One can imagine that Deion Sanders has some pretty thrilling Super Bowl memories from his playing days. He won two in back-to-back years with two different teams. The first one, in 1995, featured a 49-26 thrashing of the San Diego Chargers.
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However, when Deion later reflected on the game, Super Bowl XXIX, he revealed that his fondest memory from it wasn’t related to a play he made. Instead, it was a kind, friendly gesture toward his former teammate, Bill Musgrave.
Deion always appreciated Musgrave during their time together with the San Francisco 49ers. Musgrave was a career backup quarterback to Steve Young in the Bay Area and later backed up John Elway during his final years in Denver. Musgrave only started one game in his five-year career, though. That’s why Deion wanted to give his buddy a chance to throw a pass during the Super Bowl while the 49ers held a commanding lead.
The now-Colorado Buffaloes head coach then cooked up a plan. He approached his head coach, George Seifert, hoping to persuade him to give Musgrave the opportunity. Now, that’s quite a risk to take in a big game like that. However, when a player like Deion asks for something, you listen. And so did Seifert.
“Billy worked his butt off, prepared us, really got us right,” Deion revealed in February this year.
“But he never played because of Steve Young, so during the Super Bowl we were kicking San Diego’s butt, and I go to George Seifert, and I said, ‘Put Billy in.’ And he looked at me like, and I said, ‘No, man, put Billy in.’ And he put Billy in, and Billy got to throw a pass and Billy got to play in the Super Bowl,” he added.
It was a truly thoughtful gesture from Deion toward Musgrave. He wanted to ensure that his teammate had his moment to fulfill a lifelong dream of playing in the Super Bowl. It was also generous of Seifert to oblige and make it happen. At the end of the day, it’s what we love about sports: great stories and memorable moments.
Deion later called the moment his favorite Super Bowl memory to this day. “That’s my fondest memory, man. That’s really my fondest Super Bowl memory that Billy got to play,” he said.
Fast forward to today, and Deion’s son, Shedeur Sanders, was just drafted by Cleveland, 144th overall. Guess who the newly appointed quarterback coach is there? That’s right, it’s Bill Musgrave! Deion’s old teammate.
Did Musgrave play a role in drafting Shedeur? Most likely. Additionally, the Browns drafted another rookie quarterback in Dillon Gabriel.
We’re not saying Musgrave selected Shedeur solely because of his history with Deion. However, given their shared past, Shedeur can likely count on his head coach. And much like Deion, Musgrave will surely do his best to give Shedeur every opportunity to make an impact when it matters.
