Notre Dame Football: 15 best quarterbacks in Fighting Irish history
By John Buhler
Joe Montana coming in here at No. 9 almost feels wrong. The guy is arguably one of the two greatest quarterbacks in NFL history, along with Tom Brady of the New England Patriots. His ability to thrive in Joe Walsh’s West Coast offense with the San Francisco 49ers made him an NFL legend. But this list is about what “Joe Cool” did in South Bend and not all that he accomplished in the Bay Area for the Niners.
Montana was a gifted athlete growing up in Western Pennsylvania. In high school, he was a three-sport star. Though he made a name for himself on the gridiron, his first was on the hardwood. Montana nearly committed to North Carolina State to play hoops and possibly football, before joining the Notre Dame program in 1974.
As a sophomore in 1975, Montana got a little bit of playing time for then-new head coach Dan Devine. He had a legit shot at winning the starting job outright in 1976, but a shoulder injury sidelined him for the entire campaign. Thus, it gave Montana an extra year of eligibility to use at Notre Dame. Montana certainly made the most of his final two years in South Bend.
In 1977, Montana completed 52.4 percent of his passes for 1,604 yards, 11 touchdowns and eight interceptions. He was originally third on the Irish quarterback depth chart but eventually usurped both Rusty Lisch and the Gary Forystek to win the job beginning in Week 4. The Irish won all nine of the games that Montana started that year, resulting in a national championship for the Notre Dame program.
Montana saw his play improve in his redshirt senior season in 1978. He completed 54.2 percent of his passes for 2,010 yards, 10 touchdowns and nine interceptions. Montana led the Irish to the Cotton Bowl Classic where they would play the Houston Cougars. He was dealing with hypothermia during that bowl game, needing blankets, intravenous fluids and chicken soup to stay warm. Montana would lead a furious comeback to defeat the Cougars in what was the “Chicken Soup Game” in Dallas that January.
Once his collegiate ability was exhausted, Montana would famously be a third-round pick by San Francisco in the 1979 NFL Draft. All he would do was win four Super Bowls, make seven trips to the Pro Bowl, make five All-Pro teams, win two NFL MVP awards in his 14 years with the 49ers. Montana played two more years with the Kansas City Chiefs in 1993 and 1994 before retiring. He was inducted into the Pro Football Hall of Fame in his first year of eligibility in the Class of 2000.