If Steve Young was going to play football again, it would have been for
the Denver Broncos, according to sources close to the player. And, yes, he wanted to continue his career. He didn't want to retire. It wasn't about the concussions, sources say. They insist that it wasn't about his new bride,
Barbara, who now carries his first born.
|  | | Steve Young kept the 49ers in Super Bowl contention after Joe Montana left. |
It was about playing his last game in a 49ers uniform. That was his dream. Young has always been a romantic, a sentimentalist, and one who had a vision of how it would all end.
The irony is that Young couldn't do what Joe Montana did. Montana hardly
hesitated to finish his work in a Kansas City Chiefs uniform. Interesting,
because in this case, Young didn't start his career in San Francisco (as
Montana did), but rather in Los Angeles with the USFL, and then the Tampa Bay
Buccaneers. If Montana could do it, then why couldn't Young?
Young had been a 49er since 1987. A great 49er. Thirteen seasons in one
uniform is a long time. What he experienced in recent weeks wasn't unlike
what Dan Marino experienced a few months ago. Marino wanted to keep playing,
but he couldn't bring himself to finish his career in another uniform.
One source said of Young, "His conscience is so strong, he agonized over
the loyalty issue, loyalty with the 49er fans, or to his teammates, and his
sense of 49er history."
See, Young couldn't get what he wanted in one place. Had he played with
the 49ers one or two more years, he wasn't going to win another Super Bowl.
He might have won a Super Bowl in Denver, which is why that was the only
playing option he would pursue, but he then he wouldn't end his career as a
49er.
"Steve is not going out exactly as he would like," said John York, the
team vice president and husband of 49ers owner Denise DeBartolo York. "He
really would have preferred to ride off on a horse in a charge."
Think about that. Usually, we talk about somebody riding off into the
sunset, a kind of serene, slow-motion picture. Young has never done anything
slow-motion. He's a charger. That's how he has done it all his life.
That's really why Young was at physical risk all his career. He played
the game with a tremendous passion. I'll never forget sitting with ex-NFL
linebacker Chris Spielman three years ago, just chatting about a bunch of
things. I asked Spielman, the ultimate tough guy, what tough guys he admired
the most in the NFL.
"Steve Young," was maybe the first name out of his mouth, and he didn't
name many more.
The thing about Young, he had unique physical skills to be at physical
risk.
"Steve had it all," said Broncos coach Mike Shanahan. "He not only had a
great arm, a great sense of timing, a great mind, but how many quarterbacks
run under 4.5 (in the 40) with running ability? He was the total package, and
he was willing to spend it all on the game."
Shanahan wouldn't divulge the details of his conversation this past
Monday with Young when everyone, including 49ers general manager Bill Walsh,
jumped to the conclusion that the left-handed quarterback would soon be a
Bronco. But, perhaps surprisingly to some, Shanahan did not put the
full-court press on Young.
"We had a really great conversation, but you don't hard-sell a guy that
smart," said Shanahan.
It is safe to assume that once Shanahan saw the torment Young was putting
himself through about tearing away from his legacy as a 49er, that he
counseled Young to retire.
Young's greatest years as a 49er came with Shanahan as his offensive
coordinator from 1992-1994. During that stretch, the 49ers' offense averaged
6.3 yards per play.
"People don't realize (how incredible) that is," said Shanahan.
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How many quarterbacks run under 4.5 with running ability? He was the total package, and he was
willing to spend it all on the game. ” |
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— Broncos coach Mike
Shanahan |
Young's greatest season came in '94 when he won his only Super Bowl,
capping it with a six-touchdown passing performance against San Diego. He won
just one Super Bowl, so he'll always be second in the 49er halls to Montana,
who won four. But I can remember ex-49ers coach George Seifert being almost
in awe of the team that presented the biggest obstacle at the time -- the
Dallas Cowboys. Montana might not have been able to conquer those Cowboys.
"If free agency doesn't come into play, Dallas wins five Super Bowls,"
Shanahan said in agreement.
One thing's for sure: Young is not retiring because he feared the shadow
of John Elway. Remember, this is the same guy who succeeded Jim McMahon at BYU and who had to overcome Montana's legacy.
"That's probably the single most important thing I'll remember about
Steve, the enormous shoes he had to fill," said Dwight Clark, the Cleveland
Browns GM and a former 49er as a player and executive. "He had to overcome
the problem of replacing the greatest quarterback of all time. Nobody's ever
had to do that like Steve had to do it.
"That's more pressure than anyone could ever talk about, and it was
talked about all the time. Just knowing the way Steve is, the internal
pressure he felt had to be unbelievable. And he not only took it on, but he
answered all the questions by winning the Super Bowl and putting together
some unbelievable statistics. No matter what happened, he pulled off
replacing a legend."
That is why Young himself has become a legend.
ESPN radio host Tony Kornheiser asked me where I would rate Young in the
'90s among Marino, Elway, Troy Aikman and Brett Favre. Believe it or not, I
was kind of caught off-guard by the question.
Marino is the greatest passer of all time. Elway is one of the greatest
quarterbacks of all time who got the happy ending that eluded Marino and
Young. Aikman won three Super Bowls in the '90s. Favre won a Super Bowl and
three MVPs.
Maybe it's the sentimentalist in me as Young approaches his day of
retirement, but I honestly believe that for the very reasons Shanahan and
Clark have stated, it was No. 8 who was the greatest of the past decade.
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