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© 2025 COLD WIRE MEDIA. THE COLD WIRE IS A REGISTERED TRADEMARK OF COLD WIRE MEDIA. ALL RIGHTS RESERVED. USE OF THIS SITE CONSTITUTES ACCEPTANCE OF OUR TERMS OF USE AND PRIVACY POLICY

Sunday, May 3, 2026

The Life And Career Of Donovan McNabb (Story)

Ben Donahue
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The Life And Career Of Donovan McNabb (Story)
(Photo by Al Bello/Getty Images)

 

The NFL Draft is normally a time of great excitement and joy for those players selected by pro teams.

In 1999, Syracuse quarterback Donovan McNabb was eager to learn which team would pick him.

When then-NFL commissioner Paul Tagliabue announced McNabb’s name as the second overall selection of the Philadelphia Eagles, the Philly fans at the event booed him.

McNabb and his parents, understandably, were stunned by the reaction.

Eagles fans wanted their team to pick Texas running back Ricky Williams and were angry that the Philly front office didn’t heed their advice.

Ultimately, McNabb outlasted the other quarterbacks selected in the draft that year.

The signal-caller also won over the home crowd when he led the franchise to an appearance in the NFC Championship game two years later.

By 2004, the Eagles were in a Super Bowl and McNabb was no longer viewed by the Philly die-hards as a pariah.

Although he didn’t end his career in an Eagles uniform, McNabb is still viewed as one of the best players in team history.

This is the story of Donovan McNabb.

 

Mt. Carmel Kid

Donovan Jamal McNabb was born on November 25, 1976, in Chicago, Illinois.

The McNabb family lived in Dolton, a suburb of Chicago, and Donovan took to the sport of football and started playing in seventh grade.

After watching his favorite NFL players on television, McNabb tried to emulate their moves on the field.

“At that age, you try to use a lot of juke moves because you don’t want to be hit as a young child, playing football for the first time,” McNabb said. “You watched so many big hits on TV, you don’t want to be one of them. You make a lot of moves and see if you can avoid some people. Try to limit it to as few hits as you can.”

Although he played the quarterback position, McNabb wasn’t a popular kid.

Instead of sitting quietly in the background, McNabb reinvented himself as a class clown and didn’t take sports very seriously.

That changed, however, when McNabb’s parents enrolled him at Mt. Carmel High School.

As a student at the all-boys school, testosterone was in abundance along with the desire to compete.

McNabb threw himself into sports once again and shined on the gridiron, track, and the hardwood.

 

Limited College Interest

While playing for Mt. Carmel, McNabb starred alongside two future pro athletes, Simeon Rice and Antoine Walker.

Years later, McNabb would compete in the NFL against Rice while Walker played in the NBA for over a decade.

In 1991, McNabb and Rice helped the Caravan reach the state championship game and defeat Wheaton High School for the title.

Two years later, McNabb led Mt. Carmel back to the top as Chicago Prep Bowl champions.

That same season, he was recognized as a prep All-American and selected as the Player of the Year by the Chicago Defender newspaper.

Despite the honors, most colleges didn’t view McNabb as a quarterback at the next level.

Instead, a host of schools thought of him as more of an “athlete,” destined to play at one of the skill positions.

McNabb stuck to his guns, telling recruiters he wanted to play quarterback and letting them know he planned to play basketball in college.

His insistence on playing two sports severely limited McNabb’s options.

“People looked at him as a real good athlete. There were some recruiting analysts and coaches who said he couldn’t play quarterback in college,” said McNabb’s high school coach, Frank Lenti.

Ultimately, only Syracuse and Nebraska offered McNabb scholarships to play quarterback for them.

Since the Orangemen also had a good hoops program led by legendary coach Jim Boeheim, McNabb chose to accept the Syracuse offer.

 

McNabb Hits the Ground Running

Quarterback Donovan McNabb of the Syracuse Orangemen

 

In 1994, McNabb took a redshirt year while head coach Paul Pasqualoni’s squad went 7-4.

Pasqualoni then promoted McNabb to the starting job over Kevin Johnson.

While the Orangemen went 9-3 in 1995, McNabb ran the team’s pass-option offense and excelled.

After passing for 1,991 yards, 16 touchdowns, and six interceptions and rushing the ball for 261 yards and two scores, McNabb was named the Big East Conference’s Rookie of the Year and selected first-team All-Conference.

During the season, McNabb found receiver Marvin Harrison for numerous big plays.

The duo broke a school record on October 21 when the quarterback connected with Harrison for a 96-yard touchdown against West Virginia.

Then, just days after leading Syracuse to a 41-0 rout of Clemson in the Gator Bowl (where he was named the MVP after 309 passing yards and four total touchdowns), McNabb joined Boeheim’s team as a walk-on.

Playing as a reserve, McNabb averaged one point and 0.6 rebounds per game while the Orangemen went 29-9 and advanced to the national title game.

Syracuse would lose to Kentucky (and former prep teammate, Walker), 76-67.

 

McNabb Breaks Another School Record

In 1996, McNabb passed for 1,776 yards, 19 touchdowns, and nine interceptions while rushing for a career-high 458 yards and three scores.

He was picked as the Big East Co-Offensive Player of the Year and first-team All-Conference and the Orangemen beat Houston in the Liberty Bowl.

McNabb then reported for duty on the hardwood and averaged 2.8 points and 1.3 rebounds per game.

During a contest against Georgetown, he scored a career-high 10 points.

When the 1996-97 basketball season concluded, McNabb stopped playing basketball and focused on football.

His difficult decision paid off in 1997 when he led the Big East in passing efficiency and was second in the conference in total offense and passing.

Including the team’s 35-18 loss to Kansas State in the Fiesta Bowl, McNabb threw for 2,488 yards, 20 touchdowns, six picks and added 404 yards and six touchdowns on the ground that year.

McNabb’s 2,982 combined yards set a program record.

The quarterback was picked as the conference’s Offensive Player of the Year and named first-team All-Big East.

 

Senior Year

Donovan McNabb #5, Quarterback for the University of Syracuse Orange
(Photo by Vincent Laforet/Getty Images)

 

Syracuse had a difficult 1998 season, finishing with an 8-5 record and a loss to Florida in the Orange Bowl.

However, in September, McNabb nearly led the Orangemen to an upset of 10th-ranked Tennessee, eventually losing 34-33.

He also single-handedly beat the Miami Hurricanes with two passing and three rushing touchdowns in a 66-13 rout.

During his senior year, McNabb passed for 2,134 yards, 22 touchdowns, and five interceptions, and rushed for 438 yards and a career-high eight touchdowns.

His 22 passing touchdowns tied a program record.

McNabb broke more conference records when he was voted the Big East Offensive Player of the Year for the third time and first-team All-Conference for the fourth time.

The four-year starter posted a 35-14 overall record and passed for 8,389 yards, 77 touchdowns (both were school and conference records), and 26 interceptions while compiling 1,561 yards and 19 scores on the ground.

McNabb set several more program records including total yards per game (221.1) and passing efficiency (155.1).

Two years after he left Syracuse, McNabb was picked as the Big East’s Player of the Decade.

Syracuse later added him to its Football All-Century Team and retired McNabb’s number 5.

 

Boo-Birds Greet McNabb at the 1999 Draft

flag with the NFL logo waving

 

Heading into the 1999 NFL Draft, McNabb was one of five potential first-round quarterbacks along with Akili Smith, Tim Couch, Cade McNown, and Daunte Culpepper.

Unfortunately, just like he experienced when searching for colleges, pro teams wondered if McNabb could play quarterback at the NFL level.

“It really started to bother me after my redshirt freshman year,” McNabb said in 1999. “I’d pick up a preseason magazine, and they’d call me an all-purpose quarterback or an option quarterback. I can’t stand that label. Throughout my career, I’d hear people say, ‘Syracuse doesn’t like to throw the ball.’ I took that personally. In my senior year I tried to learn more about every aspect of the passing game and take my performance to another level.”

Setting conference and school records at Syracuse helped McNabb’s standing in NFL circles, though there were still some doubters.

Thankfully, those doubters didn’t include the Philadelphia Eagles who had seen enough from the quarterback to know they wanted to draft him.

New head coach Andy Reid had just been hired from the Green Bay Packers and he saw some of the same characteristics in McNabb that he saw in his former pupil, Brett Favre.

“It’s unfair to compare anyone to Brett,” said Reid at the time, “but there are a lot of similarities between Brett and Donovan: the athletic ability, the confidence, the leadership qualities.”

At the same time the Eagles were planning to take McNabb with their second overall pick, seemingly the entire city of Philadelphia, including Mayor Ed Rendell, desperately wanted the franchise to select University of Texas running back Ricky Williams.

When the Eagles made their pick at Madison Square Garden in New York City, the Philly fans greeted McNabb with a steady stream of boos.

The response surprised McNabb and his family.

“Did you hear that, Mom?” he said to his mother, Wilma, as she greeted him in the waiting area. “They booed me.”

Knowing full well what to expect from their notoriously fickle fans, the Eagles had warned McNabb what might happen, although it was still a shock to his system.

“I guess the whole town was rooting for Ricky,” said McNabb. “What could I do?”

 

McNabb Wins Over (Most) of the Fans

Quarterback Donovan McNabb #5 of the Philadelphia Eagles moves back
Mandatory Credit: Tom Pidgeon /Allsport

 

McNabb was understandably disappointed at the response of Philly fans.

However, he knew that his play would win them over.

The organization, as well as his college coach, believed the same thing.

“They don’t know it yet, but they’re going to love him in Philadelphia,” said Syracuse coach Paul Pasqualoni. “It’s a great marriage. In that city, with that offense, if they just give him a chance, they’ll find out what a special player they’ve got.”

In 1999, the rookie started six games while Philly went 5-11.

Then, in 2000, a new century brought a new culture to the franchise.

McNabb started all 16 games and put the fans on their feet by throwing for 3,365 yards, 21 touchdowns, 13 interceptions, and rushing for a career-high 629 yards with six rushing scores and came in second to Marshall Faulk for NFL MVP.

He was voted to his first of six Pro Bowls as the Eagles went 11-5 and advanced to the divisional round before losing to the New York Giants.

In 2001, McNabb had another 3,000-yard passing season and Philly reached the NFC Championship game before bowing out to the St. Louis Rams, 29-24.

“We’re two years in, and Donovan hasn’t reached his potential yet,” said Reid in 2001. “That will happen in two more years, when he moves into his prime. As a rule it takes four years for a quarterback to master the position. That’s the exciting part, to think about what’s ahead of him.”

Any questions about McNabb’s toughness were answered in 2002 when he passed for four touchdowns against Arizona on a broken ankle.

The injury limited him to just 10 games, but McNabb returned in time to help the Eagles reach the NFC title game again before losing to Tampa Bay.

 

Super Bowl At Last

superbowl

 

In 2003, 3,200 passing yards and a third consecutive Pro Bowl weren’t good enough for McNabb and his teammates.

Philly lost for the third year in a row in the NFC Championship, this time to the Carolina Panthers.

That same year, controversial radio host, Rush Limbaugh, was working for ESPN and made an off-hand comment about McNabb and Black quarterbacks that received severe backlash.

“Sorry to say this, I don’t think he’s been that good from the get-go,” said Limbaugh after Philly’s 0-2 start. “I think what we’ve had here is a little social concern in the NFL. The media has been very desirous that a black quarterback do well. There is a little hope invested in McNabb, and he got a lot of credit for the performance of this team that he didn’t deserve. The defense carried this team.”

Limbaugh’s statement eventually led to his resignation from the network.

McNabb proved him wrong by getting the Eagles back to the NFC Championship game in ‘03.

In 2004, the quarterback passed for 3,875 yards, 31 touchdowns (career-best) and eight picks.

Philly won a franchise-best 13 games and took down Minnesota and Atlanta in the playoffs to reach Super Bowl XXXIX against the New England Patriots.

Needless to say, by then (most) Eagles fans believed McNabb could walk on water and forgot all about Williams.

Incidentally, the running back had retired in 2004 after numerous failed drug tests, though he would return to football in 2005.

In the Super Bowl, McNabb (who may or may not have been ill that day, depending on who was asked) tossed three interceptions but kept Philly close with 357 yards and three passing touchdowns.

By the end, the Eagles ran out of time and lost their first title game in nearly a quarter century, 24-21.

 

Up-and-Down Years

Philadelphia Eagles quarterback Donovan McNabb rushes for a second-quarter
(Photo by Al Messerschmidt/Getty Images)

 

The 2005 Eagles regressed to 6-10 as McNabb was limited to nine starts due to injury.

It also didn’t help that receiver Terrell Owens gave the team headaches with his constant complaining.

Owens left the team in 2006 and the Eagles went 10-6 before losing in the divisional round.

In 2007, McNabb passed for over 3,000 yards for the first time since ‘05 but Philly missed the postseason.

One year later, McNabb threw for a career-best 3,916 yards as the Eagles went 9-6-1.

Despite barely breaking .500, the franchise advanced to the NFC title game before losing to Arizona.

Then, in 2009, the signal-caller returned to his first Pro Bowl since 2004 after slinging the ball for 3,553 yards, 22 touchdowns and 10 interceptions.

During the final game of the regular season, McNabb made some mistakes against the Dallas Cowboys that led to a loss and a first-round playoff bye.

The two teams met again a week later in the wild-card round, but the Eagles lost, 34-14.

 

McNabb Leaves for Washington

Donovan McNabb #5 of the Washington Redskins throws a pass
(Photo by Jim McIsaac/Getty Images)

 

In the spring of 2010, Reid and the Eagles decided not to bring McNabb back and traded him to the Washington Redskins.

New Washington head coach Mike Shanahan wanted an established veteran to upgrade his team, which had gone 4-12 the previous year under Jim Zorn.

“I’m really excited about my future with the Washington Redskins,” McNabb said in a statement Sunday night. “I’m eager to work with Coach [Mike] Shanahan. He’s been a very successful coach with a couple of Super Bowl victories on his resume. While it has been my goal to win a Super Bowl in Philadelphia, we came up short. I enjoyed my 11 years, and know we shared a lot more good times than bad.”

That season, McNabb passed for over 3,300 yards but had 15 interceptions and 14 touchdowns.

In the final few games of the Redskins 6-10 season, McNabb was benched for Rex Grossman.

 

Final Season in Minnesota 

Donovan McNabb #5 of the Minnesota Vikings celebrates
(Photo by Hannah Foslien/Getty Images)

 

The positive beginning in Washington ended after one year.

In the summer of 2011, the Redskins and Minnesota Vikings agreed on a trade to send McNabb to the Vikings for a sixth-round pick.

He started six games and threw for 1,026 yards and four touchdowns, but Minnesota went 1-5.

In mid-October, first-year head coach Leslie Frazier benched McNabb in favor of rookie Christian Ponder.

Then, the team released McNabb in early December so he could find work with a club headed to the postseason.

“We sat down and talked, and just as we communicated to one another about what we thought was best for our team and best for him going forward, (it was) just a mutual decision,” Frazier said. “We both agreed that this was probably going to be the best thing to do.”

McNabb looked at the opportunity as a fresh start somewhere else.

“I know I have a lot of football left in me,” McNabb told reporters.

None of the other NFL teams shared that view and he went unsigned.

 

McNabb Retires

Retirement

 

McNabb officially retired from the game in 2013 as a member of the Eagles.

During his 13-year career, McNabb passed for 37,276 yards, 234 touchdowns, 117 interceptions, and rushed for 3,459 yards and 29 scores.

Currently, McNabb still leads the Eagles all-time in several categories including passing yards (32,873), touchdown passes (216), total touchdowns (244), and total offensive yards by a quarterback (36,115).

He was a six-time Pro Bowler, played in one Super Bowl, and was added to the Eagles’ 75th Anniversary Team and the team’s Hall of Fame.

Since his retirement, Philly has retired McNabb’s number 5 and he has also been inducted into the Philadelphia Sports Hall of Fame.

 

Life After Football

Donovan McNabb attends SiriusXM
(Photo by Cindy Ord/Getty Images for SiriusXM)

 

After leaving football, McNabb became a broadcaster and worked for the NFL Network, ESPN and Fox Sports 1.

During that time he was arrested for a DUI in Arizona in 2015 and sentenced to jail and house arrest.

Then, in late 2017, ESPN suspended McNabb after learning of sexual harassment allegations by the former quarterback when he was employed with the NFL Network.

He was fired by ESPN a month later.

Since then, McNabb and his wife, Raquel, have been actively involved in charity efforts and he returned to the media in 2023 with the website Outkick, owned by the Fox Corporation.

 

References

https://www.beverlyreview.net/sports/article_d8899662-21cd-11e6-9ade-637a74feecb9.html

https://www.encyclopedia.com/education/news-wires-white-papers-and-books/mcnabb-donovan-1976

www.twincities.com

https://www.augustachronicle.com/story/sports/nfl/2011/07/28/vikings-deal-mcnabb/14531689007/

https://vault.si.com/vault/1999/05/17/head-games-as-if-turning-around-the-eagles-werent-tough-enough-their-new-quarterback-no-2-draft-choice-donovan-mcnabb-must-also-win-over-phillys-phickle-phans

https://vault.si.com/vault/2001/07/30/eagle-scout-philadelphias-fun-loving-straight-arrow-quarterback-donovan-mcnabb-has-fans-eating-out-of-his-hand

https://syndication.bleacherreport.com/amp/83277-the-soul-of-philadelphia-the-story-of-donovan-mcnabb.amp.html

https://cuse.com/sports/2005/5/31/dmcnabb

http://www.orangehoops.org/dmcnabb.htm

https://www.sports-reference.com/cfb/players/donovan-mcnabb-1.html

https://www.espn.com/nfl/news/story?id=5055346

https://www.britannica.com/biography/Donovan-McNabb

https://www.si.com/nfl/eagles/news/philadelphia-eagles-donovan-mcnabb-howie-roseman-jalen-hurts-washington-redskins-commanders

https://www.donovanmcnabb.com/

https://www.pro-football-reference.com/players/M/McNaDo00.htm

https://www.usatoday.com/story/sports/nfl/2017/12/12/donovan-mcnabb-eric-davis-suspended-espn-investigates-sexual-harassment-allegations-nfl-network/943898001/

https://www.foxnews.com/entertainment/espn-fires-donovan-mcnabb-eric-davis-after-sexual-misconduct-probe

NEXT:  The Life And Career Of Brian Dawkins (Story)

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Ben Donahue
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Over 25 years of experience in sports including coach, athletic director, game day operations, media relations, football operations, and scout. He is [...]

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