Montana’s advice to Purdy: Don’t press
The evening dealt with the passing of time and because the guest speaker was a quarterback—in San Francisco, The quarterback—the passing of a football.
Through the years, the MPSF Speakers Series has offered prime ministers, former presidents, executives, and other notables. On Wednesday at the Paramount Theater in Oakland and on Zoom, it was Joe Montana.
He is now 68 years old, a proud grandfather of three, and as successful in the business suite as he was on the gridiron—arguably even more so A look back is full of sweet memories, both for Joe, who led the 49ers to four Super Bowl victories, and for the fans who remember the exploits of the guy nicknamed “Super Joe” and others from those championship years.
An audience that likely included more than a few current Niners supporters frustrated with the team’s disappointing record this season was given the opportunity to ask questions. Unsurprisingly, one of the questions was about Brock Purdy, who now holds the quarterback position that long ago was held by Montana.
What advice would he give Purdy, was a question for Montana. “You don’t press,” was Montana’s response. “Go back to your fundamentals—on offense and defense.”
Sounds simple, but as Montana knows, it doesn’t turn out to be simple.
Montana was drafted in the third round in 1959 by a rookie coach named Bill Walsh. The Niners were not very good in those days.
“That season, to put it mildly, we looked like the Bad News Bears,” said Montana. “When we played the Cowboys, Bill started to substitute and I hid behind him, but he saw me and put me back in the game.”
Ronnie Lott, the star defensive back, joined the team in the 1981 draft, and, alongside the maturation of Montana, helped elevate the Niners to a Super Bowl appearance that once seemed out of reach. "The culture improved," Montana recalled.
Walsh then chose a little-known receiver from Mississippi Valley State University, Jerry Rice, who broke virtually every receiving record and helped win more Super Bowls.
“Walsh was ahead of his time,” said Montana. “He started the back shoulder throw. His offensive style was different than the others. He always wanted to complete the pass. You had to understand the philosophy behind what he did. He demanded that the quarterback be perfect. He paid most attention to the littlest details.”
Montana fondly recalled Walsh’s sense of humor, like the time he dressed up in a bellman’s uniform to greet the team upon their arrival in Detroit for Super Bowl XVI. He also talked about Super Bowl XIX at Stanford, where before the game Walsh sat in the locker room and jokingly whined, “Oh, those Miami Dolphins are so good, we have no chance.”
As history shows, the Niners beat the Dolphins.
Montana and his wife Jennifer have been married for 40 years. And Joe laughed as he talked about trying to propose to her.
“We were out to dinner, and I wrote on the back of the check, ‘Will you marry me, Jen?’ She said I didn’t really ask her. Then I hired a plane to fly over the Marina Green with a banner that said, ‘Will you marry me, Jen?’ She still said I hadn’t actually asked her.”
Finally, he added, “So then I asked her properly—and she said yes.”
He always had the right touch.