Blog : Mano: What If the Steelers Drafted Dan Marino?

Now that our offseason is officially underway and I have a little downtime, I felt like sharing some stuff that I've been keeping to myself for a while now. I'm one of those people who loves the what-ifs. I love simulating games on www.whatifsports.com and I love reading on www.alternatehistory.com. I find it fascinating to see what could have been and where people can take these kind of ideas and thoughts. Though a lot of them can get a little far-fetched, there are certainly ones that were so darn close to becoming a reality.... like this one. Hopefully you have a lot of time on your hands, as this is a big read. Enjoy the crazy ride though my alternate universe of the Steelers drafting Dan Marino.
The day is April 26, 1983 in New York City. It is day one of the 1983 NFL Draft, one that will go down is history as being one of the greatest draft classes in league history, especially when it comes to quarterbacks. John Clayton, a local sports journalist and Steelers beat-writer, is having a discussion with Steelers' Dan Rooney, one that they have every now and then. As they are talking, Clayton comes up with an idea: instead of drafting Gabriel "El Sacko" Rivera with the 21st pick, draft local golden boy Dan Marino with the pick and then trade up to the 26th pick to take Rivera, where he will still be waiting. Clayton finishes by saying "you will regret passing up on him." Dan likes the idea and takes it into the Steelers' war room, where it receives a good response. Then Chuck Noll asks a fateful question: "where did you come up with this idea?" Dan, who was "not thinking at the time", said it came from Clayton. That's when Noll, who was still mad at Clayton for the 1978 "Shouldergate", immediately dismisses the idea and locks in on his DT of the future, Gabriel Rivera.
So let's say Dan Rooney doesn't spill the beans and claims the idea for himself. Chuck Noll and the Steelers would ultimately select Pitt quarterback Dan Marino and then trade with the L.A. Raiders to get back into the first round, nabbing Noll's top player, Rivera. This would then leave the Steelers with at least four quarterbacks for the start of the season: Marino, Terry Bradshaw, Cliff Stoudt, and Mark Malone. Looking to move one of them, the Steelers traded Stoudt to Rams for a 1985 5th round pick.
In his rookie season, Marino wouldn't get much playing time, with Mark Malone starting the season. He didn't help his case with his poor pre-season performance, either. And to make things worse, fellow first-round draft pick Gabriel Rivera would be suspended the four games following a failed drug test that was randomly given to him on October 20 which was already beginning to give the draft class a bad name. Marino would get his first NFL start in week 8 in Seattle when Malone was benched despite a hot start after having an altercation with another player and skipping a practice on a October 20, three days before the game (he would later blame it on traffic due to an accident that night). In his first start, Marino played sloppy but carried his team on a final drive to win the game at the Kingdome 27-21. Marino would calm down and win his next three games as well, being named AFC rookie of the week once during a blowout against the Chargers. Things went down hill after that, though, losing his next 3 games before being benched in favor of Terry Bradshaw, who was debuting for the first time that season after missing the first 14 games due to offseason surgery. He would finish what Marino started and would win the division in New York 34-7. Marino got the starting spot back the next week but would finish the season losing to the Browns, limping into the playoffs with a 4-4 record as a starter. The playoffs wouldn't be any better, losing 38-10 to the Raiders and would be benched before the fourth quarter even started.
This would leave the Steelers with a quarterback controversy heading into the 1984 season. Most folks didn't know which one to rank above the other, as both showed signs of potential and were drafted in the first round. Chuck Noll would call it a "healthy competition" heading into training camp. Steelers dodged a bullet when they almost lost Franco Harris in the open market but was able to swoop in and retain him for one last year with most of the money they saved trading away Cliff Stoudt. In the preseason both quarterbacks looked good, but it was Marino who came on top after having a 3 touchdown performance in the final exhibition game. There were some who thought Marino was the right person for the job, while others thought the team made the wrong call in benching Mark Malone and "giving Marino the starting job because of one preseason game." Marino would prove it was not a fluke, having a historic season with 48 touchdowns and 5,084 passing yards (both records at the time) in route to a 12-4 record. The Steelers would win their divisional game before facing the surprising Miami Dolphins in the AFC championship game. The Dolphins would receive a two-quarter thrashing by Marino, scoring four touchdowns in the second and third quarters. With that they would take control of the game and never look back, punching their ticket to Super Bowl XIX, to face the 49ers. The storyline leading up to the game was "the end of one dynasty going up against the beginning of another". I'm going to let yinz decide who would win this game, as this one would be a close call. For what it's worth, WhatIfSports has this game as a 37-31 Steelers win.
For the rest of the 80's the Steelers would be a good team, but not a great one. The Marino-led offense would always give Pittsburgh a chance to win and the defense found its anchor in Rivera, who had a breakout year in 1985 and would continue to play at a high level until his retirement in 1998. Oh, and remember that 5th round pick they traded for in 1983? That would result in nabbing Jay Novacek, a little-known tight end from Wyoming that would become the perfect successor to Bennie Cunningham and would make the Pro Bowl and the all-pro team five times, respectively, up until his final season in 1996. The addition of Novacek would be just one of the many deadly weapons Marino had to his exposure that made the offense so powerful. Though there were some big names on the team, they would struggle quite a bit, only making the playoffs three more time in the Chuck Noll era. The closet they would get to another Super Bowl would be the 1989-90 AFC championship. Seeing that his best days were behind him and starting to realize that it might be time to move on, Chuck Noll's retired in 1991 after one of the most successful coaching careers in NFL history. That would lead to the hiring of Bill Cowher, who would having a very successful career of his own.
The Cowher hire was an instant success, giving the team a new attitude. In addition to keeping the offense at a high level, Cowher finished what Noll started which was rebuilding a defense that would take the team as a whole to a new level. The first year in the new era in was a success, going 11-5 before losing in the divisional round of the playoffs. With the signing of Kevin Greene in 1993 (who ironically was the player many fans wanted the Steelers to draft with the pick they received from Los Angeles in 1983), Pittsburgh was ready to contend. The public also thought this, as Pittsburgh was considered favorites before the start of the season. Marino continued to put up big numbers, this time with less talent around him, but had a disappointing 9-7 season. While many overlooked them after stumbling into the playoffs, the Steelers began an impressive run that ended in the AFC championship game once again after giving up a 10-point lead in the fourth quarter. Despite a heart-breaking finish to the season, the run showed great promise for the team heading into 1994.
Dan Marino was still Dan Marino, leading the Steelers to a 12-4 record after putting up 45 touchdowns and over 4,500 passing yards with the help of Yancey Thigpen, who had an impressive year of his own. The running game also improved and became an excellent compliment to the passing game. Rookie Bam Morris would have a solid year, taking pressure off Marino and would be named the Steelers' rookie of the year. The Steelers then began right where they left off last postseason with a thrashing of the Cleveland Browns. The Steelers came into the AFC championship game as moderate favorites over the Chargers. They were determined to not be side-tracked during the week though, as they did not want to fall short again one game away from football's biggest game. The Steelers came into the game focused and capitalized off of San Diego's mistakes early in the game and took a 10-3 lead into halftime. San Diego responded well, scoring a touchdown on their opening possession of the second half but the Steelers would respond right back, with a field goal, making it a 3 point game. The game would remain this way through a big chunk of the final quarter, but San Diego was given one last chance to go to the Super Bowl. The Steelers defense came through in the clutch and was back in the Super Bowl for the first time in 10 years to face the team they played the last time, the 49ers. Again, this is for you to discuss and decide. This one would be close, as the Niners would give us everything they got.
The road back to the Super Bowl would begin with a tough task of replacing defensive coordinator Dom Capers, but the Steelers would ace the hiring of his successor, who would turn out to be Dick LeBeau. The Steelers also saw the need to find a successor for Marino, who was about to begin regressing and was getting up there in age. The answer: Kordell Stewart. They utilized him in many ways and gave the offense a new spark that it was looking for. With the offense's new element and a defense that was "just plain bad", the Steelers made a return trip to the Super Bowl, this time facing the Dallas Cowboys. The game was neck and neck for the majority of the game before the Steelers would begin to wear America's team down. Trailing 30-27 with not much time left, Dan Marino would go on to lead a game-winning drive and cement his legacy as one of the greatest quarterbacks of all time, winning Super Bowl XXX 34-30.
1996 was finally the Super Bowl hangover everyone was calling for, going 10-6 and losing in the divisional round. They would respond well in 1997, however, with its biggest upgrade yet to the offense in the Marino era: Jerome "The Bus" Bettis. Bettis sealed some of the cracks in what was beginning to become an aging offense. The Steelers would improve upon their previous record by one game and made one final Super Bowl run with Dan at the helm. During a time when people were beginning to say he should hang em' up, Dan Marino had one last run backed up by a vintage Dan Marino performance. The Steelers beat the Elway-led Denver Broncos (which even further showed that Marino was the best quarterback from the 1983 draft class) in the conference championship game and catapulted them to what would be Marino's last Super Bowl. The Steelers would face the defending champions Green Bay Packers, led by the legendary Brett Favre. In this game, I think the Steelers use the same strategy the Broncos used in Super Bowl XXXII, defeating the Packers with the MVP going to Jerome Bettis. It would be Marino's last playoff game, as they would go 6-10 and 7-9 in his last two seasons before retiring after the 1999 season.
In conclusion, the Steelers did make the wrong decision by passing on Marino. I tried to alter history without changing too much. They definitely would beat the Cowboys in Super Bowl XXX and would make a few extra trips as well with him behind center. Marino would go on to break every record he did in real life and would most certainly have broken Terry Bradshaw's team records. This would push back the short-lived Kordell era by a few years (I don't think anyone would have a problem with this) and erase Bill Cowher's reputation of not coming through in the big games. It would also most likely bring the Steelers their "one for the thumb" and their 6th Super Bowl a few years earlier and "Dan the Man" would no longer be known as the best quarterback to not win a Super Bowl. What do you think would've taken place had the Steeles drafted Marino? Discuss it below!

I never understood it when it happened.....