George Young once found himself in the same situation as Mike Maccagnan. Different circumstances, but the same career-defining choice.
He needed a quarterback.
The gap between Y.A. Tittle and 1979 had stretched on for a decade and a half, not nearly as long as the Jets' search for a true franchise quarterback but certainly long enough to leave Giants fans in a state of utter frustration. They'd had quite enough of the Jerry Golsteyns and Joe Pisarciks and Gary Woods and over-the-hill Norm Sneads that littered the team's yearly passing list since Tittle had left the scene after the 1964 season.
The Giants themselves had had enough of the losing. Like the Jets, they were a punchline, a franchise in turmoil from the top down. A feud between co-owners Wellington Mara and nephew Tim Mara threatened the organization's very existence. The coaching wasn't much better. And neither were the drafts.
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So when commissioner Pete Rozelle basically forced Young down the Maras' throats as a solution to their battle in '79, the new general manager came with a mandate: Bring stability to the team and get them on the right track again.
As daunting as that was, Young proved himself up to the responsibility. Picking seventh in that year's draft, he spent his first selection on Phil Simms, a little-known quarterback out of Morehead State.
The crowd just about tore down the Waldorf Astoria Hotel ballroom.
Not with elated cheers.
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With anger.
They had no idea that Young had just picked the man who would lead them over the next decade. Surely, a trade-up for someone like Jack Thompson, the Washington State slinger who went No. 3 to the Bengals, would have been far more preferable than Simms. Even Clemson's Steve Fuller, who went at No. 23 to the Chiefs in the three-quarterback round, had a bigger profile than Simms.
Young eventually had the last laugh, though. Thompson and Fuller turned into busted picks. After a couple of developmental years, Simms turned into a man of legend, leading Ray Perkins' team into the playoffs in '81 and Parcells to his first of two Super Bowl titles in '86. Only an injury late in the 1990 regular season deprived him of that second Lombardi Trophy as a starter. That one went on backup Jeff Hostetler's ledger.
Other picks certainly helped along the way: Lawrence Taylor at No. 2 in '81; cornerback Mark Haynes with the eighth pick in '80, Carl Banks at No. 3 in '84. And that's not to mention all the later-round gems Young unearthed through the years.
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But it started with quarterback. Simms stood as Young's first great pick that started a 19-year stretch that marked Young as a personnel genius. It's a head-scratcher as to why Canton has yet to come calling.
Maccagnan sits in a similar seat today. His job depends on his ability to turn the Jets around from the generally moribund bunglers who last saw the playoffs in 2010 into the glittering winner the fan base has awaited since Joe Namath guaranteed that Super Bowl win in 1968.
It starts with quarterback, and Maccagnan knows it. Josh McCown and Teddy Bridgewater are short-term solutions at best. The long-term answer probably lies somewhere in this quarterback-rich class, which is a far cry from the mediocre group of '79. Four QBs -- USC's Sam Darnold, UCLA's Josh Rosen, Wyoming's Josh Allen and Oklahoma's Baker Mayfield -- all come in as potential top-10 picks. Heaven only knows which ones will succeed and which will bust.
Maccagnan handed the Colts two second-round picks this year and one next year to move up from No. 6 overall to No. 3 over the weekend.
He didn't do it to grab a cornerback.
He's hunting quarterbacks. Assuming either the Browns or Giants grab Penn State's all-world running back Saquon Barkley at No. 1 or 2, and barring any leapfrogging from another quarterback-hungry team such as Denver or Buffalo, Maccagnan has positioned himself to grab the best or second-best of those four, whoever his value board deems worthiest.
Maccagnan has acted accordingly.
Now he must choose wisely.
Picking the right one in his fourth draft will set him on the path to redemption and glory after Bryce Petty and Christian Hackenberg.
The wrong choice will probably cost him his job.
Young was in his first year when he made his choice. But without Simms, he would never have forged the reputation he did.
The mixed results of the Maccagnan era can change on a dime if he picks the right guy.
He has set the groundwork. Now he must simply do it.
Follow Ernie on Twitter at @ErniePalladino
