had no money.
02:56Their oldest daughter, a crib, was the top drawer.
03:02Well, I don't know if it was the top drawer.
03:04It might have been the bottom.
03:05In a chest of drawers in their one-bedroom apartment.
03:08They didn't have money.
03:10And so they made money.
03:12They made a lot of money.
03:13And they did it the hard way.
03:14They went broke together.
03:16They declared bankruptcy together.
03:21And they always had a vision.
03:23If they ever made money, made money, once their family was taken care of, they wanted to give it away.
03:31And I remember when Bob died in 18, I did the best I could using every source I could come
03:38up with to find a number about money they'd given away.
03:43And at the time, it was $750 million.
03:45And no telling what it is today.
03:48Because under Jazz McNair running the franchise, they continued to give away money.
03:54And Bob trusted her opinion.
03:57He always said that Jazz had a good head for business.
04:02And people talked about how dignified she was.
04:08So much grace.
04:09She was a Southern belle from South Carolina.
04:13And I can't tell you how much I respected her.
04:17So that first interview, I went over to her house in 97.
04:21And she came out and talked, but she didn't want to be interviewed.
04:24She thought that was Bob's place.
04:26She just preferred to be in the background.
04:29And I talked, Tony Wiley, their first VP of communication, who's from Houston and Cypher and TSU, texted me today.
04:38And he said, I never heard her raise her voice one time to anybody.
04:44And she used to say, people should not misconstrue my kindness for weakness.
04:53Because if she had to make a tough decision, she could make a tough decision.
04:58And I said, I don't know.
04:59I thought it was after she had her stroke.
05:02And she had to be in a wheelchair.
05:06And when Cal would leave the stadium, every day he would call her.
05:11And on his way home, he would tell her what happened that day.
05:16About practice.
05:17She wanted to know about practice.
05:19When she came to practice the last few years, and she was in her wheelchair, she was sharp as a
05:25tack.
05:25She just was in a wheelchair.
05:27And so she had an air-conditioned tent.
05:30And so I always asked Hannah or Joanne McNair.
05:35Hannah McNair, her sister Joanne that works for the Texans, if I could go see her.
05:40And I'd go down there, and she would have her notepad.
05:44She'd have a roster.
05:45And she'd be taking notes about what she saw at practice.
05:48She did that pregame.
05:49I'd go into her suite pregame and sit with her for a few minutes and just talk about the game.
05:56And she had her roster, her notes, and her pen.
05:58And she liked to keep score.
06:00And she liked to make notes about players.
06:04And she was very, very close with some players, especially Andre Johnson.
06:09She and Andre were a lot alike, very quiet, never did anything to bring attention to themselves.
06:17When we gave Janice the Houston Sports Awards and the Houston Sports Hall of Fame,
06:24we surprised her in her suite before a game.
06:30And she had no idea we were coming up there.
06:33And, of course, Cal and Hannah, the grandkids, were around.
06:36And John Lopez and I told her that she was receiving a Lifetime Achievement Award,
06:44just like Bob did a few years earlier.
06:47And her first response was, oh, I do not deserve that.
06:51And that's one of the things that made her such an impressive person,
06:56is because she didn't believe she deserved that.
07:00That's why she did.
07:01And there's a lot of people that knew Janice that will be so sad for a long time,
07:08even though she was 89 and lived a great life.
07:11And she's going to be missed by a lot of people.
07:15And I know Bob and Janice will be very happy knowing that Cal and Hannah
07:24will continue the traditions that they began when they got the franchise in October of 1999,
07:33when it was supposed to be L.A.
07:36The NFL wanted to go to L.A., gave them an exclusive negotiating period.
07:41But Bob McNair had the stadium, the expansion fee.
07:46He had everything ready to go.
07:48L.A. had nothing to go.
07:51He used to tell me, we're going to get the team.
07:53You can keep writing, the team's going to L.A.
07:56But I'm telling you, we're going to get the team.
07:59And he was right because of him.
08:01So people are so fired up about the Texans right now,
08:05we wouldn't have a Texans if it wasn't for Bob and Janice McNair.
08:10That's John McClain joining us on the Texas Mattress Makers Hotline.
08:14John, part of Cal's statement earlier today regarding his mother's passing,
08:20quote, outside of our family, nothing mattered more to her than her beloved Texans.
08:26Was the organization something that she was dug in on with Bob from day one,
08:32or like from a football perspective, the sport and it as a business,
08:37was that something that kind of she had to grow into in those early days?
08:43No, and I'll tell you, I'm writing Remembrance for their website on Friday,
08:48and I'm going to use this quote.
08:50Mark Berman talked to Justin Reed today, and Justin Reed talked about her,
08:55that she was everybody's grandmother,
08:58and talked about one time he was having a fundraiser over there,
09:01and she gets in her car and drives over and gets out and hands him a check
09:06because she wanted to contribute to his foundation and his fundraiser.
09:10And she did things quietly.
09:12Bob liked to do things quietly, and I told him early on,
09:17you want her on an NFL team, everything you do behind the scenes is going to become public,
09:21so you better be ready for it.
09:23And when he gave money to first responders after 9-11, I found out about it,
09:30told him I needed some quotes.
09:31He said, I don't want that out.
09:33He said, it looks like I'm blowing my own horn.
09:36I said, I told you if you're going to be an owner,
09:39there's going to be things get out that you don't like, and I'm writing it.
09:42I'm sorry, but I'm writing it, so can I get a quote?
09:46He said, no.
09:47So I wrote it, and he said, I'm still getting used to this.
09:51And they were because they were humble.
09:55They didn't come from money.
09:57You know, a lot of NFL owners, most of them, they didn't.
10:01They were bankrupt.
10:02They borrowed $2,000 to buy a truck and come to Houston.
10:07And, boy, there haven't been many that started off like them and where they are,
10:13the family is right now, and it was because they worked together.
10:18They were very smart.
10:20You know, Bob told me one time, I give away a lot of money because I want to help other
10:26people,
10:27people, and Janice is the lead on that.
10:29And he said, our family's taken care of.
10:33Our kids' families are taken care of.
10:35Our grandkids' families, our great-grandkids, and we don't even have any yet.
10:40They're going to be taken care of.
10:42It's set up.
10:42And they're never going to hurt for money.
10:45And we want to reach out and try to help people who are less fortunate than us.
10:52And the fact is, they did that.
10:55And one of the reasons was because they, where they came from and how far they'd come financially.
11:01And he told me he was bankrupt a couple of times.
11:05He said, I got in the telecommunications business way too early.
11:09And he said, I could have made a lot of money.
11:12I said, you already have.
11:14And I can't tell you the respect I had for both of them.
11:18When I would go to Bob's house to interview him or to talk to him about something,
11:24Janice would, we would be in his library.
11:26And Janice would always come in, sit in one of the chairs, and talk to her as well.
11:33And I got to know her a little bit.
11:35And that's why I had such great respect and admiration for that family.
11:41Houston has suffered another big loss when it comes to the McNair family.
11:48John, does it put a different slant on the season for the Texans?
11:55You know, Sean and I were discussing the Texans Twitter account has put a monogram up for Mrs. McNair.
12:02And it kind of resembles what a potential patch would look like.
12:06And does this become a, you know, I know for Bob, he always wanted to see the team win before
12:13he passed.
12:14And is this now kind of the, almost like the rally call for this team this year?
12:23You know, win one for Mrs. McNair.
12:26I'm sure they'll have a patch.
12:27Most do when an owner dies.
12:29And I'm glad.
12:30I wish Bob had gotten to see D'Amico as a head coach.
12:35Because Bob loved and respected D'Amico as a player.
12:37And I wish he'd been able to see that.
12:40And Janice did.
12:42Janice knows she's left this organization in great shape.
12:46And the team in great shape.
12:49And she knew everybody is so fired up for the season.
12:53And if somebody had told her, say last week, if Cal had gone in there and said,
12:59Mom, when you're on the other side, we're going to pay tribute to you by wearing a patch.
13:08And she would say, no, I don't deserve that.
13:12Which is all the more reason that she does.
13:15Because she really believed it.
13:17And that comes from being humble and having grace and just being kind to people.
13:26John, the last one for me in this regard.
13:29Just if you could expound a little bit on what Cal and Hannah have been doing since they seemingly had
13:38taken control in the everyday decisions with this organization now for a few years.
13:43Is the way that Bob and Janice operated their family life and the balance with it and the business.
13:52Has that provided like a template for how Cal and Hannah go about it now?
13:58Well, Cal is not Bob.
14:02One time back when the media could watch practice and we would hang it, Bob would bring the golf cart.
14:08And he would drive and Cal would ride.
14:10And he would come over and talk to the media after practice on the field.
14:15And I'd walk around and I'd tell Cal, I hope you're paying attention because your dad is great at this.
14:20He said, I prefer to be in the background.
14:23Dad likes to be out front.
14:25And one of the things that once they cleaned up the organization and got rid of like Jack Easterby and
14:32they hired Nick Casario and they hired Tomiko Ryans.
14:37And they got the organization in a place that everybody's so fired up about.
14:42And I think the one thing that they're doing today is what Bob and Janice did.
14:48You keep up with what's going on, but you don't make them do stuff on personnel.
14:54You hire Nick Casario.
14:55If you don't like the job he's doing, you fire him and go get somebody else.
15:01You hire, let D'Amico.
15:03D'Amico was hired by Casario.
15:05You know, they have signed off on it and they wanted D'Amico, but they weren't going to tell Nick,
15:11you have to hire D'Amico Ryans.
15:13And they give them the money that they need to operate.
15:17Look at all these big contracts.
15:18Other teams are like, oh, my God, I can't believe the Texans are spending $50 million a year on Will
15:24Anderson Jr.
15:26It's because the McNairs give them the resources.
15:29Bob said, I give them the resources.
15:31I give them the rope, but if I believe they hang themselves, I'll cut that rope and I'll go get
15:38somebody else.
15:39One time he fired two people in the organization.
15:42I don't even think they'd started playing.
15:44And he called me to give me a scoop, and I'd been playing golf.
15:48And he told me he'd fired them.
15:50I said, wow, I'm surprised.
15:52He said, I told you, if I have to make a tough decision, I'll make it.
15:57And so I pulled over to the side of the road and wrote the story for the Chronicle.
16:00And they are not absentee.
16:04They're there.
16:05They want to know what goes on.
16:07And Cal and Hannah, Hannah has taken a much more active role than Janice did.
16:14And Cal welcomes that.
16:16My last year at the Chronicle, my year writing for 610's website, and my year writing for Mattress Mac, and
16:24writing for the Texans' website,
16:25I did stories on every year for the publications, I did stories about the way Cal operates.
16:32And he welcomes Hannah's input because Hannah's a really smart person, and he likes that she's involved.
16:41I personally know.
16:42You know, it's the organization.
16:43And so they're running the way, running the organization the way it should be run, keeping up with what's going
16:51on, giving their people good money.
16:54And I don't think it'll be – I think it'll be a long time before they have to fire somebody
17:00like Casario or D'Amico because they've got things going great right now.
17:06And it doesn't show any signs of let up, and the fans should be very happy about that because that's
17:13what Bob envisioned.
17:14And until Bob got skin cancer and they had to peel off his face, he told me one time, he
17:21said, they'd peel my face off.
17:23And I said, man, I can't see the scars, he said, because I had a good plastic surgeon.
17:29And that was his envision for Cal to run the team and Cal and Janice to carry on that tradition
17:37as they tried to go to the Super Bowl for the first time.
17:41And I'm just sorry when they do that Bob and Janice won't be around to see it.
17:49That's John McLean with us on the Texas Mattress Makers Hotline.
17:52John, really appreciate the time tonight.
17:54We'll let you get back to the rest of your evening, and we'll chat tomorrow, okay?
17:58That sounds great, guys.
17:59Thank you very much, as always.
18:01Thanks, John.
18:01That's John McLean with us.
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