There was plenty of controversy between Steve Young and Joe Montana, and the 49ers' lefty expanded on the two's relationship.
Longtime fans of the San Francisco 49ers may recall the late years of the 1980s dynasty when quarterbacks Joe Montana and Steve Young were awkwardly trying to coexist underneath head coach Bill Walsh while trying to do a job for just one person.
Keyword: Awkward.
For those not quite familiar with the way things played out, Montana was already established as the GOAT, yet Walsh brought in Young in 1987 to serve as the backup. However, Walsh felt Young could be the heir apparent and even dabbled in swapping the two back and forth on game day.
You can watch a more detailed breakdown of how this all went here.
Needless to say, that experiment didn't pan out well, but Young's ascent eventually pushed Montana to the Kansas City Chiefs in 1993, leaving Young behind on the path to Hall of Fame greatness.
While decades have passed, Young still admits the relationship he has with his Hall of Fame predecessor is still, well... awkward.
Steve Young admits relationship with Joe Montana is still 'awkward'
Speaking to In Depth's Graham Bensinger, Young elaborated on his relationship with Montana, both then and now.
The full interview, which airs Super Bowl LIV weekend, covered plenty of topics ranging from Young's days at BYU, his decision to ultimately retire and much more.
But his comments about Montana are of note.
When asked about an interaction with Montana's then three-year-old daughter at a dinner party, Young reflected and quoted her, "'Is this the guy we hate?' And [Montana] is like, 'No, no, no. That’s somebody else.'"
Awkward. But it certainly didn't end there.
Related story: You probably didn't know this Steve Young story after he won the Super Bowl
"I will say this about Joe: Joe's a good dude," Young added. "We got along. We played golf, we laughed, we did a lot of things together. But it was always awkward. There's a great commercial AT&T did a few years ago called ‘Awkward,’ where Joe and I come to Bo Jackson's house and he comes in unannounced. We have this weird interaction."
In case you forgot that memorable commercial, here you go.
"It's been awkward. It's always been awkward," Young continued. "And I think it'll always be awkward, because we both wanted to be super successful and there's only one job. And yet, we never argued. I never had a cross word with him. We never had it out, because there's nothing to have out. It's just awkward."
If that awkwardness produces back-to-back Hall of Fame starting quarterbacks, though, it's unlikely few 49ers fans would ever complain.