Bill McNair played football in high school at Robert E. Lee in Montgomery. He was also a varsity letterman at Livingston between 1958-60.

McNairs first head coaching job came at Jonesboro High School in Georgia in 1970. His three teams finished 11-19. He moved to Wilkes Academy in 1973 for five seasons and a 24-5 slate. McNairs next stop was at Haralson County High School in Georgia for three unsuccessful seasons.<

Coach McNair took over the football program at Flint River Academy in 1979. His 1980 squad won a State Championship with a 12-0-1 record. His two teams went 18-4-1. After eleven season in Georgia with a 58-53-1 record, Coach Bill McNair began his high school coaching career anew in Alabama as a head football coach.

His first stop came in 1981 when he was named the head coach at Thomasville High School. Over the next twelve seasons, his Tigers only suffered one losing season and reached the playoffs in all but one year.

His 1988 Tiger team finished 14-1 and won the Class 4A State Championship with a 44-6 thrashing of West Limestone in the title game. It was the first 14 win season in the storied history of football at Thomasville.

After the 1992 season, Coach McNair retired from the public school system and took over the football program at Southern Academy. In three seasons at Southern, his Cougars went 15-15. McNair also coached basketball at Southern.

His next three stops were at Marengo Academy (1996) Sparta Academy (1997) and Catherine Academy (1998). McNair served as the offensive coordinator at Clark Prep (1999-2007), where the Gators won AISA titles in 2000, 2001, 2004, 2005.

Patrician Academy came calling in 2008 and Coach McNair took the program to another level. In only four seasons, his teams went 12-0 in 2009 with an AISA title and repeated the next year with another 12-0 team. McNairs last team in 2011 finished 10-2 and his last State Championship as a coach. His overall record at Patrician was 42-5.

Coach McNairs football coaching record in Alabama is 181-70. His teams went 20-15 in nineteen playoff appearances. His overall football record in both states is 239-123-1.

McNair also coached basketball at Woodlawn early in his career before heading to Georgia. He was named the AISA Coach of the Year by the Alabama Sports Writers Association in 2011.