The Jury’s Still Out on Jim McMahon : Opinions Vary on How Trade Will Affect Chicago, San Diego

Richard Dent and Steve McMichael were getting dressed side by side in the Bears locker room, talking simultaneously and revealing just how varied and deep the feelings could run over Jim McMahon.

“He was a personal friend of mine and I’m gonna miss him, miss him bad,” Dent said. “Whatever he did off the field, he went out there and backed it all up.”

McMichael was one of the Bears who walked over to McMahon, after his first game as a San Diego Charger Saturday night. Did McMichael have some fond farewell for the man who had led the Bears to their only Super Bowl championship? “Nah,” McMichael said. “I just gave him a high five and said, ‘Get the hell out of town.’ ”

As Mr. Bear, Walter Payton, said Saturday night, “only a full season” will tell whether trading McMahon for what probably will amount to a third-round draft choice is a wise move or a dumb one; whether it will provide Mike Tomczak with the opportunity to show he can take the Bears back to the Super Bowl; or whether Chicago will be singing “Jimmy, oh Jimmy Mac, when are you coming back?”

The feeling of the city appears split on the issue. When Coach Mike Ditka went to his car Friday morning after the trade was announced he found scratched into the paint: “Jim was here.”

Bears management acts as if the trade is no big deal. “There is nothing uncharacteristic about this,” personnel man Bill Tobin was quoted as saying. Maybe not, if you forget that: Of the 14 quarterbacks who won the Super Bowl, only one was traded before his 30th birthday (McMahon reached that milestone Sunday); McMahon was the first quarterback of impact to play in a Bears uniform since Sid Luckman (1939-1950); of active quarterbacks, his 46-15 record (.754 percentage) is better than Joe Montana’s, Dan Marino’s, John Elway’s, Phil Simms’ and Boomer Esiason’s.

The Chargers didn’t risk very much to make this deal, even though they did give up a lot more than they would have had to on draft day.

Back then the Bears wanted the No. 6 choice overall, owned by the Chargers. San Diego wanted the Bears’ No. 11 pick plus McMahon, at which Chicago scoffed. In the second round, the Bears said they’d give up McMahon for the 37th pick overall, which San Diego owned. The Chargers said no.

The phone lines stayed pretty quiet until last Monday morning when the Chargers’ coaches looked at film and got confirmation that draftee Billy Joe Tolliver isn’t ready and that Mark Malone, Mark Vlassic and David Archer may never be.

So they gave up a sure third-round pick for an all-or-nothing quarterback. The pick becomes a No. 2 if the Chargers win nine games, and becomes a No. 1 if the Chargers win 10 or make the playoffs.

Steve Ortmayer, San Diego’s director of football operations, said his running game and defense are strong enough, that a quarterback can make all the difference in the AFC West, where 9-7 may win the division once again. “Jim McMahon has been to the mountain top,” Ortmayer said. “Jim has missed a lot of playing time, yes, but don’t minimize his performance on the field. It’s up to us to come up with a sound enough offensive line to keep him on the field.”

Asked if those people are already playing in Chargers uniforms, Ortmayer took a long breath and said: “Are those people here? We’d better hope they are.”

So it’s possible Ortmayer bought the Bears’ sale pitch, that McMahon lifted weights instead of golf clubs for the first time over the offseason and reported to camp in the best shape of his life. It’s possible that they should have paid more attention to the fact McMahon started only 32 of Chicago’s last 69 games, because of various injuries. He has played in 10 games or more only twice (1983 and 1985), has missed the playoffs twice, and has never played in more than 14 games.

Still Ditka apparently told Chargers Coach Dan Henning that McMahon is “capable of playing championship football” if he can stay upright.

He certainly is capable of playing inspired football. Several Chargers said after their 24-7 preseason victory Saturday that McMahon gives the team credibility it couldn’t have with Malone or Archer.

Ortmayer said the Bears did not shop around McMahon, and did not initiate the trade.

In fact Ditka went out of his way to thank McMahon for his contribution to the Bears since 1982. Ditka could have taken his shots, but said: “I think it’s time for him to get away from Mike Ditka. It is an ideal situation for Jim to continue his career in a quality situation where he is going to be the starting quarterback. They want him to start; they don’t want him to back up. I couldn’t give him that guarantee.”

McMahon said he felt he never had a fair chance to win the Chicago job, that Ditka hadn’t spoken to him since camp started last month, that Ditka thinks it’s his coaching, not the contribution of departed Super Bowlers such as Willie Gault, Otis Wilson, Wilber Marshall and himself that have given the Bears the best record the past five years.

Asked a day later if he regrets some of the shots he took at Ditka, McMahon virtually shouted, “No.”

The bottom line is the Bears weren’t sure McMahon could get it done anymore. During the playoffs last year, veteran Dan Hampton wondered aloud why so many veterans played hurt while McMahon stayed in the trainers’ room.

Also McMahon didn’t have a good second half last season. He lost the NFC title game against the 49ers. And this season the Bears were coming to the conclusion that not only was Tomczack going to beat out McMahon for No. 1, but that young Jim Harbaugh was winning the No. 2 spot.

Who can imagine McMahon sitting quietly behind two quarterbacks? Not Bears management. “We had no assurance that Jim would be happy in that role,” Tobin was quoted as saying. “Jim had never told us he wouldn’t be, but his (agent) had said he would have trouble with that, and if you’re going to pay someone to do your talking it better be accurate.”

So you trade one potentially disgruntled, perennially injured quarterback and go with the only active quarterback with a better winning percentage than McMahon: Tomczak.

Tomczak, in his sixth year, is 15-3 (.833) as McMahon’s fill-in, suggesting the Bears can win with defense if the quarterback is competent.

The Bears, however, should consider two things before they get carried away over Tomczak-Harbaugh. No free agent quarterback (which Tomczak was) has taken a team to the Super Bowl. And no quarterback from the University of Michigan, the trivia experts say, ever has won a game in the NFL.

Tomczak is in the toughest spot. He got the No. 1 job he’s always wanted, but lost probably his closest friend. Few people realize that it was McMahon who helped Tomczak through Ditka’s in-your-face, nationally televised tirades that stripped Tomczak of his confidence a couple of seasons ago.

“Jim was my mentor, my entire support system,” Tomczak said. “He’d get injured, and I’d get thrust into games with Coach Ditka on me. Jim called me over one night and said, ‘Be your own man’ and helped me learn how to cope. We like and respect each other. We’ll call each other. I’ll miss him.”