Dan Marino Offers 49ers QB Brock Purdy Sage Advice for First Super Bowl

The Hall of Fame quarterback drew on his own experience.

To call Miami Dolphins quarterback Dan Marino's first Super Bowl appearance in 1984 a hotly anticipated affair is an understatement.

In his first two seasons, Marino had rewritten the rules of what was possible for an NFL quarterback. He already had 68 passing touchdowns and two top-three MVP finishes to his name at the age of 24.

Of course, Marino's Dolphins lost 38–16 to the San Francisco 49ers in Super Bowl XIX and he never made it back—an experience that animated Marino's advice to second-year 49ers quarterback Brock Purdy, who is preparing for Super Bowl LVIII against the Kansas City Chiefs.

"In my day, I was one of the youngest ... quarterbacks to start in a Super Bowl," Marino recalled in a Wednesday interview with Sports Illustrated’s Brice Butler. "I thought I was gonna be back. I thought I was gonna be there many times. It just didn't work out."

Marino, who threw two interceptions in Super Bowl XIX, urged Purdy not to play scared.

"I would say, if I was him, just make sure you're prepared. Take care of the situation, and let it flow, man," Marino said. "Hopefully you can be a winner in the end and have that legacy with you for the rest of your life."

Purdy wears jersey No. 13 in honor of Marino. Purdy’s father, Shawn, was a big fan of Marino and the Dolphins, and the 24-year-old quarterback has said in the past that he molds his game on the field after the Pro Football Hall of Famer.

“I want to see him win,” Marino said of Purdy. “I think Kansas City is going to win, but I want him to win.”


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Patrick Andres
PATRICK ANDRES

Patrick Andres is a staff writer on the Breaking and Trending News team at Sports Illustrated. He joined SI in December 2022, having worked for The Blade, Athlon Sports, Fear the Sword and Diamond Digest. Andres has covered everything from zero-attendance Big Ten basketball to a seven-overtime college football game. He is a graduate of Northwestern University's Medill School of Journalism with a double major in history .