Tanner Milroe

San Diego, USC and the receiver who chose quarterback

Born in San Diego on November 9, 1948, Tanner developed into one of the most extraordinary athletes in WAU history. Before the 1969 draft, he reportedly measured 6’8” and 226 pounds, ran a 4.68 forty and recorded a 47-inch vertical—supposedly the highest jump any team had measured at the time.

He began as a wide receiver. In retrospect, his receiving style resembles Randy Moss’s vertical, jump-ball game, but with an extremely primitive route tree: run past a defender, jump over him and catch the ball. Tanner was an overwhelming athlete rather than a polished receiving technician.

He wanted more control over the game and a way to use his football intelligence beyond being a giant deep threat. He made the full-time move to quarterback in his final year at USC. The first person who seriously believed he could become an NFL quarterback was Tanner himself. His earlier childhood and high-school history remain undocumented.

Green Bay, 1969–1974: Roger Hall’s apprentice

Green Bay drafted Tanner in the 11th round, with pick 9, in 1969. The league saw a giant athlete who barely knew how to play quarterback. Being taken so late created a lasting chip on his shoulder, although young Tanner did not yet have the enormous ego of his later career.

He spent six seasons behind Roger Hall. Roger taught him preparation, film work, reading defenses and the professionalism required to play NFL quarterback. Tanner became obsessive about film and believed continued development would eventually bring his opportunity; he did not spend the entire apprenticeship demanding a trade.

He collected rings in Super Bowls IV, V, VII and VIII as a backup. Tanner joked that he “won” all four, but personally did not count them as his own championships because he had not been the starter.

Miami, 1975–1984: five-time MVP

Tanner reached free agency in 1975 and signed with Miami for three years and $450,000. His first season was an adjustment year. He then became one of the defining quarterbacks of the era, winning NFL MVP in 1977, 1979, 1980, 1981 and 1983.

Miami’s Super Bowl XV victory gave him his first championship as a starting quarterback. He won his second Miami championship in Super Bowl XVII.

His five MVPs were his favorite accomplishment. More than the interception record, and even more than the rings in some respects, they proved to him that at his best nobody was better.

1984: the contract war and the trade home

As the reigning MVP and a five-time winner, Tanner wanted a three-year, $7.5 million contract with serious guaranteed money. He wanted to be paid as football’s biggest star. Miami refused.

Tanner held out and was genuinely willing to miss the entire season. Once he decided he was being disrespected, he would burn the situation down before backing off. Dan Marino started during his absence.

Miami traded Tanner to San Diego midway through 1984. He was excited to go home. Miami’s fans split between those who welcomed Marino as the future and those furious that the franchise had let a five-time MVP leave. He had demanded a $7.5 million contract.

San Diego, 1984–1991: the full expression of Tanner Ball

The later Tanner emerged in San Diego: more aggressive, more interception-prone and increasingly the embodiment of “Fuck it, somebody’s down there somewhere.” Yet he did not throw 30–40 interceptions every season. Most years fell around 12–24, and only 1988 and 1990 exceeded 25.

In 1988 he threw for 4,842 yards, 40 touchdowns and 40 interceptions. He sincerely called it his best season. Forty touchdowns, forty interceptions and zero fear represented the purest version of his football philosophy.

His 1990 season produced 3,988 yards, 33 touchdowns and 27 interceptions. He considered it one of the greatest years of his life because San Diego beat San Francisco 23–16 in Super Bowl XXV. Winning a title with his hometown team was one of his most meaningful accomplishments.

He played one more season in 1991 and retired at 43. The Super Bowl XXV championship belongs to the 1990 season; he did not win another championship in his final season.

Dan Marino: antagonism becomes hatred

Tanner initially resented Marino for becoming Miami’s starter during the holdout. His repeated taunt—“You never took my job. I wasn’t there.”—turned a quarterback succession into a deeply personal feud. Four of Tanner’s nine fights with opposing players were with Marino.

Tanner usually antagonized people because he found it entertaining. Marino eventually stopped being part of the joke. Their hostility was genuine, not a manufactured spectacle.

The 1985 divisional meeting captured the escalation: Tanner won the game, won their physical fight and then publicly bragged about winning the fight. They met five times in the postseason, with Tanner taking the final meeting and the series, 3–2.

Across those games, Marino completed 140 of 192 passes for 1,637 yards, 14 touchdowns and three interceptions. Tanner completed 162 of 214 for 1,872 yards, 15 touchdowns and 13 interceptions. Marino was much cleaner; Tanner threw ten more interceptions and still won the series.

Cody Harrison and the best of the 1980s

Tanner dominated the early part of the decade; Cody became the overwhelming force of the later 1980s. The argument over the decade’s best quarterback centered on them. Tanner believed he was better, but respected Cody and considered the debate roughly 50/50. They were friends rather than enemies.

Tanner offered a consistent philosophy with inconsistent outcomes. Cody offered an inconsistent career with a terrifying peak. Tanner’s fearlessness and cultural influence through Tanner Ball stood alongside Cody’s explosive genius and extraordinary individual seasons.

Savannah Milroe

Tanner met Savannah in 1971 while he was still an unknown Green Bay backup. They married on October 6, 1977, during his first MVP season, and had no children.

He was much calmer at home, where Savannah knew a side of him that most fans never saw.

Broadcasting and the 2009 exit

After retiring, Tanner became a sports commentator. He was genuinely good at explaining football, combining deep knowledge of the game with memorable rants and an entertaining delivery.

He left broadcasting in 2009 as networks increasingly sought cleaner language, safer opinions, sponsor-friendly personalities and a more polished presentation. He felt they were trying to censor him. His view was simple: if a network did not want Tanner Milroe, it should not hire Tanner Milroe.

Modern football and the McCauley Rules

During his playing career, Tanner was nearly universally beloved. His era rewarded toughness, risk-taking, fighting, swagger, playing hurt and antagonizing opponents. By the 2010s and 2020s, his “back in my day” attacks on modern football were challenging the sport’s changing values.

He thought modern quarterbacks were afraid of throwing, contact and mistakes, and were overprotected and “whiny.” The McCauley Rules represented everything he despised: a sport that, in his view, had become terrified of its own nature instead of accepting that grown men chose to play a dangerous game.

This opposition cost him popularity. His personality had worked in an era that rewarded it; as the culture changed, some of the same people who once loved him turned against him. He was not immune to the social expectations that also made Jaxson controversial.