Jul 22 2005
Marino knew he was done
As a Steelers fan, I’m not going to sit around a fret about the fact that Dan Marino turned down an offer from the Steelers in 2000.
Sure, it would have been nice to see him return to western Pennsylvania for one last run. (While Marino was in college, Sports Illustrated ran a feature story on him with the headline, “He’s a Pittsburgh kind of guy.”) Still, Marino was at the end of his career and probably would have spent more time trying to mentor Kordell Stewart than building on any of his passing records. Would you have wanted that job?
Steelers fans should be a lot more upset that they didn’t draft Marino in 1983. Seven picks ahead of the Dolphins, Pittsburgh chose Texas Tech nose tackle Gabriel Rivera. He bolted for the USFL. Go Google Gabriel Rivera now and see what you find.
Of course, my favorite part of this story is Don Shula turning into a bitter old man. When asked if Marino benefitted from only having two coaches, Shula replied, “You mean he had one coach. Look at the numbers. They speak for themselves.” Yeah, Shula has two Super Bowl rings, and Johnson has… two Super Bowl rings. Can’t wait to see if Johnson and his hair enter that pissing contest…
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Gabe Riveria didn’t go to the USFL, he was in a drunck driving wreck in October just after he started playing for Pittsburg and was paraylized.