When Jim McMahon was signed by the Eagles in 1990, he was expected not only to provide veteran backup for burgeoning superstar QB1 Randall Cunningham, but to bring some of the trademark flair he had made his name on during his mid-80s Super Bowl run with the Bears. To that end, the Eagles decided it would be a fun little prank to pull on their new insurance policy, with the help of the press attending the conference to introduce McMahon to Philadelphia on July 17th, 1990. The Eagles' PR people handed out sunglasses to all the reporters--the extraneous clothing item with which Jimmy Mac was most closely associated. What better way to intrduce a legedary kidder like McMahon?
However, the comedic potential of the situation was somewhat limited by Jim's complete unwillingness to play along with the joke He came out poker-faced and answered all the reporters' questions straight up. Even when asked about the rest of the room wearing his trademark glasses, McMahon still didn't bite. He would later claim that he was tired of the entire circus that had followed him in recent years, and seemed to be more interested in being taken seriously as a quarterback for once. He'd get his chance in 1991, when Cunningham tore his ACL during the first game of the season, and Jimmy had to step in as the starter. He went 8-3 as a starter for the Eagles that season, with a fairly respectable 80.3 passer rating, on the way to a 10-6 regular season record. It wasn't quite enough to get the boys in the playoffs, however, and Cunningham stepped back into the starter's role the next season.
McMahon would have one more year as a starter, this time with the Minnesota Vikings, going 8-4 in his 12 starts for them. He ended with a 67-30 career record, exactly 100 career TDs (to 90 interceptions), and a 78.2 career passer rating.
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