Kurt Warner, who once handled himself with utmost professionalism in a mentorship quandary, has come out to slam comments made on the topic by Ryan Tannehill.
On Tuesday, the Titans’ quarterback told reporters that “I don’t think it’s my job” to mentor Malik Willis, the quarterback from Liberty whom the team selected in the third round of the NFL Draft.
“I will never understand the ‘I’m not here to mentor the next guy’ mentality,” Warner tweeted.
“So for all you young QBs that need a mentor, DM me & Ill be that guy, happy to help in any way I can!”
With the Giants, Warner was very gracious in his mentorship of Eli Manning. Manning was selected first overall in 2004 by the Chargers. He did not want to play there and was ultimately shipped to Big Blue, where it immediately became a matter of when and not if he would supplant Warner as the starter.
Warner credited former Giants coach Tom Coughlin with being candid about the predicament.
“I don’t think there’s any question at the time I was the better quarterback,’’ Warner said in 2019, before Manning would ultimately yield the job to Daniel Jones. “It wasn’t like every day I was going, ‘I’m better than him.’ We know that. I give Tom so much credit, he looked me in the eye and told me this is why, it’s not fair to you, you got to deal with it.’’
After handling the situation with aplomb, Warner landed in Arizona, where he eventually thrived. In the 2009-10 season, Warner and the Cardinals reached the Super Bowl.
As for Tannehill, he has more of a fighting shot to hold off Willis than Warner ever had with Manning. The Titans were 12-5 and the No. 1 seed in the AFC last year, and Willis is not seen as being immediately NFL ready, or he would’ve been selected sooner than the third round. If Tannehill can lead the Titans to postseason victories, he can maintain a stranglehold on the job.