Anybody who has asked Joe Montana about Steve Young in the last 30 years got the same answer: Montana did not have a personal problem with Young. He just didn’t want to cede an inch of territory to him.
That was the dynamic of the 49ers of the 1980s. It was similar to the dynamic between Brett Favre and Aaron Rodgers with the Packers in the 2000s; between Tom Brady and Jimmy Garoppolo with the Patriots; and, recently, between Rodgers and Jordan Love. So when Ryan Tannehill said this week that it was not his job to mentor rookie Malik Willis, he really doesn’t need talking heads or columnists to back him up.