If the Oilers have Elway, where does Warren Moon end up? (He signed with Houston in 1984 in OTL.)
Sports What Ifs.
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Moon played college ball at Washington, so the history is there. But it would also depend on the situation elsewhere in the NFL, Moon was the first big name Free Agent in NFL history so any owner with enough money could try to make something work.
I remember a timeline that Seattle signed moon Exactly for said reason
Depends on what Tony George gets out of it. Another path to IndyCar could be developed through dirt track racing. More investment in developing American teams and drivers on the development ladder would absolutely be part of the price not to split.
George was adamant about getting more Americans in IndyCar, and to respect the roots of oval racing in the US.
There may be some cost saving measures enacted, as in more spec parts, but not spec cars, as Penske was still making his own chassis at the time and wouldn't be willing to budge.
In my old TL, I had George sidelined by recovering from being in a wreck caused by a drunk driver long enough to delay the seeds of the Split from being watered, and then dug up when Mario Andretti wins the 1993 Indy 500 instead of Emmo.
Honestly, to avoid any split whatsoever, you could argue that having USAC not drop the ball on Marlboro sponsoring the sport in the 70s would butterfly away almost all those problems. Dropping marlboro's sponsorship was a huge factor in dan gurney writing the white papers, which led to the formation of CART, whoch eventually led to the split.
In 2004, 05, and 06, the Grizzlies won 50, 45, and 49 games without LeBron. I see them winning a title in LeBron's second year and making deep runs the other two years.
In 2007, though, the Grizz won 22 games in OTL with a roster that included a 35-year old Eddie Jones, 33-year old Damon Stoudamire, and a 32-year old Chucky Atkins. LeBron makes them better, but not enough to do anything.
If that was the end of his deal (I thought that his deal ended in 2007), he probably walks after that season. Where he goes, it's anyone's guess.
Miami has D-Wade, but they were on the decline after their 2006 title.
Cleveland probably has Carmelo in this world. If they also found a way to keep Boozer, that could have been appealing.
Also, you have the Lakers, Spurs, Celtics, and Blazers (if they are adding Oden and still have Roy and Aldridge in this world) that also may pique King James's interest.
I doubt it would last beyond a season but if it did, it would be because the nfl would use it as a kind of minor league though I don’t see Vince McMahon being okay with that. Plus I don’t see any big name investors who’d want to find a second tier league. Maybe if Donald Trump wanted to but I’m guessing he’d rather just try to but the Bills or Jets then try another small time football league. Can’t really see any other way unless it’s by sheer luck and even then it doesn’t go beyond two seasons.
I don’t think it changes much if he still plays football. Alabama was still a powerhouse. Maybe Maryland gets a bit of a boost but being that the ACC is more of a basketball league, they might not get the national respect of a team like Alabama, though being on the coast helps.
If Namath goes to mlb however, I think it might hurt the credibility of the AFL. The Chiefs and Raiders got demolished in the Super Bowl, and while KC would probably still beat the Vikings in Super Bowl IV, the AFL might seem like a bit of a joke. The Jets themselves might also struggle and might become something like the Clippers of the nfl. Someone might even move them if they don’t draw well at the Meadowlands.
So I’ve been working and started a college football timeline involving a Nebraska that never becomes a football power, and I’ve seen a lot of what ifs involving big college coaching names and players as well. A few interesting ones:
1. What if Bo Schembechler takes the Texas A&M job in 1982? Apparently he was thinking about it but got a raise from Michigan and was given ownership of a Dominos Pizza franchise across from Ohio Stadium in Columbus.
2. What if Bobby Bowden left Florida State for Auburn in 1981 or Alabama in the late 80s or early 90s. Bowden was a huge Bama fan and did play for the Tide but transferred to Samford his last year.
3. What if Jackie Sherrill stayed at Pitt? Apparently he considered it a big mistake in hindsight even though he was successful at Texas A&M and Mississippi State. Could Pitt have stayed a more powerful team like Penn St?
4. What if Auburn’s Pat Dye had been hired at NC St in 1980? Dye apparently thought he was going to be a top candidate for the Wolfpack, but they instead went with future NFL coordinator legend Monte Kiffin, who was mediocre and only stayed briefly.
5. What if Dan Devine had been hired earlier at Notre Dame? He was a finalist for the job in 1960 and 1964, and had success at Arizona St and Missouri. Would he still be successful or stick with the Irish longer? Also what happens to Ara Parseghian? Does he keep Northwestern from being a doormat? Does he go somewhere else? Apparently he also was looking at Miami in addition to Notre Dane. Might be interesting to see if he could build up the Hurricanes before the 80s.
1. What if Bo Schembechler takes the Texas A&M job in 1982? Apparently he was thinking about it but got a raise from Michigan and was given ownership of a Dominos Pizza franchise across from Ohio Stadium in Columbus.
2. What if Bobby Bowden left Florida State for Auburn in 1981 or Alabama in the late 80s or early 90s. Bowden was a huge Bama fan and did play for the Tide but transferred to Samford his last year.
3. What if Jackie Sherrill stayed at Pitt? Apparently he considered it a big mistake in hindsight even though he was successful at Texas A&M and Mississippi State. Could Pitt have stayed a more powerful team like Penn St?
4. What if Auburn’s Pat Dye had been hired at NC St in 1980? Dye apparently thought he was going to be a top candidate for the Wolfpack, but they instead went with future NFL coordinator legend Monte Kiffin, who was mediocre and only stayed briefly.
5. What if Dan Devine had been hired earlier at Notre Dame? He was a finalist for the job in 1960 and 1964, and had success at Arizona St and Missouri. Would he still be successful or stick with the Irish longer? Also what happens to Ara Parseghian? Does he keep Northwestern from being a doormat? Does he go somewhere else? Apparently he also was looking at Miami in addition to Notre Dane. Might be interesting to see if he could build up the Hurricanes before the 80s.
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A powerful Pitt throughout the 80s and 90s May eventually have led to the Eastern super conference Paterno always wanted to stitch together out of all those Northeastern independents
I’ve always wanted to do a timeline of this. Have Penn St get this league. I heard the big issue was that Penn St had bad basketball and not only that, they didn’t really care about it. So that kind of killed their Big East chances, though maybe you get Paterno to make a more football centric league. Maybe then you get an earlier version of the more basketball centric Big East that exists today.
Also, I wonder if such a league might be powerful enough to bring in both Florida St and Miami. Obviously the league would have Penn St, Pitt, West Virginia, Syracuse, Boston College, Virginia Tech and Miami, and probably Rutgers. I don’t see Temple getting in, at least at first. Maybe Florida State and them or even Louisville or Cincy eventually (Howard Schnellenberger built Louisville football up and maybe they get an invite. Maybe the service academies get in too but they were struggling at the time. Might be interesting to se if such a league could get to 12.)
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It depends on how they do in 82 with Sherrill. If they have about the same season in 82, and Marino still struggles, the drug rumors will be there. From what someone told me on another forum, those rumors really crippled the program. Their 1976-82 glory days have never returned since.
The most realistic time for him to be hired probably would have been in 1964. He may have stayed longer because he wouldn't have been following a legend in Ara Parseghian (that is why he left ND after only six seasons in OTL).
If he stayed 10+ years or so, here's who would have been affected:
1. Green Bay Packers. Since Devine probably doesn't want the job in OTL, maybe they put more of a full court press on Paterno, and he accepts. As a result, Paterno brings assistant Jerry Sandusky with him. Now, I don't know how good of a pro coach Joe could have been, but many lives would have been affected negatively in that area (although, it may have led to Jerry getting caught way earlier).
2. Joe Montana: If Devine is there in 1974 and not Ara, does Joe go to Notre Dame? It seemed to me like Devine wasn't in love with Joe for some reason. Another school that Montana was looking at was N.C. State, where he could play basketball and football. What if he does well as a point guard, and has an NBA career instead of an NFL one?
Interesting about Paterno. I know he turned down the Steelers in 69 which probably was better as Chuck Knoll built a dynasty there. Not sure if Paterno would want to go to Wisconsin, but if he does I don’t see him lasting long. He goes back to college whenever Penn State has a vacancy or he goes somewhere else on the east coast. Maybe West Virginia or Syracuse or even Pitt and sadly Sandusky ruins more lives in more places.
As for Montana, I could see him going to another school if Devine is coach. Might mean that Devine might not stay until 1980 as in OTL. He might even take a less stressful job as in OTL he got burned out by Notre Dame and IIRC his wife had MS and some other health issues. Maybe he goes to Michigan St or Minnesota or somewhere like that. I know while at Notre Dame he looked at going to Michigan State while at Notre Dame. Also I read that Ara was looking to get out of Northwestern and looked hard at Miami before going to Notre Dame. Might be interesting if he can make the Canes more notable before their 80s heyday.
The Canes were decent in the late-60's when Ted Hendricks was there. Maybe Ara can keep them there, and Howard never ends up there. 80's-00's college football would have been different without The U.
Here's another WI: What if OU coach Jim Mackenzie (I think that's his name) didn't die of a heart attack in April 1967 after returning from a recruiting trip? If he stays several years, maybe Fairbanks never takes over, and Barry Switzer ends up somewhere else.
Also, speaking of Sandusky, I heard that he almost got the Toledo HC job in 1977, but they gave it to Chuck Stobart instead.
I heard Barry almost went to Michigan State in the early 70s before he became HC. That’d be interesting given that for all the scandals in the Big Ten involving Ohio State, Michigan State has had a ton and Barry himself might make that worse. Granted he’d probably recruit well and keep Michigan State powerful until they got on probation. Barry also might be the guy who replaces Lou Holtz at Arkansas as Barry was an Arkansas alum. It’d be weird not to see Barry at Oklahoma though. It’s like not having Osborne at Nebraska or Paterno at Penn St.
I heard that Barry almost went to Tennessee in the early-70's as well. If he is there by 1977, maybe Johnny Majors stays at Pitt. Also, here are some more "what ifs":
What if Bear Bryant took the Dolphin job in 1970?
What if K-State didn't hire Snyder in 1988?
KSU was one of the worst programs in the history of the sport before Snyder took over; they’d probably have continued to be a long term bottom feeder
Majors staying at Pitt may have kept them a major power… interesting