Joe Montana and the Kansas City Chiefs.
Lots of talk about it in Kansas City. Lots of talk about it all over the country - particularly since the Chiefs hired former 49ers quarterbacks coach Paul Hackett as offensive coordinator to install a San Francisco-style offense.But for the moment, talk is all it is. Montana, as of Thursday, still has a contract with the 49ers - albeit a rather unusual contract.
Montana signed a contract in 1990 for four years but negotiated salaries for only three of those seasons: 1990, 1991 and 1992. At the end of the 1992 season, the 49ers had an option to renew the contract, and Montana had an option to renew the contract. Both sides must to agree to renew.
The 49ers have a huge public-relations problem. They cannot just cut Montana, the man who led them to four Super Bowl titles. The San Francisco public would crucify them.
So far, the 49ers have indicated publicly they want Montana on their team for the 1993 season. Montana's representatives are talking with the 49ers, trying to negotiate the best possible terms for the 1993 season.
So even if the Chiefs are panting after Montana, they cannot negotiate with him without being guilty of tampering. For Montana to become a Chief - at least at this point - the Chiefs would have to trade with the 49ers.
No quarterback the stature of Montana, who will be 37 next season, has been traded from one team to another in recent history. Most trades of starting quarterbacks have involved players of comparable talent: Houston's Dan Pastorini to the Raiders for Ken Stabler or Washington's Norm Snead to Philadelphia for Sonny Jurgensen. The Chiefs do not have a quarterback who has accomplished what Montana has, and the 49ers are stocked at quarterback.
At the very least, the 49ers would demand comparable value, likely linebacker Derrick Thomas or defensive end Neil Smith. Even if the Chiefs were willing to make that trade they probably would have to throw in a draft choice or another player. When the Los Angeles Rams traded starting quarterback John Hadl, then 35, to the Green Bay Packers in October 1974, the price was two first-round picks, two second-round picks and a third. There is a possibility Montana could be declared a free agent, but several things would have to happen.
Montana would have to exercise the contract option and not renew with the 49ers. The 49ers would not be entirely opposed to that because under the Rooney Rule provision of the free-agency settlement, teams that played in a conference championship game are prohibited from signing a free agent until they lose one. If Montana were declared a free agent and signed with another team, the 49ers could sign a free agent for the amount of the contract that Montana signed with his new team.
The league would have to agree to this, and although he had not reviewed Montana's contract, one of the league's labor specialists told reporters in a background session at the Super Bowl that he did not believe that would be allowed. If Montana became available, the Chiefs would have to determine whether he could help them - not as simple a task as one would imagine.
Montana, who suffered a torn right elbow tendon in August 1991, has played one half of one game in the last two seasons. He played impressively, completing 15 of 21 passes for 126 yards and two touchdowns in a 24-6 victory over Detroit in the final game of last season.
But whether his arm would hold up under the demands of training camp - it did not last season with the 49ers - is uncertain.
The Chiefs begin their off-season program in mid-March, and quarterbacks throw twice a week. It would be imperative for Montana to attend those sessions to help the Chiefs install the offense more smoothly. But whether those throwing sessions would strengthen Montana's arm or wear it out before camp is uncertain.
Chiefs President/General Manager Carl Peterson would have to make a real gut check to sign Montana to a large signing bonus not knowing the answer to that question.
And putting all that aside, Peterson is not one who subscribes to the theory that a team ever is just "one player" away from a Super Bowl title.
But it does make for interesting talk - though at this point, that's all it is.