With a wide range of responsibilities centered around helping players and their families improve their quality of life as well as invest in their futures, Fred McAfee enters his third season as Director of Player Development. He also organizes continuing college education opportunities, internships, life skills training seminars, financial education classes and family assistance.

In addition, McAfee serves as a conduit between players and their dealings with coaches and management. He also helps rookies adjust to the NFL and assists former players in making the transition into life following their careers. He was a longtime standout as a Saints’ player, and retired following the 2006 season after a 15-year career.

The transition to the front office has been smooth for McAfee, who was known as a positive influence in the locker room during his time in the league. He played in 194 games in his career, including 122 contests in two stints with New Orleans. Drafted by the Saints in the sixth round of the 1991 NFL Draft, he is the only player in team history to have been on the roster for all three of the club’s division championships (1991, 2000, 2006).

McAfee first played for the Saints from 1991-1993, leading New Orleans in rushing as a rookie with a career-high 494 yards. That season the Saints won their first NFC West title. After a seven-game stint with the Arizona Cardinals in 1994, he was signed by Pittsburgh later that season. He stayed with the Steelers until 1997, and served as their special teams captain for two years.

McAfee rejoined the Saints in 2000 and was voted to the Pro Bowl in 2002 for his stellar special teams play. His final game in New Orleans was the 2006 finale vs. Carolina, and one of the final carries of McAfee’s career was a six-yard burst for a touchdown in the third quarter.

He attended Mississippi College, where McAfee graduated with a degree in Mass Communications. In 2007, he completed the NFL Managers Program at Stanford University’s Executive Education Graduate School of Business.