The Pittsburgh Steelers passing on him in the 1983 NFL Draft is something that Hall of Fame quarterback and Pittsburgh native Dan Marino has said multiple times was probably the best thing for him in his career, giving him a chance to get out of his hometown and develop on his own.
But even then, he believes that if he would have been drafted by his hometown Steelers and added to that roster in the early 80s, he probably would have won a couple Super Bowls — something he didn’t do during his 17 years in the NFL.
Appearing on the “Not Just Football with Cam Heyward” from Radio Row at Super Bowl LIX in early February, Marino stated he would have won a couple of Super Bowls in the Black and Gold, especially with the defense that the Steelers possessed during his playing career.
“Well, looking back at their teams, I’d probably have won a couple Super Bowls. I really do, because of the defense they had,” Marino said when asked what he thinks he’d have done if he was a Pittsburgh Steeler, according to video via the show’s YouTube page. “…We beat them to go to the Super Bowl in the AFC championship game. Mark Malone was on that team, and I got to play against Jack Lambert, which when I’m growing up…and then I see Jack Lambert playing and Donnie Shell, and so that was a huge, that was huge for me.
“But, I feel like I’d have been pretty good in Pittsburgh.”
Though the 80s were known as the lean years for the Steelers, especially after the 70s dynasty came to an end, the Steelers were still quite competitive in the early 80s, which is when Marino entered the NFL after a historic career at the University of Pittsburgh.
The 1984 season was the year Marino led the Dolphins to the Super Bowl, beating the Steelers in the AFC Championship Game, 45-28. In that game, Marino threw for 421 yards and four touchdowns to just one interception against a defense that featured the likes of Donnie Shell, Mike Merriweather, David Little, Robin Cole, Bryan Hinkle and Dwayne Woodruff.
That 1984 Steelers’ defense allowed just 19.4 points per game, good for 11th in the NFL.
Despite having some good defenses in the 80s, the Steelers struggled due to quarterback play, posting seasons of 6-10, 5-11 and 7-9, dealing with the likes of Mark Malone, Bubby Brister, and Todd Blackledge under center during the decade. In that 1983 draft, with the opportunity to land a new franchise quarterback and a prodigal son in Marino, the Steelers opted to pass, drafting defensive tackle Gabe Rivera at No. 21 overall.
Marino went 27th overall and went on to have a Hall of Fame career. In the 80s, Marino was a three-time first-team All-Pro quarterback, won the MVP award in 1984, had two other third-place finishes in MVP voting, and led the Dolphins to a Super Bowl appearance.
Then, in the 90s, he went to four Pro Bowls, was a second-team All-Pro twice, and led the NFL in passing yards in 1992, all during a span in which the Steelers really could have used a star quarterback like Marino.
If the Steelers did decide to draft Marino, who knows how things would have turned out. Maybe the pressure of playing at home and being the quarterback of the Steelers would have been too much. Maybe not, though. Maybe Marino is the same Marino that was a Hall of Famer in Miami and could have helped Chuck Noll close out his Hall of Fame career with a few more rings. Maybe he gets Hall of Famer Bill Cowher a ring earlier in his career, too.
There’s a lot of what-ifs and maybes. But Marino, ever confident in himself, believes he would have taken the Steelers to the top of the mountain a few times, especially with the defenses they had. Hard to argue against him.
Check out the full episode of “Not Just Football with Cam Heyward” below.
