Jim McMahon

James Robert "Jim" McMahon, Jr. (born August 21, 1959) is a former American football player. He played college football at Brigham Young University, where he was a two-time All-American (1980, 1981) and later in the professional ranks with the Chicago Bears, San Diego Chargers, Philadelphia Eagles, Minnesota Vikings, Arizona Cardinals, Cleveland Browns, and Green Bay Packers.

Early years
McMahon was born in Jersey City, New Jersey, and moved with his family to San Jose, California, when he was three. He played high school football his freshman and sophomore years at Andrew Hill High School in San Jose and played his junior and senior years at Roy High School (Roy, Utah), graduating in 1977.

College career
McMahon mainly served as Brigham Young University's punter during his freshman season (1977), but he did play enough at quarterback to throw his first-ever collegiate touchdown pass against UTEP. He continued as the Cougars' punter as the 1978 season began, but when Marc Wilson was injured in the third game of the season (against Colorado State), McMahon was elevated to the position of starting quarterback. McMahon led BYU to victory against CSU, accounting for 112 passing yards, 80 rushing yards, and 2 touchdowns along the way. He was named Chevrolet Player of the Game and WAC Player of the Week for his performance. McMahon and Wilson shared quarterback duties for the rest of the season; McMahon played well enough to earn All-WAC honors and Associated Press Honorable Mention All-America. The best game of his sophomore year was against Wyoming: he passed for 317 yards and rushed for 49 more yards, earning another WAC Player of the Week award.

McMahon wanted to battle Wilson for the starting position the following season, but he suffered an off-season injury and BYU coaches chose to redshirt him in 1979. McMahon watched from the sidelines as Wilson played spectacular football, setting 9 NCAA records and tying two others. Wilson became the first BYU player to earn consensus First Team All-American honors, and he finished third in Heisman Trophy balloting.

As good as Wilson was, McMahon was better in 1980. With Wilson graduated and gone to the NFL, McMahon beat out Royce Bybee to claim the starting quarterback position. BYU lost the first game of the season (25–21 against New Mexico), but won 11 straight games after that to claim the WAC championship. McMahon was spectacular: He set 32 NCAA records, including single-season records for yards of total offense (4,627), passing yards (4,571), touchdown passes (47), and passing efficiency (176.9). His best game was against Utah State; he completed 21 of 33 passes for 485 yards and 6 touchdowns, and he added 2 rushing touchdowns as well. That performance earned him Sports Illustrated's National Player of the Week award. McMahon's season statistics would have been even better, but he spent significant time on the sidelines because the Cougars won many games by wide margins. Although he started all 12 regular season games, he only finished three of them.

With McMahon's leadership, BYU led the nation in passing offense, total offense, and scoring offense during the regular season. McMahon earned a bevy of awards for his individual accomplishments. He was named WAC Player of the Year, unanimous First Team All-WAC, Utah Sportsman of the Year, and Deseret News Athlete of the Year. He was named to four All-America teams and finished fifth in Heisman Trophy voting.

McMahon's finest hour at BYU came in the 1980 Holiday Bowl. The Cougars faced a tough SMU team. Behind star running backs Craig James and Eric Dickerson, the Mustangs built a 45–25 lead over BYU with just four minutes left in the game. As Cougar fans headed for the exits, McMahon screamed that the game wasn't over yet. He calmly guided BYU's offense to three quick touchdowns, including a 41-yard Hail Mary pass to Clay Brown to win the game as time expired. It is regarded as one of the greatest comebacks in college football history; BYU fans refer to it as the "Miracle Bowl".

McMahon's senior season (1981) was not as spectacular, but it was still terrific. Despite missing two games due to injuries, he passed for 3,555 yards and 30 touchdowns in the regular season, again leading BYU to a WAC championship. For his efforts, he was named WAC Player of the Year and unanimous First Team All-WAC. On a national level, he was named First-team All-American by five different organizations and finished third in Heisman Trophy balloting. He received the Davey O'Brien Trophy and the Sammy Baugh Award, and he shared the Pigskin Club NCAA Offensive Player of the Year award with USC's Marcus Allen. He earned Sports Illustrated's Player of the Week award after a spectacular performance against Colorado State (he tied a school record with 7 touchdown passes).

In his last game as a Cougar, McMahon passed for 342 yards and 3 touchdowns to lead BYU over Washington State in the 1981 Holiday Bowl. His career totals were 9,536 passing yards and 84 touchdown passes (not including bowl games). McMahon left college with 70 NCAA records and tied for one other. He entered the College Football Hall of Fame in 1999, but is not a member of the BYU Hall of Fame because he is ten credit hours from a degree. In September 2010, McMahon announced that he would complete his coursework at BYU, which would qualify him for the BYU Hall of Fame.

Chicago Bears
McMahon's spectacular statistics in college caught the attention of the Chicago Bears, who selected McMahon in the first round (fifth overall) of the 1982 NFL Draft. New head coach Mike Ditka made McMahon his first number-one selection. McMahon, thrilled to be "released" from what he considered a restrictive culture in Utah, strolled into his first public function with the Bears holding a cold beer in his hand. Ditka was unimpressed, as was Bears owner and founder George Halas. Ever the free spirit, McMahon was to find the atmosphere in Chicago almost as challenging as that at Brigham Young, and he would lock horns with Ditka, his coaches and teammates, and journalists routinely during his six years with the Bears.

McMahon won the Bears' starting quarterback job as a rookie, and was named to several All-Rookie teams when he nearly led the team to the playoffs, despite the NFL only playing two games before a players' strike that cancelled nearly half the season. McMahon quickly displayed a natural ability to read defenses and an athletic versatility that surprised many. He established himself as the best play-action passer in the game with his nonchalant fake handoffs and coolness in the pocket. Despite having only average arm strength, his situational awareness and superior acting skills made him a fearsome play-action passer.

McMahon also made a case for being the best rollout passer at that time. He explained that coaching in his youth had taught him to square his shoulders to the direction he wanted to throw the football, and he was thus able to execute passes with tight spirals and a high degree of accuracy when running to either his left or his right. The Bears finished the strike-shortened season at 3–6, but due to an expanded playoff format and conference-wide seeding the Bears missed a playoff berth by only one victory. McMahon was named NFC Offensive Rookie of the Year, losing the league-wide honor to Marcus Allen, who was playing for the Los Angeles Raiders at that time.

In 1983 McMahon continued to improve as a passer and as a field general. He made a habit of changing the play both in the huddle and at the line of scrimmage, a practice which frustrated Ditka but usually led to success. His knowledge of the game and an instinctive, intuitive grasp of in-game situations were significant. He became a frequent scorer in goal line situations, after the dying Halas instructed Ditka to make the quarterback sneak a bigger part of the Bears' offense. He also began to catch touchdown passes on option plays, and was the emergency punter. Chicago finished the season at 8-8, missing the division title and a playoff berth by one victory again.

In 1984 the Bears broke through, reaching the conference title game before losing to the San Francisco 49ers. McMahon started the season strongly, though nursing minor injuries like those that would plague him throughout his career. In a violent game against the Los Angeles Raiders in Chicago, McMahon sustained a season-ending injury when he was brutally tackled by two Los Angeles defenders. He suffered bruised ribs and a lacerated kidney on the play, but limped to the huddle and breathlessly called the next play, despite difficulty breathing and increasing pain. The players could barely hear him in the huddle, and when McMahon attempted an audible at the line of scrimmage the Bears receivers were unable to hear his call. McMahon was on the verge of collapsing on the field, clutching his flank and rasping in his attempts to convey his situation. Offensive linemen helped McMahon stand and leave the field. McMahon went to the locker room, and reported urine that "looked like grape juice."

1985
In 1985 the Bears won their first 12 games and finished 15–1 for the season. McMahon became a media darling, not only for his outstanding play on the field, but also for his personality. He appeared in a rap record made by the team, "The Super Bowl Shuffle," in which he proclaimed "I'm the punky QB known as McMahon." He ended the season with a strong performance in Super Bowl XX, which the Bears won 46–10 over the New England Patriots. In that game McMahon became the first quarterback in the history of the Super Bowl to rush for two touchdowns. McMahon earned a spot in the Pro Bowl. He was a point of controversy in New Orleans at the Super Bowl when he "mooned" journalists who were inquiring as to the status of a minor injury to his buttocks. McMahon was notorious for head-first baseball-style slides when running the football, despite being coached to slide feet-first to protect his body. In the playoffs McMahon heeded this coaching advice and was speared by a defender's helmet squarely in his buttocks, causing a painful deep bruise for which McMahon sought acupuncture treatment. On Thursday of Super Bowl XX week, McMahon was wrongfully accused of "calling the women of New Orleans sluts and the men idiots" on an interview over Chicago's WLS Radio at a restaurant on Bourbon Street, but the interview never happened, and New Orleans Sportscaster Buddy Deliberto was suspended for starting that rumor on his 10pm sportscast the night before. McMahon was cleared of this charge by WLS Sportscaster Les Grobstein, who was supposed to be the person doing the interview. Hundreds of angry women showed up at the Bears hotel to protest until they were informed the whole thing was a hoax.

In an early-season Thursday night game at Minnesota, McMahon was slated to back up Steve Fuller, as McMahon had missed practice time earlier in the week due to a neck injury that required an overnight hospital stay. Midway into the third quarter, the Vikings held a 17–9 lead. McMahon lobbied to get into the game until well into the third quarter. Once finally on the field, his first play was an opportunistic 70 yard touchdown pass to Willie Gault. His very next offensive play was a 25-yard touchdown pass to Dennis McKinnon, making him 2–2 for 95 yards and two touchdowns. He followed up with another successful offensive drive, including a crucial third and short sneak to set up another 43-yard touchdown pass to McKinnon. The Bears led 30–17 and went on to win the game 33–24.

1986-1988
In a late-season game against the Green Bay Packers, defensive lineman Charles Martin grabbed McMahon from behind and body-slammed him to the ground (after McMahon had passed the ball for an interception and officials had turned their attention downfield). The incident happened at least two seconds after the pass was thrown, and with McMahon well out of the play. McMahon landed full force on his previously-injured shoulder, a situation magnified by Soldier Field's artificial surface of the time, and was knocked out for the rest of the season. Martin was ejected from the game and suspended for two games—the first multi-game suspension for an on-field incident in modern NFL history. McMahon battled injuries for the rest of his career although at one point between the 1984 and 1987 seasons, he won 22 consecutive regular-season (25 including playoffs, & The Super Bowl) starts, the longest "regular season winning streak" by an NFL quarterback at the time, now held by Peyton Manning, who won 23 in 2009 (but lost a Super Bowl during his "winning streak").

In 1987 he came back from injury in a classic game against the Tampa Bay Buccaneers. "Mad Mac" brought the Chicago Bears back in the first game following the 1987 NFL players strike to defeat the Buccaneers, 27-26. The Bears went on to an 11-4 record with many expecting McMahon to lead the Bears back to the Super Bowl - however as in 1986 they fell short against the Washington Redskins, this time 21-17 in the NFC divisional playoff game.

1988 saw McMahon return for the Bears with a much more serious attitude. His main offensive weapon in Walter Payton had retired and McMahon publicly expressed his desire to win a Super Bowl again. The Bears looked strong all season ending 1988 with a 12-4 record, again winning the NFC Central. They were many peoples favourite to represent the NFC in Super Bowl XXIII and after defeating the Philadelphia Eagles, 20-12 in the 1988 NFC Divisional playoff game - otherwise known as the Fog Bowl, they faced the San Francisco 49ers in the bitter cold of the Chicago's Soldier Field. In what many people thought could be McMahon's finest hour, it was his opposite number, Joe Montana who shined, as he led the 49ers to a 28-3 victory over the Bears as they went on to defeat the Cincinnati Bengals 20-16 in the twenty-third Super Bowl.

After a falling out with Head Coach Mike Ditka, and to a larger extent team president Michael McCaskey, McMahon was traded to the San Diego Chargers.

San Diego Chargers
He started 12 games for the 6–10 Chargers team in 1989. He went 4–8 in the games he started, though the team lost 4 of those games by a combined 11 points. He had only 4 games over 200 yards, but had 389 yards against the Houston Oilers in a Week 2 loss. He also had a falling out with team players, management and Coach Dan Henning in his year with San Diego. He was benched for the final four games and finished the year with 2,132 yards, 10 touchdowns and 10 interceptions. He was released and moved on to back up Randall Cunningham on the Philadelphia Eagles in 1990.

Later career
After Cunningham suffered a season-ending injury in the 1991 opener, McMahon was named the starter. While the Eagles missed the playoffs on a tiebreaker, McMahon was named the NFL Comeback Player of the Year. After another year as Cunningham's backup, he moved to the Minnesota Vikings in 1993 as their starter and led them to the playoffs. He then spent his last three years as a backup. He also played for the Cleveland Browns in 1995, was cut during the pre-season, and then signed with the Packers. He retired following the 1996 season, in which he won a second Super Bowl ring with the Green Bay Packers. This would be the second time McMahon won a Super Bowl at the New England Patriots' expense, incidentally at the same location of the Louisiana Superdome, and coincidentally the second time it was on January 26. When it was time for the Super Bowl Champs to visit the White House, McMahon wore his Chicago Bears #9 jersey, which did not go over too well with Green Bay Packer fans. McMahon would later explain that the reason behind this was that the Bears never got to go to the White House after they won Super Bowl XX, due to the event being canceled after the Challenger tragedy. (The 1985 Bears would have to wait until October 2011 for the official visit.)

After retirement
Since retiring from football in 1997, he has worked as a restaurant owner and motivational speaker. He also was apprehended in Florida for drunk driving in 2003. Upon being pulled over, McMahon allegedly got out of his car and said to the police, "I'm too drunk; you got me." As of 2009, McMahon serves as an endorser of a male enhancement product.

In December 2006 McMahon went to Iraq with the USO to visit American forces in the field.

During Super Bowl XLIV McMahon joined other members of the 1985 Chicago Bears in resurrecting the Super Bowl Shuffle in a Boost Mobile commercial.

In 2010 McMahon became a part owner of the Indoor Football League's, Chicago Slaughter.

In a November 6, 2010, interview, McMahon admitted to having memory problems due to injuries suffered on the football field. McMahon was quoted as saying, 'There are a lot of times when I walk into a room and forget why I walked in there.'

Style
Throughout his career, McMahon was known for both on- and off-field antics. Most famously, his wearing of a headband while on the sidelines once led to him being fined by then NFL commissioner, Pete Rozelle, as it had an unauthorized corporate logo on it. The next week his headband simply said "Rozelle". Reportedly before Super Bowl XX hundreds of fans mailed McMahon headbands in hopes he would wear them during the game. Pete Rozelle gave him a stern warning not to wear anything "unacceptable". In response McMahon decided to help bring attention to Juvenile Diabetes by wearing a headband simply stating "JDF Cure", before switching to one stating "POW-MIA", and finally one with the word "Pluto", the nickname of a friend of his stricken with a brain tumor.

He also is known for his trademark sunglasses, which he wears for medical reasons. At age six, while trying to untie a knot in a toy gun holster with a fork, he accidentally severed the retina in his right eye when the fork slipped. While his vision was saved, the accident left that eye extremely sensitive to light. On the field he was among the first to wear a helmet fitted with a tinted plastic visor covering the eyes, leading to nicknames like "Darth Vader" and "Black Sunshine."

McMahon occasionally would play wearing gloves, and urged San Francisco 49ers quarterback David Carr to also wear gloves.