RunRonnieRun said:
I am only 19 years old, so my memory of the mid to late 90's is scetchy. However, I do remember that when Marino was having one of his multiple foot/ankle problems, Huard ( i think that was him?) stepped in and played pretty well. I recall that there was even talk of Dan not getting his job back. Jimmy put Dan back in when he was ready, of course, and Danny didn't play that well.
Enter Wanny, who chose to start Fieldler over Huard. I recall seeing Marino, by that time an analyst on HBO, openly disagree with Wanny about his choice for starting quarterback.
Why wasn't he given a chance to start? And, shouldn't he have?
Actually, Scott Mitchell stepped in when Marino had his achilles injury, and played so well that there was talk of him permanently replacing Marino... until Mitchell was also lost for the season due to injury. He was replaced by Steve Deburg (Deberg... however you spell it) who was like 87 years old at the time.
Anyway, Mitchell went on to get a 3 year $11 million deal with the Lions, Deburg went back to his wheelchair at the retirement home, and Marino came back from his injury with a vengance.
As for Huard, after Jimmy quit, Wanny took over and forced Marino's hand to retire. He told him he'd have to "compete" for the starting job for the upcoming season. Marino flirted with joining the Vikings (and we recently learned that he pondered joining the Steelers as well) but ultimately decided to retire.
Huard competed against the newly acquired Jay Feidler for the starting QB spot during camp/preseason. Feidler was hurt for most of the preseason, played in one preseason game, threw three INT's, and was given the nod over Huard. Wanny's genius at work from day one!
Most people feel that Huard was passed over because Marino endorsed Huard as the one he felt should be his successor. Most people feel that this was Wanny drawing a line in the sand and letting people know that he was calling the shots, not Marino.
Huard went on to join the Patriots the following season as Drew Bledsoe's backup. This was the year of their first Super Bowl. When Bledsoe went down with his injury, Huard was passed over and a then unknown, 3rd string QB named Tom brady was given the starting job instead of Huard. The rest, as they say, is history.
Does that clear things up a little for you?
