A coated article is provided so as to include a solar control coating having an infrared (IR) reflecting layer sandwiched between at least a pair of dielectric layers. The IR reflecting layer includes niobium nitride (Nb_xN_y). The use of niobium nitride enables the coated article to have good corrosion resistance to acid(s), good mechanical performance such as scratch resistance, and/or good color stability (i.e., a low E* value(s)) upon heat treatment (HT). The coated article may be heat treated (e.g., thermally tempered) in certain example embodiments of the invention.