Joe Namath's unglamorous finish in L.A. should encourage Dan Marino to quit now.

The symmetry is remarkable. After 17 seasons with the Baltimore Colts, Unitas played in five games with the 2-11-1 Chargers, completing less than half his passes, only three of them for touchdowns. Namath, after 12 seasons with the New York Jets, played behind Pat Haden, completing less than half his passes, only three of them for touchdowns.

Don't do it, Dan.

Don't go there. Minnesota, that is.

John Elway, a fellow member in the distinguished Class of '83, was lucky (and good) enough to exit with a golden parachute, but that's simply not going to happen for you.

Let it go. Some things are just meant to be.

You have thrown 8,358 passes, completed 4,967 for 61,361 yards and 420 touchdowns -- the highest totals in NFL history. What do you have left to prove?

I know, I know. Unitas and Namath won championship rings before they lowered themselves by finishing in California.

Ego, invariably, is what drives champions. The fact that you don't have a ring leaves a sour, gnawing feeling in your stomach. You have said yourself that if you had won a title or two along the way you'd probably already be retired.

Don't think for a minute, though, that the Vikings are headed to the Super Bowl in Tampa.

It's a tempting thought, leading Minnesota to Super Bowl XXXV a few hours north of the city you lit up for 17 seasons before the Dolphins turned you out. But read my lips, Dan: It won't happen. It can't. Neither you nor the Vikings are up to the task.

Sure, Minnesota has a better chance of reaching the Super Bowl than the Dolphins. But that's not saying much, is it?

Not only will they send offensive coordinator Sherm Lewis and quarterback coach Alex Wood to your Weston, Fla., home to bring you up to speed on the offense, but they're saying you can take off Mondays and Tuesdays and commute to Minneapolis from Florida.

And then there is a caliber of offensive talent you haven't had the privilege of delivering the ball to, even in the heyday of Clayton and Duper. Randy Moss. Cris Carter. Robert Smith. The system is so passer-friendly that the Vikings have used three different quarterbacks in the last three seasons -- Brad Johnson, Randall Cunningham and Jeff George -- and made the playoffs every time. Marino-to-Moss. It's a pleasant thought, isn't it?

Well, think about this:

The Vikings allowed 43 sacks a year ago, and while George isn't exactly hell on wheels, compared to you he's Carl Lewis. And now Minnesota has lost guard Randall McDaniel and center Jeff Christy to the Tampa Bay Buccaneers and tackle Todd Steussie suffered through a wretched season. Can you say 60 sacks?

The salary cap has caught up with the Vikings, to the point that defensive tackle John Randle is reportedly furious with head coach Dennis Green that nothing can be done about the defense, which is awful. Remember the days when you could bail out the Dolphins by throwing four touchdown passes a game? Last year the Vikings' defense gave up three touchdowns every game and you have averaged just over one touchdown pass per game for the last five seasons. One.

Green, it seems to me, has a messiah complex. He is obsessed with vintage quarterbacks and, to be fair, they have worked out quite nicely. Jim McMahon. Warren Moon. Cunningham. George. All quarterbacks who had been largely passed by until Green saved them.

He was ripped when he took Moss in the first round of the 1998 draft but, once again, Green was right when everybody else was wrong. Lately, though, he seems to be overreaching. Dimitrius Underwood, the 1999 first-round pick, couldn't be saved. Now, Green wants to right the biggest wrong in football. He's going to get you your ring, Danny boy.

Don't buy it. Let the crusading Green re-sign George and start working Daunte Culpepper, the future, into games.

You're 38. You have more money than Don Shula. You have five children. Spend time with your family. Hit nine-irons until your hands blister. Watch the Miami Dolphins struggle.

Where's the downside in that?

Greg Garber is a regular contributor to ESPN.com.