Dan Marino Reacts To Joe Montana Naming Him Best QB Of All-Time

Legendary Miami Dolphins quarterback Dan Marino is coming out of retirement this weekend...sort of.

Marino has inked a "one-day contract" with Pepsi to be the face of the new "grab and go" Wynwood Walkthrough at Hard Rock Stadium for the Dolphins' home opener against the Denver Broncos.

"My main job will be to take care of the first 50 fans that come. We'll do pictures, autographs, whatever it may be and just have a fun time before the game at 1 o'clock," said Marino, who also starred in Pepsi's recent "Unretirement" ad with Randy Moss and Emmitt Smith. "I'll be there at 11. It should be a lot of fun."

We spoke with Marino ahead of this new venture about his thoughts on the current Dolphins, what Aaron Rodgers might have in store for him in his Achilles recovery and more.

Let's get started...

The Spun: The theme of this new Pepsi gig is unretirement. We were wondering if you ever seriously considered "unretiring" and returning to the NFL after you hung up your cleats, or if you were always set in your decision.

Dan Marino:  So Pepsi approached me and I figured I'd do that (laughs). You always think about it if you're a player who played a long time and had success, it's always in the back of your mind. I started doing television with HBO and once I was done, I was kind of done. A lot of guys come back, and I probably could have played more. Without a doubt, I felt like I could have played a couple of more years if I wanted to. But I felt the time was right, with health and having played with one team for 17 years. It felt good at that time to do what I was doing. But definitely, there's no doubt if you talk to good players, throughout their careers at the end, they always feel like they could play more.

The Spun: Looking at this year's Dolphins team, have they looked as impressive to you through this 2-0 start as they have to a lot of other people?

DM: The Dolphins are 2-0. Two road wins, which I think any team would be excited about coming home. I think there's always room to improve but a lot of positive things that the Dolphins have been doing the last two weeks. 

Like anybody, I'm a fan too. Just like you're a fan or someone else is a fan. I'm excited about the opportunities for the Dolphins.

The Spun: Looking at Tua Tagovailoa, what have you seen from him over the last couple of years and this year specifically? Where do you think he's made improvements and what are you looking to see from him next?

DM: Tua's been doing a great job. He's a tough kid. Last year, he had a few injury issues, but his timing, his work as a professional, being a great teammate, is all there. I think he'll continue to grow and always when he plays, he gives us a chance to win. That's the cool part.

The Spun: Miami's two receivers, Tyreek Hill and Jaylen Waddle, get a lot of attention. You're someone who knows what it is like to play with two great wideouts at once with the "Marks Brothers," Clayton and Duper. When you see them, how do they kind of compare to those guys and some of the other duos around the NFL right now?

DM: I know it's been a long, long time and I played with Duper and Clayton 11 years, but they're very similar. Those guys, Tyreek and Jaylen, they work hard. They're true pros. They could do a lot of great things if they stay healthy. If things go well for us, they'll continue to grow as receivers. You always try to grow, no matter what it is. Whether you're 10 years in the league or one year in the league, you try to get better all the time. They do that and you can tell they do it. Duper and Clayton were that way.

I would have fun throwing to all four of them at once. If you could have all four of them on the team at one time, I would have some fun with those guys.

The Spun: Speaking of having fun, you're obviously someone who had a lot of it on the field and accomplished some amazing things. Recently, Joe Montana picked you as the best quarterback of all-time. I'm sure you saw that and have been asked about that. What were your thoughts hearing him say that.

DM: Well, Joe's my man. I've known Joe a long time. We actually go back to doing a Pepsi commercial after the Super Bowl when the 49ers beat us. It was a commercial that we did in Pittsburgh back then, and I knew him before that too.

Joe's a good friend. That's my man. It was good for my ego, let's put it that way (laughs).

The Spun: Who are some of the quarterbacks that you most enjoy watching around the NFL today? Is there any one that you think kind of compares to you stylistically?

DM: That's a tough question. I think there's so many really good players now. Very athletic, big arms, have all the anticipation, all of that. Aaron Rodgers was someone I always thought I kind of threw similar to him. It's a shame what happened to him. I'd love to see him come back from that injury. I had that injury and I'd love to see him do that. 

But there's so many guys right now that are playing at a really high level. It's good to see, because I love the position. I love guys that play that position, that are true pros and there's a lot of that in the league.

The Spun: That actually segues perfectly into our next question. As someone who went through and came back from an Achilles tear, what was going through your mind when you saw Aaron Rodgers get hurt? What does he have ahead of him and do you anticipate him coming back and playing?

DM: First of all, when I first saw it, I knew there would be a chance [at a tear] because of how his ankle and his calf stretched out. I remember that. In my case, what I did, we were at Cleveland Stadium and it just got caught up in the grass. 

Knowing the type of pro he is and the pride he has, he's gonna want to come back and play. He'll be able to come back from that and play at a high level as long as the recovery and rehab is what he needs. It's a very tedious rehab. I went through it and it can be frustrating at times, but you do get through it. 

Playing the quarterback position the way he has for so many years, his body will adjust and he'll do just fine when he wants to come back and play. I'm looking forward to seeing that from him because he's been such a true pro for so many years.

The Spun: Our last question, and we asked this to Carl Banks recently, is who were some of your favorite players to compete against during your NFL career. It could be an opposing defensive back, a pass rusher you had to worry about, another quarterback you were playing against...

DM: Well, Carl Banks, what a great player he was. Those guys, I didn't play against them much, but him and LT [Lawrence Taylor] were just incredible, the defense they had.

For me, it was always about the division. Playing in the division, the Buffalo Bills, their defense. Playing in Buffalo was always hard; it's still hard to play there. Bruce Smith, Darryl Talley, Cornelius Bennett, that whole defense was pretty special for a lot of years and we had to deal with that. They went to four Super Bowls. I feel like if they weren't as good at times, we would have gone to a couple of more Super Bowls but we we had to go through them. They were really good. Those were the guys I think back on. The tough wins were against them in Buffalo, especially in that late 80s, 90s when they were so good.

You can read more of our interviews with athletes and media stars here.