If Steve Young had been told during his time with the Tampa Bay Buccaneers that he would one day be enshrined in the Pro Football Hall of Fame, he likely would not have believed it. During an interview on the “Dan Patrick Show,” Young reflected on those early days and shared stories from his career.
“We had good players. We didn’t win, but I always said we weren’t losers,” Young said. “These guys that I played with were not losers. We just didn’t have the super structure to go get it done.” He added that if asked about reaching the Hall at that point, his response would have been “how?”
Despite early setbacks, Young credited offensive coordinator Jimmy Raye for providing key encouragement: “I think that I had a coach Jimmy Raye who turned to me a couple times and said ‘look you’re going to be good, so just hang in there. We’ve got to get some help but you’re going to be good.’ (…) And I think I took that as a flare or a signal that like things were going to be OK. But Hall of Fame? Who says when their first year they’re losing, ‘I’m a Hall of Famer. This is going to be great. I’m killing it man. It’s going so good. I can’t wait to lose another 12 games’?”
In discussing Jerry Jones and his management of the Dallas Cowboys, Young referred to Jones’ prominent role within the organization following his participation in the new Netflix docuseries “America’s Team: The Gambler and his Cowboys.” According to Young: “It’s weird that the Cowboys have struggled for so long. Yet, they’re still America’s team, and Jerry’s done a great job about that. He’s created this image (…)” He further commented on Jones’ approach by saying Jones “has not empowered anybody else to go in the locker room and threatened to fire anyone.” Young said this limits coaches’ authority: “That’s a big piece and any coach would tell you that. That’s a big piece of being able to get a great team together.”
Young also remarked on how wearing the star for Dallas comes with expectations: he thinks Cowboys players should earn their helmet stars based on performance benchmarks such as wins or playoff appearances—“I’ve always said that the Cowboys should start with no stars on their helmet and then when they get to 10 wins, put a star on and then when you get to the playoffs or you get in the championship, you get another star,” he said.
When asked about Aaron Rodgers joining Pittsburgh after recovering from an Achilles injury last season with New York, Young discussed how Rodgers’ style may need adjustment as he ages: “He’s always been able to threaten the line of scrimmage and I think that’s part of his game. As he ages, you’re not going to threaten the line of scrimmage nearly as much with your legs, but I think he’s back to a place where he can now have confidence that his body is healed and well, and so I think he’s going to look late 30s right. I don’t think he’s going to look that old,” he said.
Young continued by addressing quarterbacks’ effectiveness extending plays: “There’s so many yards. There’s so many touchdowns out there for free for quarterbacks who threaten the line of scrimmage and especially in the big games. That’s where he’s going to have to decide, ‘Do I actually still do that?’” He added,“You look at the Super Bowl and championship games, they’re all won by guys threatening the line of scrimmage and making those big plays and creating that space.”
Looking ahead for Rodgers’ season with Pittsburgh, Young concluded:“I think he’ll have a very good season. I think the Steelers will be classically Steelers.They’ll play great defense and win games and close ones.He’ll have a better season than he’s had,and then it’ll get into January and see if they can make some noise.”
