Chris McAlister
American football player (born 1977)
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Christopher James McAlister (born June 14, 1977) is an American former professional football player who was a cornerback for 11 seasons in the National Football League (NFL). He is currently the defensive backs coach of the Louisville Kings of the United Football League (UFL). He played college football for the Arizona Wildcats, earning unanimous All-American honors. He was selected by the Baltimore Ravens in the first round of the 1999 NFL draft, and played for the Ravens for 10 seasons before playing his final season with the New Orleans Saints. He was the Ravens' starting right cornerback in the ballclub's Super Bowl XXXV triumph.[1]
Pasadena, California, U.S.
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| Louisville Kings | |||||||||||||||
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| Title | Defensive backs coach | ||||||||||||||
| Personal information | |||||||||||||||
| Born | June 14, 1977 Pasadena, California, U.S. | ||||||||||||||
| Listed height | 6 ft 1 in (1.85 m) | ||||||||||||||
| Listed weight | 210 lb (95 kg) | ||||||||||||||
| Career information | |||||||||||||||
| Position | Cornerback (No. 28, 21, 29) | ||||||||||||||
| High school | Pasadena | ||||||||||||||
| College |
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| NFL draft | 1999: 1st round, 10th overall pick | ||||||||||||||
| Career history | |||||||||||||||
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Coaching | |||||||||||||||
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| Awards and highlights | |||||||||||||||
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| Career NFL statistics | |||||||||||||||
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Early life
McAlister was born in Pasadena, California, and attended Pasadena High School.[2] As a high school football quarterback, he threw for 1,153 yards and rushed for 1,302 yards and also returned three punts and two interceptions for touchdowns. He won the conference player of the year and California's Most Valuable Player award in his senior year. McAlister also played basketball and, under Coach Bill Duwe, won the CIF championship in 1995. He also lettered in track. Pasadena High School retired his football jersey No. 9 in 2001.
College career
McAlister originally committed to UCLA, where his father James was a star running back in the 1972–73 seasons. McAllister went to Mt. San Antonio College before transferring to the University of Arizona and playing for the Arizona Wildcats football team from 1996 to 1998. He had an illustrious career at Arizona where he won unanimous All-America first-team honors and was a first-team All-Pac-10 selection for 3 straight seasons. He is only the 7th player in college football history (1st in Arizona history) to return a kickoff, punt and interception for touchdowns in the same season.[3] His 18 interceptions at the end of his Arizona career ranked 3rd on the school's career-record chart behind Chuck Cecil and Jackie Wallace.
Professional career
Pre-draft
| Height | Weight | Arm length | Hand span | 40-yard dash | 10-yard split | 20-yard split | 20-yard shuttle | Three-cone drill | Vertical jump | Broad jump | ||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 6 ft 1+1⁄8 in (1.86 m) | 205 lb (93 kg) | 30+1⁄4 in (0.77 m) | 10 in (0.25 m) | 4.53 s | 1.58 s | 2.66 s | 4.08 s | 6.90 s | 38.0 in (0.97 m) | 10 ft 1 in (3.07 m) | ||
| All values from 1999 NFL Combine[4][5] | ||||||||||||
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Baltimore Ravens
The Baltimore Ravens selected Chris McAlister in the first round of the 1999 NFL draft, as the tenth overall pick.[6]
McAlister had a solid rookie season in which he recorded 47 tackles (45 solo), 5 interceptions, and 16 passes deflected. He made his NFL debut at the St. Louis Rams on September 12, 1999. At season's end, he was named to College & Pro Football Newsweekly's 1999 All-Rookie Team. McAlister had another solid season in 2000 as the Ravens won the Super Bowl and he had a key interception in Super Bowl XXXV against the New York Giants. He returned an intercepted Vinny Testaverde pass 98 yards for a touchdown in the second quarter of the Ravens' 34–20 regular-season finale home victory over the New York Jets on 24 December 2000.[7]
McAlister set a NFL record for the longest play when he returned an unsuccessful Jason Elam field goal attempt 107 yards for a touchdown to end the first half of the Ravens' 34–23 Monday Night Football home win over the Denver Broncos on 30 September 2002.[8] This record was later broken by Nathan Vasher on a 108-yard field goal return, tied by Devin Hester and eventually broken again by Antonio Cromartie on a 109-yard field goal return in 2007.
McAlister earned his first Pro Bowl selection in 2003. He had 43 tackles. McAlister also intercepted three passes for 93 yards. That included an 83-yard run for a score.
In 2004, McAlister signed a 7-year, $55 million contract.
McAlister had arguably the best season of his career in 2006. He had two touchdowns that year and made his third Pro Bowl. But his last two seasons in Baltimore were marked by injuries and inconsistent play. In 2008, in 5 starts before being put on Injured Reserve, he did however amass 16 tackles, 3 INTs and 1 fumble recovery, showing some of his old form.
Chris McAlister had his contract terminated by the Baltimore Ravens on February 16, 2009.[9]
New Orleans Saints
On November 17, 2009, McAlister signed with the New Orleans Saints.[10] In a December 6 game at the Washington Redskins, McAlister forced a fumble in overtime, which started the drive resulting in a game-winning field goal for New Orleans. However, he was released on December 8, just two months before the Saints would go on to win Super Bowl XLIV. McAlister finished 2009 with 4 tackles and the forced fumble.[11]
NFL statistics
Regular season
| Year | Team | GP | Tackles | Fumbles | Interceptions | |||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Comb | Solo | Ast | Sack | FF | FR | Int | Yds | Avg | Lng | TD | PD | |||
| 1999 | BAL | 16 | 47 | 45 | 2 | 0.0 | 0 | 0 | 5 | 28 | 5.6 | 21 | 0 | 21 |
| 2000 | BAL | 16 | 41 | 35 | 6 | 0.0 | 0 | 1 | 4 | 165 | 41.3 | 98 | 1 | 14 |
| 2001 | BAL | 16 | 71 | 63 | 8 | 0.0 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 0.0 | 0 | 0 | 10 |
| 2002 | BAL | 13 | 53 | 48 | 5 | 0.0 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 0.0 | 0 | 0 | 18 |
| 2003 | BAL | 15 | 43 | 33 | 10 | 0.0 | 0 | 0 | 3 | 93 | 31.0 | 83 | 1 | 14 |
| 2004 | BAL | 15 | 42 | 38 | 4 | 0.0 | 0 | 1 | 1 | 51 | 51.0 | 51 | 1 | 9 |
| 2005 | BAL | 14 | 48 | 46 | 2 | 0.0 | 1 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 0.0 | 0 | 0 | 13 |
| 2006 | BAL | 16 | 47 | 43 | 4 | 0.0 | 0 | 2 | 6 | 121 | 20.2 | 60 | 2 | 22 |
| 2007 | BAL | 8 | 19 | 17 | 2 | 0.0 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 0.0 | 0 | 0 | 9 |
| 2008 | BAL | 6 | 16 | 13 | 3 | 0.0 | 0 | 1 | 3 | 28 | 9.3 | 16 | 0 | 7 |
| 2009 | NO | 2 | 4 | 4 | 0 | 0.0 | 1 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0.0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| Career[12] | 137 | 431 | 385 | 46 | 0.0 | 2 | 6 | 26 | 486 | 18.7 | 98 | 5 | 137 | |
Postseason
Coaching career
McAlister has been the defensive backs coach with the Louisville Kings since the 2026 season.[13] He is one of five members of the Super Bowl XXXV Champion Ravens on the ballclub's coaching staff along with Chris Redman, Jamie Sharper, Brad Jackson and Tony Banks.[14]
Personal life
Chris McAlister's father, James McAlister, also played in the NFL for three seasons for the New England Patriots and Philadelphia Eagles during the 1970s. McAlister is divorced and has one daughter.[15] McAlister was married for three months.
