Magic Johnson stepped down from his role as Los Angeles Lakers’ president on Tuesday. No matter how closely associated some players and athletes are with their teams, it doesn’t always end well.
Brett Favre and the Packers
All is forgotten and forgiven in Green Bay over Brett Favre. However, there was a lot of bitterness when the quarterback headed toward the later stages of his career. He flirted with retirement over and over. Aaron Rodgers was waiting his chance and the love fell apart. Favre wound up a New York Jet and Minnesota Viking.
LeBron James and the Cavs
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Talk about a poweder keg. Everything broke loose when LeBron James announced he was “taking his talents to South Beach” and the Miami Heat in following the 2009-10 season. Local hero turns Benedict Arnold would have been kind. He did return in 2014-15 and brought Cleveland a championship. His second exit was far more tranquil. Oh, but the place he landed, Los Angeles, has turned into a quagmire.
Joe Montana and the Niners
Like Brett Favre, Joe Montana wasn’t ready to go. And the San Francisco 49ers were ready to move on from their legend, as were the Packers. Montana wound up as a Kansas City Chief in another example of a player who looked out of place in a different uniform.
Shaquille O’Neal and the Lakers
The Lakers were not big enough for Shaquille O’Neal and Kobe Bryant. After great success over eight seasons in La-La Land it was time to say goodbye to the big guy. O’Neal wound up in Miami and their personality conflict only continued to grow.
Donovan McNabb and the Eagles
Jim McIsaac/Getty ImagesLongtime Philadelphia Eagles quarterback Donovan McNabb’s time was running out and the Eagles had Michael Vick in place to step in despite his past. After 11 seasons in Philly. McNabb wound up with division rival Washington in a move that didn’t pan out too well.
Jon Gruden and the Raiders
Jon Gruden proves you can “go home” again if enough time has gone by. However, when he wound up as Tampa Bay Buccaneer coach after running the Raiders, it created a major rift that lasted many years.
Terrell Owens and the Eagles
Ah the trials and tribulations of dealing with the diva wide receiver. Terrell Owens got along with teammates and management and then he didn’t many times in his career. His tenure in Philadelphia ended with bad, bad blood.
Jimmy Johnson and the Cowboys
Not Jimmie Johnson and Chad Knaus in NASCAR. Those champions seem to be okay apart — on the surface. Jimmy Johnson and Jerry Jones proved as big as Dallas is there was not enough room for too such bombastic egos. Too bad, too, because who knows how many championships Dallas would have won if Jimmy Johnson stayed large and in charge.
Bill Parcells and the Patriots
A brilliant coach with some diva-esque qualities, Bill Parcells had breakups with multiple teams but the New England one bothered him. “I regret leaving New England. Had we done things differently … ” Parcells told USA TODAY Sports in 2013. “I had a good young team there. I hated to leave that team, because I knew what we could do. I was absolutely too headstrong. And he might have been a little headstrong, too. I think both (Robert) Kraft and myself, retrospectively, would have done things a little differently.”
Parcells and Belichick
They were a wonderful team and then they weren’t, too. Bill Parcells was flabbergasted and fuming when Bill Belichick decided to exit the gig as head coach of the New York Jets after one day. Things worked out okay for Belichick in New England and there is a truce … of sorts, of course.
Lane Kiffin and Tennessee
Another Raiders coach who created bad blood when he arrived, and left, for that matter. Lane Kiffin’s decision to bolt Tennessee for the NFL was one of the ugliest exits in sports history. Talk about clumsy and awkward
Bobby Petrino and the Falcons
Things weren’t working out for Bobby Petrino in Atlanta, so he up and decided to leave with three games left in his first season. Petrino wound up in Arkansas, where he had another disastrous exit.
Pat Riley and the Knicks
Pat Riley brought his championship pedigree to the New York Knicks. He was unable to deliver a title for Patrick Ewing & Co. So when a power struggle with team president Dave Checketts went on and on, Riley had enough and decided to leave, which he did via a fax.
Billy and George and George and Billy
The New York Yankees’ saga of Billy Martin and George Steinbrenner is legendary among sports breakups. They would break up and make up only to break up and make up again. Talk about people who couldn’t live with each other and couldn’t live without each other.
