‘I Know He’s a Leader and a Winner’ : McMahon’s Different, but Chargers Are Eager to Meet Him

He hit his seventh grade teacher, has verbally sparred with everyone including his head coach and the commissioner of the National Football League and led the Chicago Bears to a Super Bowl championship.

And he is coming to your town.

Few Charger players know quarterback Jim McMahon. But everybody on the team is familiar with him.

“Who doesn’t know much about McMahon?” Charger running back Lionel James asked.

Said receiver Jamie Holland: “It will be a pleasure to meet him. I can’t wait to meet the guy. And there’s no better way to meet him than meeting him as my quarterback.”

And so it went Friday at UC San Diego as Coach Dan Henning sent the Chargers through a final walk-through before they left for Chicago to play an exhibition game and pick up a new quarterback. McMahon will join the Chargers this afternoon in Chicago and return with them late tonight.

“I know he’s a leader and a winner,” cornerback Gill Byrd said. “We want a guy like that around. We haven’t been accustomed to winning, so maybe he’ll bring in a new line of thinking. I don’t know him. I know of him, like everybody else. He’s a winner--that’s all I need to know.”

The only Chargers who have stood on the same sideline with McMahon are quarterback coach Ted Tollner, who was the offensive coordinator during McMahon’s senior season at Brigham Young in 1981, and defensive end Tyrone Keys, who was with the Bears from 1983 through 1985.

Keys said the McMahon he knows is not necessarily the same one who appeared on the cover of Rolling Stone and was dubbed a punk rock quarterback.

“One of the illusions people have is that he’s arrogant,” Keys said. “He’s nothing like that. He’s strictly a team player. The media perceived him one way, but the players all loved him.”

Of course, that was before and during the Bears’ Super Bowl Shuffle through the NFL in 1985.

“The team changed after the Super Bowl, with everybody looking for their share,” Keys said. “But (before), we had a real close team.”

McMahon may enjoy promoting his footloose reputation, but Keys also said he is a hard worker.

“Without a doubt,” Keys said. “Look at the way he’s come back from injuries. He works his butt off in the off-season. He’s a hard-nosed player who will hang out with the offensive line and roll his shirt (sleeves) up. He’s a throwback. I think it was a positive move. He’s a proven winner. He’s a guy who I think the players will rally around.”

Quarterback Mark Malone won’t be one of them. By late Friday afternoon, he was getting ready to board a plane home to Baden, Pa., to map out future plans, still reeling from the news that he had been cut.

“Yeah, but it happens,” he said. “Hopefully, something will come up in the near future.”

Veteran quarterback David Archer said he wasn’t surprised by the McMahon acquisition.

“The Bears have three quarterbacks playing pretty well, which made all of them marketable,” Archer said. “The way (Jim) Harbaugh and (Mike) Tomczak played in the first preseason game (against Miami) allowed them to make a move.”

Archer also said he wasn’t surprised to see Malone released.

“Again, I’m not surprised by any moves,” he said. “I had my best training camp as a pro in Miami last year and was released. You never know. Obviously, Jim was brought in here to try to start. Until he gets a full grip on what we’re doing offensively, they’ll be leaning toward myself and Billy Joe (Tolliver, a rookie).”

Holland doesn’t know McMahon, but one of his Ohio State quarterbacks, Tomczak, has spent the past four years with McMahon in Chicago. Holland said he talked with Tomczak this summer and asked him about McMahon.

“He said McMahon is a leader,” Holland said. “And what what more can a quarterback say? I’ve talked to our other receivers, and their eyes were lighting up.”

Said James: “A lot of people dislike his demeanor. He’s his own person. He says what’s on his mind, but I think that’s a good quality in a person. I’m looking forward to playing with the guy.”

McMAHON IN THE REGULAR SEASON

Year Cmp. Att. Yds. Pct. TD Int. 1982 120 210 1501 57.1 9 7 1983 175 295 2184 59.3 12 13 1984 85 143 1146 59.4 8 2 1985 178 313 2392 56.9 15 11 1986 77 150 995 51.3 5 8 1987 125 210 1639 59.5 12 8 1988 114 192 1346 59.4 6 7 Tot. 874 1513 11203 57.8 67 56

McMAHON IN THE PLAYOFFS

Year Cmp. Att. Yds. Pct. TD Int. 1985 39 66 636 59.1 3 0 1987 15 29 197 51.7 1 3 1988 16 32 134 50.0 0 1 Tot. 70 127 967 55.1 4 4