Dan Marino

Daniel Constantine Marino Jr. (born September 15, 1961 in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania) is a former American football quarterback who played for the Miami Dolphins in the National Football League. He holds or has held almost every meaningful NFL passing record, and despite never being on a Super Bowl-winning team, is widely recognized as one of the greatest quarterbacks in football history.

Early years

Marino was born in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania of Italian and Polish ancestry. He attended St. Regis Catholic Elementary before going to Pittsburgh Central Catholic High School in Pittsburgh, where he also starred in baseball, and won Parade All-American honors in football. He was drafted by the Kansas City Royals baseball team in the 1979 amateur draft, but decided to play college football instead.

College career

After an excellent high school career, Marino played college ball at the University of Pittsburgh from the 1979 to 1982 seasons, leading the Panthers to a Sugar Bowl triumph over the Georgia Bulldogs in January 1982. The next season (his senior year) was considered a disappointment with regard to the pre-season Heisman Trophy and National Championship hype. His team lost the Cotton Bowl to Southern Methodist and their "Pony Express" of Eric Dickerson and Craig James.

Still, his college career was impressive. In his final 2 seasons, Marino lead his team to a 22-2 record, and he led the nation in touchdown passes (34) as a junior. Marino left Pitt with 7,905 passing yards and 74 touchdown passes. In 2002, he was voted into the College Football Hall of Fame.

With the down season of his last year at Pitt and unsubstantiated rumors of drug abuse, Marino's selection status in the 1983 NFL Draft plummeted. Five other quarterbacks, including Hall of Famers Jim Kelly and John Elway and less successful players Tony Eason and Todd Blackledge had been taken before Don Shula and the Miami Dolphins grabbed Marino with the 27th pick overall.

Professional career

Being drafted by the defending AFC Champions placed Marino in an ideal situation, where the strong armed rookie could succeed immediately. After starting the season as a backup to incumbent starter David Woodley and seeing action twice off the bench to relieve an ineffective Woodley, Marino was given his first NFL start in Week 6 versus the Buffalo Bills. He posted a 96.0 passer rating that was a rookie record until broken by Ben Roethlisberger's 98.1 in 2004. He brought Miami the division title in 1983, and would also do so in 1984, 1985, 1992, and 1994. His Pro Bowl rookie year ended in disappointment, as the Dolphins were upset by the Seattle Seahawks in a rainy game full of Dolphin turnovers. Marino looked shaky in that game mostly due to a sprained knee he had suffered three weeks prior versus Houston, causing him to miss the last two regular season games. Those two games would be the last non-strike games he would miss until he tore his Achilles Tendon in 1993, a 145-game non-strike consecutive-game streak in all.

The following season would be Marino's best. He threw for 48 touchdown passes and 5,084 yards, both of which shattered previous records. Neither record would be touched until Peyton Manning topped the touchdown mark with 49 in 2004. He would go on to win the NFL Most Valuable Player award in 1984. The '84 Dolphins scored an NFL record 70 touchdowns and posted a 14-2 record. Marino had another 8 touchdown passes in the post-season, four of which came against his hometown Steelers in the AFC Championship Game.

In Super Bowl XIX Marino and the Dolphins met Joe Montana and the 49ers. The Dolphins, who had 74 rush attempts in the previous two weeks, called only 8 handoffs, placing their chances squarely on Marino. Marino was above average, completing 29 of 50 passes for 318 yards and a touchdown. Unfortunately, two of his passes were intercepted deep in 49ers territory and he committed the game's lone fumble. The 38-16 loss would be Marino's only Super Bowl appearance; as was the case for most of his career a sparse running attack and average defense would cost the Dolphins. A Pepsi commercial released in the wake of the game had Montana and Marino talking next to a vending machine. Joe bought a Pepsi each for himself and Dan, then Dan says "Next year... I'm buying."

After the Super Bowl loss, Marino's Dolphins went 12-4. On December 2, 1985 Marino completed 14 of 27 passes for 270 yards and triumphed over the 12-0 Chicago Bears in the highest rated Monday Night Football telecast in history. He also brought the Dolphins back to the AFC Championship game the following year, losing in Miami to New England in another game in which wet conditions made the Dolphins turnover prone. New England intercepted Marino twice and recovered 4 fumbles en route to a 31-14 win over the Dolphins, their first win in the Orange Bowl (Miami's home stadium at the time) since 1966, the Dolphins' first season of play.

With Marino at the helm, the Dolphins were a perennial playoff contender, reaching the post-season in 10 of Marino's 17 seasons. In 1992 he made his final appearance in an AFC Championship Game, losing against arch-rival Jim Kelly and the Buffalo Bills, 29-10. Kelly's Bills knocked Marino out of the playoffs three times between 1990 and 1995.

The following year, 1993, was a year that Miami was strongly favored at the start of the year to make it back to the AFC championship game and possibly the Super Bowl. However, disaster would strike Marino and the Dolphins in Cleveland after a swing pass, Marino, who was untouched on the play, crumpled to the ground in pain with a torn achilles tendon and was out for the season. Marino would say later "I felt like I'd been shot". Complicating matters was that in Marino's absence, backup quarterback Scott Mitchell had an impressive series of starts before suffering an injury of his own that season. The result was for the first time in a decade, Miami had a quarterback controversy in that there was debate in the media and among fans about whether to keep the younger Mitchell (who was a free agent after the season) or the proven veteran Marino, who it was feared wouldn't be the same after the injury.

In the end, Miami decided to continue to cast their lot with Marino. Mitchell signed a free-agent contract with the Detroit Lions and as insurance, Miami signed Cleveland Browns QB Bernie Kosar as a backup in case something else happened. Wearing a special shoe and with a right calf that was visibly atrophied compared to before the injury, Marino was once again the starting QB at the start of the 1994 season.

In a season where Marino's viability was very much a question mark at the outset of the year, two of Marino's signature games would take place in 1994. The first would be Miami's first game that season, which was at home versus the New England Patriots and their upstart quarterback Drew Bledsoe, who drew more than a few comparisons to a young Marino. It had rained heavily that day, and the baseball infield used by the Florida Marlins (which was still there in spite of the ongoing MLB Labor Dispute at the time) had become muddy as a result. Despite the conditions, the two quarterbacks put up a combined 894 yards and 9 TDs through the air with Miami winning a 39-35 shootout. The other would be the comeback win on the road versus the New York Jets famous for Marino executing a fake spike for the winning touchdown, the details of which are mentioned below. Miami would go 10-6 that year, winning the division and defeating the Joe Montana-led Kansas City Chiefs at home before losing a heartbreaker to the San Diego Chargers the following week. For his 4000-plus passing yards that season, Marino was given the NFL's Comeback Player of the Year award.

Marino would never go any further than the divisional round of the playoffs through the remainder of his career, which included the resignation of his longtime coach Shula and the arrival of Jimmy Johnson, whose ball-control philosophy had worked to the tune of two championships while with the Dallas Cowboys. Johnson attempted to de-emphasise Miami's passing game, but in his 4 seasons as coach of the Dolphins never found a running back, albeit trying several players at the position. Also during the Johnson era, Marino would find himself inactive due to injury more and more often, leaving it up to Kosar, Craig Erickson and Damon Huard to replace him.

While now more injury prone and less consistent than he had been at the peak of his abilities, at no other time was Marino's decline as evident as a Thanksgiving game in 1999 versus the Cowboys. In his first game back after missing a month due to injury, Marino threw 5 interceptions, which was a major factor in the Dolphins losing 20-0. The Dolphins would then proceed to lose 4 out of their next 5 games to finish the season at 9-7, backing into the playoffs, with Johnson and Marino increasingly clashing as the season wore on.

Marino's final win was his first playoff road win, and his 37th comeback win, as the Dolphins defeated the Seattle Seahawks in January 2000, the final football game played in the Kingdome. In the next round, also on the road, Marino and the Dolphins were demolished in a 62-7 loss to the Jacksonville Jaguars. It was an ignominious end to a spectacular career, as he was replaced on the field by backup Damon Huard by the second half. Former NFL running back Craig James, who had played for SMU in Marino's final collegiate game, would have a footnote role in his pro finale as well: He had picked the Dolphins to win that game on CBS' The NFL Today -- where he would one day be joined as a panelist by Marino -- and said, "This game went from 'upset special' to 'upset stomach!'"

Before the 2000 season, Marino decided to retire, after being ungraciously pushed out of Miami by new coach Dave Wannstedt, a protege of Jimmy Johnson (who had resigned after the loss to the Jaguars), and declining offers from Minnesota and his hometown of Pittsburgh.

During his professional career (1983-1999) in Miami, he was one of the most skilled and revered quarterbacks in the game. He was known for having the quickest release in the sport, throwing dead-on 'bullets', and completing the most miraculous passes; often between defenders. Also, despite the fact that he was not known for his scrambling ability (he averaged less than 1 yard per carry on his 301 career rushing attempts), Marino possessed an uncanny awareness in the pocket, often sliding a step or two to avoid the pass rush. He has the second most fourth quarter comebacks (37) in the history of the NFL, and second most victories (147, John Elway is first in both categories).

He was the 1994 NFL Comeback Player of the Year after having a Pro Bowl season when he returned from a season ending achilles tendon injury at Cleveland in 1993. He was selected to play in nine Pro Bowls (1983-87, 1991-92, 1994-95), seven times as a starter, but due to injuries he only played in two of the games (1984, 1992).

In 1999, he was ranked number 27 on The Sporting News' list of the 100 Greatest Football Players, the highest-ranking Dolphins player.

NFL records set by Dan Marino

• Most Attempts, Career: 8,358
• Most Completions, Career: 4,967
• Most Yards Passing, Career: 61,361
• Most Touchdown Passes, Career: 420
• Most Passing Yards, Season: 5,084 in 1984
• Most Games, 400 or more Yards Passing, Career: 13
• Most Games, 400 or more Yards Passing, Season: 4 in 1984
• Most Games, 300 or more Yards Passing, Career: 60
• Most Seasons, 3,000 or more Yards Passing: 13 (1984-92, 1994-95, 1997-98)
• Most Consecutive Seasons, 3,000 or more Yards Passing: 9 (1984-92)
• Most Games, Four or more Touchdown Passes, Career: 21
• Most Games, Four or more Touchdown Passes, Season: 6 in 1984
• Most Consecutive Games, Four or more Touchdown Passes: 4 in 1984
• Lowest Percentage, Passes Intercepted, Rookie Season: 2.03 in 1983 (296-6)
• Most Seasons Leading League, Attempts: 5 (1984, 1986, 1988, 1992, 1997)
• Most Seasons Leading League, Completions: 6 (1984-86, 1988, 1992, 1997)
• Most Seasons, 40 or more Touchdown Passes: 2 (1984, 1986)
• 100 TD Passes in Fewest Amount of Games to Start Career: 44 (9/7/86 at San Diego)
• 200 TD passes in Fewest Amount of Games to Start Career: 89 (9/17/89 at New England)
• 300 TD passes in Fewest Amount of Games to Start Career: 157 (9/4/94 vs. New England)
• Most Points scored, QB (non-kicker)(2574)
• Highest TD-INT differential (+168)

NFL records tied for

• Most Seasons Leading League, Yards Gained: 5 (1984-86, 1988, 1992) with Sonny Jurgensen (Philadelphia, 1961-62; Washington, 1966-67, 1969)
• Most Consecutive Seasons Leading League, Completions: 3 (1984-86) with George Blanda (Houston, 1963-65)
• Most Consecutive Games, 400 or more Yards Passing: 2 (1984) with Dan Fouts (San Diego, 1982) and Phil Simms (N.Y. Giants, 1985)
• Most Seasons, 4000 or more Yards Passing: (1984-86, 1988, 1992, 1994) with Peyton Manning (Indianapolis, 1999-2004)

Additional statistics

Regular Season:

• Named NFL Most Valuable Player (1984)
• Played 242 games, starting 240 of them
• Career completion percentage of 59.4%
• Career passing efficiency rating is 86.4
• Threw 252 interceptions in his career
• First QB in NFL history to have six 4,000-yard seasons (1984-86, 1988, 1992, 1994)
• Only QB in NFL history to pass for 5,000 or more yards in a single season (5,084 in 1984)
• Led 37 fourth-quarter comeback victories, second only to John Elway.
• Holds Dolphins team record for most seasons played, 17.
• Had 116 wins under Don Shula – the most by a head coach - quarterback combination in NFL history.
• Won the AFC Offensive Player of the Week honor 18 times in the regular season (and 20 times overall, including playoffs).
• Started 240 Regular Season Games and Held a 147-93 record as a starter ( Second to John Elway's NFL Best 148-82-1 Regular Season Record )
• Played in 18 Playoff Games and Held an 8-10 Record in the Playoffs
• One of only six quarterbacks in NFL history that have achieved two consecutive (back-to-back) 30-touchdown passing seasons at least one time in their careers (the others are Steve Bartkowski, Brett Favre, Dan Fouts, Jeff Garcia, and Y. A. Tittle).

Playoffs:

• Passed for 4,510 yards over career in playoff games
• Threw at least one touchdown pass in 16 of his 18 playoff contests, throwing a TD pass in his first 13 postseason contests.

Life after football

File:DanMarinoMyLifeInFootball.jpg

The cover of Marino's 2005 autobiography

File:Movies ace ventura dan marino.jpg

Dan Marino held hostage in the movie Ace Ventura: Pet Detective.

On Sunday, September 17 2000, at halftime of the Dolphins-Baltimore Ravens game at Pro Player Stadium, Dan Marino’s jersey number, 13, was retired. The only other Dolphins jersey number retired at the time was 12, Bob Griese. Since then 39, Larry Csonka, has been retired as well. Marino joined the Dolphins Honor Roll the same day. In a year of accolades from the franchise he led so long and so well, the Dolphins also installed a life-size bronze statue of Marino at Pro Player Stadium (now Dolphin Stadium) and renamed Stadium Street, Dan Marino Boulevard.

In 2003, Marino was honored for his outstanding NCAA career at Pitt with an induction into the College Football Hall of Fame.

In early 2004, Dan Marino briefly returned to the Miami Dolphins as Senior Vice President of Football Operations, but resigned from the newly-created position only three weeks later, saying that the role was not in the best interest of either his family or the Dolphin organization.

Dan Marino was a first-ballot selection to the Pro Football Hall of Fame in 2005. He was inducted into the Hall of Fame on August 7 2005 and was introduced by his oldest son, Daniel. During his induction speech, Dan threw "one last pass" to former teammate Mark Clayton, who was sitting in the audience.

Presently, he lives with his wife, Claire, and six (four by birth, and two by adoption) children in Weston, Florida. He also has vacation homes in Myrtle Beach, South Carolina, San Francisco, California and Laramie, Wyoming

During the football season he is a commentator for both CBS's The NFL Today show and HBO's Inside the NFL.

He also acted in the 1994 comedy Ace Ventura: Pet Detective alongside Jim Carrey and Courteney Cox, as well as made a cameo appearance in the Adam Sandler film Little Nicky where he asks Satan for a Super Bowl ring. He even guest-starred as himself in The Simpsons episode Sunday, Cruddy Sunday (first aired January 31 1999). Marino also cameo's in Holy Man starring Eddie Murphy and Bad Boys II starring Will Smith. He also worked as a project consultant on Any Given Sunday, notice the similarities between himself and Dennis Quaid's character. The music world marked another appearance for Marino, when he featured in a video by Hootie and the Blowfish.

Dan currently is featured in advertisement campaigns for Hooters, Nutrisystem weight loss programs and Papa John's. In the past Dan has endorsed Isotoner gloves.

Dan Marino Foundation

The Dan Marino Foundation, was established in 1992 by Marino and his wife, Claire, after their son, Michael, was diagnosed with autism. The foundation has distributed over $7 million to research, services and treatment programs serving children with neurodevelopment disabilities. The Dan Marino Center, which opened in 1995 along with the Miami Children's Hospital, is an integrated neurodevelopmental center specializing in the diagnosis and treatment of children at risk for developmental and psychological problems. The center saw more than 48,000 children last year alone.

Marino has teamed with other celebrities to raise awareness about autistic spectrum disorders, including fellow NFL great Doug Flutie, whose son also has an autism diagnosis.

On November 7, 2005, the National Basketball Association's Miami Heat honored Marino's charitable works and recognized his service to South Florida with a halftime tribute, including a large donation to the Marino Foundation. Though a Heat jersey with his name and #13 was unveiled, this did not constitute retirement of his number by the Heat.[1]

Clock!! Clock!!

One of the most storied pieces of Marino folklore is The Clock Play, a classic piece of misdirection devised by Marino and backup QB Bernie Kosar. The date was November 27 1994. The Dolphins were playing the New York Jets at Giants Stadium, and weren't doing too well; in fact they were whitewashed the entire first half. In a classic game of two halves, however, Marino ran riot in the second half, bringing the score back to within three points of the Jets at 24-21 on the back of three touchdown passes to Mark Ingram. The game came down to a 1st and Goal situation, with 0:22 left in the final quarter. Marino approached the line of scrimmage, and shouted "Clock!! Clock!!", miming that he intended to spike the ball and stop the clock at the expense of a down. The Miami offensive line just stood there relaxed, instead of readying themselves for a play; the Jets' defense switched off, and did the same. The bait had been swallowed whole. Instead of spiking the ball, Marino took the snap and made a fourth touchdown pass to Ingram, who had breezed past the still-asleep Jets cornerback Aaron Glenn. After the extra point kick the result was 28-24 in favor of the Dolphins. Video of the play is here:[2]

External links

• Pro Football Hall of Fame: Member profile
• College Football Hall of Fame: Member profile
• Official site
• The Dan Marino Foundation
• Marino Raises Awareness Of Autism Tara Murphy, Forbes (December 8 2005)
• Career Stats