Gold Jacket Spotlight: Dan Marino a strong-willed, confident leader

Always standing tall and operating with confidence, DAN MARINO exuded the aura of the ultimate NFL quarterback. 

Commonly known as a “pure passer,” Dan was a three-time All-Pro and well-deserving member of the Pro Football Hall of Fame’s Class of 2005. 

During Dan’s enshrinement speech, his father, Dan Sr. (serving as his presenter), said: “You only deserve what you earn.” 

Dan, who this week steps into the Gold Jacket Spotlight, most certainly earned his Gold Jacket, using his strong arm and quick release to accumulate 61,361 total career passing yards. 

From the University of Pittsburgh to the Miami Dolphins, and to Canton, Dan has carried family values along the way. Heavily influenced by the presence of his family, Dan chose to stay home and play football with the Pitt Panthers. 

“I could go home, and get my mother to wash my clothes, you know, and get good meals,” he stated on the importance of his proximity to the university. 

The ultimate confidante and life coach, his father wrote him letters and pushed him forward throughout Dan’s life. He set a precedent of working hard every day.

Drafted in 1983, others doubted Dan in the lead-up to the draft, but he never doubted himself. 

“You can play or you can’t,” Dan’s father wrote in a letter to him at Pittsburgh. “The lower you drop, the better the team. Whatever you get, you’re going to have to work for, because anything worth having is worth working for. You don’t want people giving you stuff anyway, because eventually you got to earn it.”

Off the bat, Dan shined as a rookie. “The Bazooka from Pitt,” as his teammate Don Strock called him, Dan was named as a Pro Bowl selection and The Sporting News’  1983 Rookie of the Year. 

“Oftentimes, the quarterback position is not one you would say is intimidating; he’s not an intimidator,” said former NFL head coach Jason Garrett on Dan’s iconic pocket presence. “But I think Dan Marino is intimidating to the people who were going against him.”

A passer extraordinaire, “Dan the Man” followed his amazing rookie season with five consecutive seasons leading the league in passing.

The 1984-85 season saw Dan and the Dolphins compete in Super Bowl XIX, following their AFC Championship Game against his hometown team, the Pittsburgh Steelers. 

With fierce competitive nature, Dan played through numerous injuries, but a ruptured Achilles tendon in the 1993 season ended a streak of 99 consecutive starts. 

As a leader, Dan and his presence were a tremendous boost to his teammates. Having a reputation for being reliable and always being on the field for Miami was important to him. 

“We were so optimistic about what could happen for that team, and it was deflating — it was frustrating — and to see Danny go through what he had to do to get back was even more frustrating,” teammate O.J. McDuffie said of Dan’s injury in 1993. 

In usual fashion, Dan’s confidence was ironclad. 

In the following season, he bounced back with a remarkable season from the pocket. His 4,453 yards and 30 touchdowns can only be described with Dan’s opinion of the first game that season, “Once I got out there and started playing, it’s like I wasn’t even hurt.” 

In the face of turmoil and the pursuit of triumph, Dan experienced all of the highs and lows over a 17-year career. He retired holding numerous NFL records, including pass attempts (8,358), completions (4,967), passing yards (61,361), career touchdown passes (420) and touchdown passes in a season (48).

When you think of Dan Marino, competition, confidence and prestige are all worthy descriptions, but gratitude and humility are at the root of his success. From staying at home to attend Pitt, to never wanting to miss a snap for Coach DON SHULA and his teammates, Dan defined a “Hall of Famer.”

If “you only deserve what you earn,” then Dan Marino deserved it all.