John McVay, Key Figure in the Making of a 49ers Dynasty, Dies at 91

“Bill said, ‘Can we check and see why Montana keeps dropping?’” McVay told the newspaper The Repository of Canton, Ohio, in 2012. “I told Bill, ‘Let me call one of the Notre Dame assistant coaches.’”

He contacted Bill Gruden, who had been an assistant to McVay when he was head coach at the University of Dayton.

“I asked him, ‘Billy, what’s the story with Montana?’” McVay recalled. “Billy’s response was brief. ‘Just take him.’”

Montana teamed with Dwight Clark and later Jerry Rice, both receivers, and running back Roger Craig in the innovative West Coast offensive scheme that propelled the 49ers to dominance.

McVay’s success in San Francisco came after what he once called “the most horrifying play in Giants history.”

It happened at Giants Stadium on Nov. 19, 1978, with the Giants leading the Philadelphia Eagles by 5 points in the closing seconds.

McVay’s offensive coordinator, Bob Gibson, called a third-down play, in which quarterback Joe Pisarcik was to hand the ball off to fullback Larry Csonka instead of dropping to one knee and letting the clock run out.

Article source: https://www.nytimes.com/2022/11/01/sports/football/john-mcvay-dead.html