Tag: Steve Young

Steve Young almost joined Broncos after John Elway retired

After John Elway retired, Mike Shanahan tried to convince Steve Young to join the Broncos. Young retired instead, a decision he now regrets.

What could have been?

John Elway announced his retirement from the NFL on May 2, 1999. One year later, Steve Young announced his retirement on June 13, 2000, after numerous concussions, including one that ended his 1999 season.

Mike Shanahan, who served as the Denver Broncos‘ head coach from 1995-2008, wanted Young to reunite with him in Denver. Shanahan previously coached Young as an offensive coordinator with the San Francisco 49ers.

Young ended up retiring instead, a decision that he and his wife now regret.

“I spent time some in Denver and we were ready to — we were thinking about it,” Young said during an interview on the Pardon My Take podcast this week. “He [Shanahan] was all in. He was all in, and I just — I don’t know. My wife says that’s one of the things I … we were newly married at the time and she regrets not like pushing me harder to do it. I was kind of emotionally cooked.”

The Broncos went 11-5 in 2000 with Brian Griese under center. Twenty-four years later, Young admitted that he regrets not reuniting with Shanahan.

“I regret — I should have jumped in,” Young said. “I would have played 2000 to maybe two or three years, 2000, 2001, 2002, 2003 would have been the years I played in Denver if I would have done it.”

Young was a backup behind Joe Montana when the 49ers won Super Bowls XXIII and XXIV. After Montana’s retirement, Young won Super Bowl XXIX with San Francisco. Elway retired after winning Super Bowls XXXII and XXXIII with Denver. One can’t help but wonder if Shanahan and Young might have won another Super Bowl with the Broncos had the QB not retired.

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Bengals slammed by Hall of Famer for failing Joe Burrow

An NFL legend says what many are thinking about the Bengals.

The topic of exactly what has gone wrong for the Cincinnati Bengals this year is complicated, to put it lightly.

But for an NFL legend like Steve Young, the central figure behind the struggles to capitalize on an MVP-worthy season for Joe Burrow is simple — Bengals ownership.

While Young admitted that some of the struggles across the NFL could be attributed to shorter summer training camps and preseasons that lead to simple, sloppy ball, for the Bengals, he looks right at ownership.

“I think what you gotta do is not look at Joe Burrow.” Young said. “You probably have to look at everyone else, including we don’t do a good job of looking at the ownership in the NFL. And I think we should do more of that, personally. Because I think it speaks to a lot of what’s happening on the field. Of course, we can’t fire the owners…I’m just saying when things look really weird, go to the top and then work down.”

It’s certainly something we’ve harped on before and is becoming more apparent to even the average fan at this point.

Cincinnati continually loses talent, whether it’s an All-Pro like Jessie Bates or core pieces such as DJ Reader and fails to properly replace them. It’s the same story as in the past with names like Andrew Whitworth and Kevin Zeitler.

Now, there’s the messy contract standoff with Ja’Marr Chase, the Tee Higgins franchise tag and a host of other issues.

Fans might clamor for Zac Taylor to be on the hot seat, but as Young accurately points out, the problems, historically, have stemmed from offices above that position.

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WATCH: Bills’ HOF quarterback Jim Kelly ranks ’90s QBs

WATCH: Bills’ HOF quarterback Jim Kelly ranks ’90s QBs

Buffalo Bills legend and Hall of Fame quarterback Jim Kelly joined the ‘Centered on Buffalo’ podcast recently to discuss quarterbacks in the 1990s.

Former Bills Pro Bowl center Eric Wood, the podcast host, asked Kelly to rank four ’90s QBs in order: Dan Marino, Warren Moon, Steve Young, and John Elway.

It’s difficult to answer, but who better to pose the question to than Kelly? We’re talking about the conductor of the “K-Gun” no-huddle offense which led the Bills to four straight Super Bowl appearances in the early ’90s.

Kelly knows these quarterbacks well, especially Marino. Kelly’s Bills went head-to-head with Marino’s Miami Dolphins in 18 regular-season games and three playoff games.

See Kelly’s full response below:

9 star-studded PGA Tour pro and celebrity pairings at the 2024 AT&T Pebble Beach Pro-Am

These pairs are going to be fun to watch.

The second signature event of the PGA Tour’s 2024 season is here as a loaded field of 80 pros has descended upon Pebble Beach Golf Links and Spyglass Hill for the AT&T Pebble Beach Pro-Am on the Monterey Peninsula.

The amateurs in the field will play alongside their partners for the first two rounds — one at Pebble Beach, one at Spyglass Hill — before it’s just the pros at Pebble Beach over the weekend.

Among the world’s best in the field are Scottie Scheffler, Rory McIlroy, Viktor Hovland, Xander Schauffele, Patrick Cantlay, Jordan Spieth, Justin Thomas and Collin Morikawa.

Pebble Pro-Am: Picks to win, odds | Sleepers

As for the amateurs, here are nine star-studded pairings for the AT&T Pebble Beach Pro-Am.

Steve Young: Rams would be the best spot for QB Zach Wilson

Should the Rams give Zach Wilson a shot behind Matthew Stafford? Steve Young thinks it’d be a good landing spot

The Los Angeles Rams know Matthew Stafford will be their starting quarterback in 2024. What they’re unsure of is who will back him up. Stetson Bennett’s future is uncertain after missing his entire rookie season on the non-football illness list, and Sean McVay couldn’t commit to Bennett being on the team next season.

Carson Wentz is a pending free agent so he may not be back in 2024, either.

One fascinating player who could be an option for Los Angeles is Zach Wilson. He’s still under contract in New York but after a tumultuous 2023 season, the Jets are likely to move him this offseason.

Might the Rams swing a trade for Wilson and bring him in as Stafford’s backup, while potentially developing him into a future starter in Los Angeles? Legendary quarterback Steve Young says the Rams would be the best landing spot for Wilson, while the 49ers, Chiefs, Dolphins, Vikings and Packers would also make sense based on the offenses they run.

“To me, the place he needs to be is in L.A.,” Young said on “The Adam Schefter Podcast.” “Go with Sean McVay, follow Stafford and just sit there and watch the magic and then see if you can pick it up. If you can, then you can be one of the best because you have the talent for it. But he has to get to one of those spots.”

Wilson replaced Aaron Rodgers as the Jets’ starter last season after Rodgers tore his Achilles in Week 1, but he was also benched multiple times. He ended the year with just eight touchdown passes and seven interceptions, giving him only 23 touchdown passes in three years (34 games).

There’s still time for Wilson to turn things around, but after three disappointing years in New York, he won’t have a long leash no matter where he ends up in 2024.

“There’s these innovative minds taking advantage of the rule changes,” Young added. “He needs to get to one of those spots. He needs to join forces. If we’re going to see anything out of Zach Wilson into the future, he needs to get away from these places that are not quarterback-friendly.”

McVay has a history of crafting a quarterback-friendly offense in Los Angeles, doing so with Jared Goff and now Stafford. Baker Mayfield spent five games with the Rams in 2022 and revived his career enough to become the Buccaneers’ starter last season, leading them to the playoffs.

Wilson is a much greater risk than Mayfield was because he’s shown very little evidence of being a quality starter, but the cost to acquire him will be low and the Rams have a need at quarterback.

Steve Young to help coach daughters’ high school flag football team

The NFL Hall of Famer joins the Menlo School’s staff as an assistant.

ESPN laid off a lot of talented people recently, including one of the greatest quarterbacks to ever play the game.

Once a Super Bowl-winning quarterback for the San Francisco 49ers, Steve Young had been working as an analyst as part of ESPN’s Monday Night Football broadcasts. But the BYU great and Pro Football Hall of Famer was one of the on-air personalities let go by the network in late June.

His next chapter, however, won’t be in totally unfamiliar territory.

Young will now reportedly spend his time helping coach his two daughters on their high school flag football team, per the New York Post.

“After recently being let go by ESPN this summer, the longtime San Francisco 49ers quarterback and former ESPN analyst will work as an assistant coach for Menlo School’s girls’ flag football team this upcoming fall, the California school announced on Monday.”

Girls flag football was approved as an official sport in February, and the season begins in mid-August and will run through November.

More stories

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Colin Cowherd believes Bears QB Justin Fields has an ego problem

Buckle up, Bears fans. Your favorite media personality has another questionable Justin Fields take.

Don’t look now Chicago Bears fans, but your favorite media personality is at it again. It seems FS1’s Colin Cowherd has a monthly quota he needs to hit when talking about the Bears, specifically quarterback Justin Fields, and he recently had another hot take that has fans up in arms.

On Wednesday’s edition of “The Herd with Colin Cowherd”, Fields and his top-five running quarterback list became a topic of conversation. Cowherd wasn’t happy that the quarterback listed himself in that list, which also included Lamar Jackson, Cam Newton, Michael Vick, and Steve Young. The host went as far to say that Fields lacks self-awareness because he named himself to the list and seems to have an ego instead of confidence. “At quarterback, you’re the face of the franchise and you’re the coach on the field. So I’m going to hold you to a much higher standard of self-awareness and confidence over ego and chutzpah,” Cowherd said. “This isn’t the end of the world, it’s five percent. But I don’t love it for a quarterback that’s 5-20 and right now is closer to a bust than a star.”

The FS1 personality compared Fields to players like Johnny Manziel, Baker Mayfield, and Jameis Winston for having egos instead of confidence at the position. All because Fields named himself in a list of the top running quarterbacks in NFL history after he produced 1,143 rushing yards and eight touchdowns in 15 games while also breaking multiple records in the process. His 1,143 rushing yards were second-most for a quarterback in league history, only behind Jackson.

Cowherd believes Fields should have left himself off the list because of his lack of accomplishments in the win column. And though he repeatedly said that it wasn’t a big deal, the host continued to harp on the point.

Fields knows he needs to improve in certain areas heading into Year 3 and would be the first person to say that. In nearly every press conference, he’s exuded humility and a quiet confidence surrounding his abilities. If anything, him acknowledging his prowess as a running quarterback is the first hint of any ego at all.

It was another questionable take from Cowherd, who has had a few of those regarding the Bears in the last 12 months. But fans were having none of it on Twitter.

Justin Fields lists Cam Newton amongst his top 5 running QBs in NFL history

When you’re talking about the greatest running QBs of all-time, you’re talking about Cam Newton—and Justin Fields was talking about Cam Newton.

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Greatness recognizes greatness . . . even before some of the greatness becomes great.

In a recent talk with former cornerback and current host of the “All Thing Covered” podcast Bryant McFadden, Chicago Bears star Justin Fields showed some love for a Carolina Panthers great. When naming his top five running quarterbacks in league history, Fields included Cam Newton on his pretty impressive list.

When it comes to quarterbacks, Newton is the position’s all-time leader in rushing attempts (1,118) and rushing touchdowns (75). The next closest players in those categories are Russell Wilson (901 attempts) and Hall of Famer Steve Young (43 touchdowns), who was mentioned by Fields as well.

The 24-year-old passer also named himself, Lamar Jackson and Michael Vick—whom accumulated the most rushing yards by a quarterback in NFL history. Right behind Vick’s 6,109 yards is (you guessed it) Newton with his 5,628.

So not only was Fields just speaking facts, he might’ve been reciprocating the respect, too . . .

https://youtube.com/shorts/5M_9InZlklI?feature=share

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All-Time Saints Villains: Who has the most passing yards against New Orleans?

Who has thrown the most passing yards against the New Orleans Saints? Matt Ryan put up more yards than Joe Montana and Steve Young put together:

Who has thrown the most passing yards against the New Orleans Saints over the years? Obviously the era and circumstances they played in change things dramatically, but it’s still impressive that Atlanta Falcons Super Bowl-losing quarterback Matt Ryan put up more yards on New Orleans than San Francisco 49ers legends Joe Montana and Steve Young managed together.

We’re putting a lid on our weeklong series exploring the greatest opponents in Saints franchise history, having recapped the all-time leaders in touchdown passes, receiving yards, rushing yards, sacks, tackles for loss, and interceptions — all thanks to research from StatMuse. Let’s take one last look at these passers and be grateful the Saints aren’t competing with them anymore:

All-Time Saints Villains: Who has the most career rushing yards against New Orleans?

Who has the most career rushing yards against the Saints? The Panthers’ duo of DeAngelo Williams and Jonathan Stewart was challenging to say the least:

Some seriously talented runners have suited up against the New Orleans Saints over the years — but which rusher stands on top? Who challenged the Saints defense the most as a threat to make a big play on the ground?

We’ve already looked at the highest-scoring quarterbacks and most-accomplished wide receivers to oppose the black and gold. Now let’s look back on the Saints’ biggest rivals at running back, thanks to Statmuse: