An open letter from Fran Tarkenton to Marcus Mariota





In the first half of his first game as a Titan, quarterback Marcus Mariota threw four touchdowns, tying Hall of Famer Fran Tarkenton's 1961 record for most touchdowns in NFL history by a rookie quarterback making his pro debut. This is an open letter to Mariota submitted to The Tennessean by a Tarkenton representative.

Dear Marcus,

Congratulations on a record-setting game to start your career! Throwing 4 touchdown passes in a dominant victory in your first NFL game is an experience you'll never forget—and I say that from experience.

As you may have heard, those 4 touchdowns tied the NFL record for most touchdowns in a player's first game. I did the same thing, back in 1961. In my first game (incidentally, also the first game in franchise history for the Minnesota Vikings), I came off the bench against the mighty Chicago Bears—owned, coached, and managed by the legendary George Halas, founder of the entire NFL!

I entered the game late in the first quarter and had a game I'll never forget. I completed 17 of 21 passes, threw 4 touchdowns, and ran for another—I hope you'll forgive a retired quarterback for bringing up that little edge I still have on you. We shocked the Bears 37—13 and became the first expansion team to win their first game.

This past off-season, I heard from all the pundits and experts about all your flaws as a player, why you weren't good enough to be the number 1 pick, why you couldn't be the first quarterback taken in the draft. Marcus Mariota is "too nice." Marcus Mariota has never taken snaps under center. Marcus Mariota ran a no-huddle offense in college. Marcus Mariota is a product of the system at Oregon. Marcus Mariota isn't ready for a pro-style offense. Marcus Mariota is a project. Marcus Mariota can't help a team right away.

But all those experts never look at the right things. They want to know how fast you run and how far you can throw. That's not what wins football games. Pretty much every quarterback in the league has NFL-level physical skills; it's the mental that matters.

When I graduated from the University of Georgia, I had great expectations for the 1961 NFL draft. I had heard that the Washington Redskins, the team of my boyhood growing up in Washington, D.C., were interested in drafting me. But in the first round, they passed on me and took another quarterback instead. Norm Snead was a wonderful player and I was happy for him, but I had thought that would be my spot. Instead, I didn't get selected until the third round, and not by Washington, but by an expansion team that hadn't even played a game. Falling to the third round told me that despite my success at a big-time school, teams around the league didn't think I was good enough.

I was joining the NFL at the bottom rung, but I never doubted that I was going to make it and succeed in the NFL. I will bet that you felt the same way these past months.

That first game on Sunday showed a lot, but the bad news is that not every game will go so well. After my debut, when it looked like I had it all figured out, I went out for my second game and completed just 8 of 24 passes and threw 2 interceptions. So remember this: when the struggles come, what separates the great quarterbacks from everyone else is their ability to learn. I learned more from losing than I ever did from winning, and when I didn't play well I locked myself away and studied so that I wouldn't repeat the same mistakes.

I lost 3 Super Bowls. And no matter who you are, over 18 years in the NFL you lose a lot of games. I never blamed those failures on my teammates, coaches, or anyone else. I took ownership of our failures. I was the quarterback. The buck stopped with me. I didn't take ownership to be a martyr, but to motivate me to do better in the next game. Because I owned those failures, I examined them in detail. I remember the pain of those failures in detail, but I also remember all the important lessons I learned from them that made me better as a quarterback and, later, in business.

When you can go out and complete 13 of 16 passes, throw 4 touchdowns, and win convincingly in your first game, that shows you have the right stuff. No doubt there will be bumps and bruises along the way, just as there have been for every great player. But with hard work and a readiness to learn and grow, you have a bright future ahead of you as a star in this league and for years to come.

I wish you all the best of luck.

Best Regards,

Fran Tarkenton

Tarkenton, an NFL Hall of Fame quarterback played for the Minnesota Vikings and the New York Giants from 1961 to 1978. He is the author of The Power of Failure: Succeeding in the Age of Innovation and an entrepreneur who runs two websites devoted to small business education.