IT'S EASY TO say that Donovan McNabb is right. That Syracuse, his alma mater, has no business unretiring the No. 44, worn by Jim Brown, Ernie Davis and Floyd Little.
But it's a bit more complicated than it seems.
The school retired the number in November of 2005. Even hung an banner emblazoned with it hanging in the Carrier Dome.
Back then, the athletic director was Dr. Daryl Gross who said, "If there was ever a number that needed to be retired it is 44."
Fast-forward to 2013 when Little - then a special assistant to Gross - brought up the idea of bringing the number back saying, "I don't agree that it belongs in the rafters.