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Saturday, January 13
What if Marino had signed with Minnesota?
By Greg Garber
ESPN.com
Maybe the thought crosses his mind as he drifts off to sleep in his Weston, Fla. estate. Perhaps it creeps in when he is standing on the tee and admiring the flight of a well-struck white, dimpled ball. Or does this burning question cling closer to his consciousness? Does it haunt him?
Surely, Dan Marino wonders ... what if? What if he had signed a contract for the 2000 season with the Minnesota Vikings?
|  | | Dan Marino entertained an offer to become the Vikings' starting QB last March. |
Back in March, Vikings head coach Dennis Green made a big play for the most prolific quarterback in NFL history. He said he'd send two assistant coaches to Florida to teach him the system, said he could have Mondays and Tuesdays off and commute from the Sunshine State. More important, Green offered an offense that even Marino had never had the pleasure of operating, a unit that featured a glittering troika of wideouts Randy Moss and Cris Carter and running back Robert Smith.
Marino toyed with the idea briefly, then retired to an idyllic life; he immersed himself in his five children, his golf game, and the unconditional love a community lavishes on its former sports heroes.
When the Vikings advanced to Sunday's NFC championship game against the New York Giants they found themselves on the brink of a superb season.
What if? It has become a tantalizing question, a delicious parlor game.
Marino's private thoughts remain, well, private. His wife Claire, speaking from the Marino home earlier this week, said she didn't think her husband would be interested in talking about that hypothetical situation.
When word of the Vikings' intentions surfaced, former Minnesota quarterback Sean Salisbury was one of those in favor of drafting Marino for one more championship run.
"Oh, yeah," said Salisbury, preparing for Thursday's NFL 2Night show on ESPN. "I was like, 'Go get him.' I'm a huge Marino fan, and here was a championship-caliber team with two big-play wideouts, the best he'd seen since Clayton and Duper, better than those two, and a great runner in Robert Smith. What a way to end a career.
"But today I've got to tell you, at this stage of his career, Daunte Culpepper was a better fit. The difference is young legs, fresh legs. Culpepper answered a lot of questions and got to places I don't think Dan couldn't have gotten to. I don't think the Vikings would be sitting in this position if they had signed Dan."
If Marino hadn't retired and left his numbers -- 8,358 attempts, 4,967 completions, 61,361 yards and 420 touchdowns -- for bronzing in Canton, he conceivably could have landed on one of three teams: 1) the Dolphins, 2) the Tampa Bay Buccaneers or, 3) the Vikings.
With the departure of Jimmy Johnson in Miami, it seemed an appropriate time to retool the franchise under Dave Wannstedt. Marino, who had a dismal season in 1999 -- he threw more interceptions (17) than touchdowns (12) for the first time in his 17 seasons -- never got the sense that he was truly wanted, despite public protestations to the contrary. The Dolphins were left with Damon Huard and Jay Fiedler. In Miami's two playoff games, Fiedler
threw six interceptions. They were lucky to beat Indianapolis and were
shut out by the Raiders. Clearly, Marino might have done better.
The Bucs, too, made the playoffs. But quarterback Shaun King failed to make big plays in a 21-3 wild-card loss at Philadelphia. Marino might have made it closer for the Bucs as well.
Would Marino have made the Vikings a better team? This point, given the
startling evolution of Culpepper, is debatable -- at best.
One shrill critic of the Vikings' overtures (yes, his initials are G.G.) suggested that the defections of guard Randall McDaniel and center Jeff Christy as free agents to Tampa Bay would leave Marino vulnerable,
giving rise to this now-humorous rhetorical question: Can you say 60
sacks?
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“ |
Just imagine Marino in the second
Super Bowl of his career -- in Tampa, just hours
from the city he served so well for so long.
Imagine a final chance, in the manner of John
Elway, to win the one prize that eluded him over
his distinguished career. ” |
As it turned out, the Vikings allowed only 34 sacks, better than expected. But what would the number have been if Marino had been in the pocket? Culpepper, you may remember, ran 13 times for 73 yards and three touchdowns in a season-opening victory against Chicago. For the record, Marino rushed for a net of 87 yards in his entire career. It wasn't until around midseason that Minnesota's offensive line became a cohesive group and Culpepper, all 255 pounds of him, started to look more comfortable in the pocket. Tackle Korey Stringer and center Matt Birk both made the Pro Bowl, but the thought persists that Marino might not have survived the season's first six games that included, ironically, the burly pass rushes of the Dolphins and Bucs.
Marino, who turned 39 during this season's third week, had grown increasingly fragile. He missed five games in 1999 with a pinched nerve, the most since a torn Achilles tendon in 1993. According to NFL personnel men, his rifle arm had diminished by a few calibers, and his mobility had left him as statuesque as his chiseled likeness outside Pro Player Stadium.
In his nine seasons as the Vikings' head coach, Green has demonstrated an uncanny ability to make controversial personnel decisions. More often
than not, it must be said, they work out. Moss himself is an example of
this, but consider the string of vintage quarterbacks: Jim McMahon,
Warren
Moon, Brad Johnson, Randall Cunningham and Jeff George.
Well, Culpepper just had a season that was worthy of all of them. After
throwing exactly zero passes his rookie year (Moss had one more than
Culpepper in 1999), Culpepper completed 297 of 474 passes for 3,937
yards (62.7 percent), 33 touchdowns and only 16 interceptions.
If Marino had started ahead of Culpepper, it is reasonable to assume he might have been injured at some point. At best, Culpepper's development would have been stunted. At worst, he would have only a few mop-up performances under his belt.
So, are the Vikings a better team with Culpepper, rather than Marino? It is impossible to know but, clearly, they are a better team for the future
with Culpepper. At 23, he is the fifth-youngest quarterback to start a
championship game since the 1970 merger. Culpepper turns 24 on Super
Sunday and would be the second-youngest QB to play in the ultimate game. The
first? Dan Marino.
Would Marino have helped the Vikings avoid that three-game losing streak at the end of the regular season? Probably not, unless he could tackle -- Minnesota's defense allowed 104 points in losses to St. Louis, Green Bay and Indianapolis.
Marino is said to be enjoying his post-NFL life. He kept his finger in the game by appearing on HBO's Inside the NFL and attending a few Dolphins games and practices. He misses parts of football, a friend says, but not waking up sore on Mondays and Tuesdays.
If the Vikings beat the Giants, this juicy what-if question will become a compelling Super Bowl story. Just imagine Marino in the second Super Bowl
of his career -- in Tampa, just hours from the city he served so well for so long. Imagine a final chance, in the manner of John Elway, to win the one prize that eluded him over his distinguished career, the one he came closest to when the Dolphins lost to San Francisco 15 years ago in Super Bowl XIX.
Imagine.
You know Marino has.
Greg Garber is a senior writer for ESPN.com.
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