Young Could Play, but Says He Won't

By ROBYN NORWOOD

June 13, 2000 12 AM PT

TIMES STAFF WRITER

SANTA CLARA —

The goodbye was long and it was fond, but Steve Young wanted one thing absolutely clear Monday during his 90-minute retirement ceremony in the locker room of the San Francisco 49ers’ practice facility.

“For the record, I know I can still play,” said Young, who told the 49ers last week that he would retire at 38 in the wake of multiple concussions that increased the risk of serious brain injury if he kept playing.

“The fire still burns, but not enough for the stakes,” said the longtime 49er quarterback, a newlywed whose wife is expecting their first child in December.

Said 49er Coach Steve Mariucci, turning toward Young during the news conference: “Steve, I know it was important to you to have your kids see you play. . . . But more importantly, I promise you, you are going to enjoy watching your kids play and that is far, far more important.”

It seemed possible a week ago that Young might finish his career with the Denver Broncos after Bill Walsh, the 49er vice president and general manager, made it clear he would prefer Young retired.

“The San Francisco 49ers, we considered the risk factor really to be too much for us to overcome,” Walsh said by phone from Los Angeles, where he attended the funeral of former Los Angeles Ram general manager Don Klosterman. “But it really never had to get to that, because Steve told us he was going to retire.”

Young flew to Colorado and met with Bronco Coach Mike Shanahan last week (“It was frustrating for us that the National Football League didn’t consider what happened as tampering,” Walsh said.)

But instead of moving on to the Broncos or Seattle Seahawks, who were also interested, Young did something Joe Montana did not: He went out a 49er.

“Today, obviously, this is a tough decision, but I know I made the right one because I studied it, prayerfully,” said Young, master of ceremonies of his own farewell in his erudite way, waxing philosophic about football, coaches and teammates and even saying, “The world should huddle more.”

“I count myself a spiritual man. It just kind of settled on me that this is the right decision, so I do it with a lot of joy.”

Most everyone close to Young agreed it was best, although his father, LeGrand “Grit” Young, might have been a bit more on the fence.

“Dad’s an old football player, and if you asked my Dad right now and he was truly honest, he’d tell me to walk over and put the pads on and go out and be a man,” Young said.

His mother, Sherry, on the other hand, once charged the field to grab a tackler when Young was 8.

Young’s wife, Barbara--who joked that before meeting him she wasn’t interested in games “unless there was a good bean dip involved”--said she was ready for him to keep playing if he chose to after a number of doctors cleared him, although the 49er medical team never made a public decision.

“Every test came back that he was fine,” she said. “I wasn’t worried.”

But Young has retired, and he ruled out a comeback.

“No, no, no, no,” he said.

Young’s farewell brought together figures from the 49er upheaval of recent years, including ousted former owner Eddie DeBartolo and former president Carmen Policy.

The ceremony was another chapter in the passing of an era, with receiver Jerry Rice, who recently re-signed with the team, one of the lingering links.

“I woke up about 4:30 this morning and I think it really hit me, this guy is going to retire,” Rice said. “We had such a great chemistry and a great relationship.”

Thrust into the unenviable role of replacing Montana in 1991, Young went on to finish his career as the top-rated quarterback in NFL history with a rating of 96.8, and as the most accurate passer in history as well, completing 64.3% of his passes.

He twice was the NFL’s most valuable player, and set a Super Bowl record with six touchdown passes in a 49-26 victory over the San Diego Chargers in Super Bowl XXIX.

“Mike Shanahan said he’s one of the top five quarterbacks of all time,” said Brent Jones, Young’s close friend and a former 49er teammate. “I definitely agree, and I know one thing: None of those other four, whoever they may be, had to follow a Hall of Famer.”

Replacing Montana helped forge Young into the player he became, not merely the great scrambler who captured fans with his famous 49-yard touchdown run as a backup against the Minnesota Vikings in 1988, but a record-setting passer as well.

“You know, I don’t wish it on anybody to try to do something like [replacing Montana],” he said. “The standard was so very high. . . . I only wanted in all my years here to live up to and expand on the standard he set.”

Now someone must replace Young. Jeff Garcia is one candidate, and Walsh said Monday the 49ers expect to sign Rick Mirer.

“We can’t expect the next guy to be Steve Young. That’s impossible,” Mariucci said. “The bar is very high. That’s motivation to be better than you ever thought you could be.”

Young’s plans are many--from continuing to expand his charity group, the Forever Young Foundation, to starting a lawyers’ pro bono group (Young holds a law degree) to heading the volunteer effort for the 2002 Salt Lake City Winter Olympics and perhaps starting a school. He also has an Internet company, Found.com, that already has 120 employees.

Young also has interviewed to work as an analyst on “Monday Night Football,” but agent Leigh Steinberg said he has not heard back and categorized television as “high risk.”

Young said TV work is “not in my immediate plans.”

Ditto politics.

“My wife’s feeling is pretty strong that wouldn’t be good for right now.”

As for life without football: “To me, I’m grateful not to be working on Sunday so I can go to church.”

Life will be different, but he’ll adjust.

“I can tell you right now it’s going to be weird, but I also know it is going to be great. This is the end of one part of my life.”

The 49er part.

“I loved playing for the San Francisco 49ers,” Young said in a speech reminiscent of Kevin Costner’s in the movie “Bull Durham.”

“I love Candlestick Park. I love the music they play after touchdowns. I love the hyped-up roar of the Monday night crowd and the ethereal fog rolling in.

“I loved pacing the sidelines all those years. I loved playing Dallas, and I loved playing Green Bay. I loved the expectation that every year we were going to the Super Bowl, and we almost did.

“I loved walking the tunnel for so many years with my great friend Brent Jones. The place always smells a little like a landfill. It had a unique smell, a very Candlestick smell.

“I loved the feeling of our offense and the anticipation that we were going to score 50. Many times we didn’t, but we usually scored enough.”

He chose to say his goodbye among teammates in the locker room.

“This is the most intimate place for players,” he said. “This is where relationships are forged.

“In a way, I guess, I wanted to show up for work one more day.”

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By The Numbers

NFL MVP awards (1992 and 1994): 2

Concussions during 13 seasons with 49ers: 6

Completion percentage, and NFL record: .643

Winning percentage as a starter (94-49 record): .657

Touchdowns rushing, an NFL record by a quarterback: 43

Passer rating, highest in NFL history: 96.8