James Robert McMahon Jr. (born August 21, 1959) is an American former professional football quarterback who played in the National Football League (NFL) for 15 seasons, most notably with the Chicago Bears. He played college football for the BYU Cougars, earning first-team All-American honors in 1980 after leading the NCAA in passing yards and passing touchdowns. The following year, McMahon won the Davey O'Brien Award and the Sammy Baugh Trophy and was named a unanimous All-American. He was selected by the Bears fifth overall in the 1982 NFL draft. In 1998 McMahon was inducted into the College Football Hall of Fame.
McMahon achieved his greatest professional success with the 1985 Bears team that won the franchise's first Super Bowl title in Super Bowl XX. He also received Pro Bowl honors during the season. However, after suffering a rotator cuff injury the following season, McMahon struggled with injuries throughout the rest of his career. Following his seven years in Chicago, McMahon played for the San Diego Chargers, Philadelphia Eagles, Minnesota Vikings, Arizona Cardinals, and Green Bay Packers. McMahon spent his final seasons in a backup role, including on the Packers team that won Super Bowl XXXI. He was inducted into the College Football Hall of Fame in 1998.
McMahon was born in Jersey City, New Jersey. He was raised Catholic. He moved with his family to San Jose, California, when he was three. Growing up, McMahon played all sports in his neighborhood, encouraged by his parents. "We told him to believe he was the best," his mother said. "If he didn't, nobody else would."
McMahon played high school football his freshman and sophomore years at Andrew Hill High School, then moved with his family in the summer of 1975 to Roy, Utah, where he played his junior and senior years at Roy High School and graduated in 1977.
McMahon enrolled at Brigham Young University (BYU) and played college football for the Cougars. He was their punter during his freshman season. He also played baseball, but he played enough at quarterback to throw his first-ever collegiate touchdown pass against UTEP. He continued as the Cougars' punter as the 1978 season began, but when Marc Wilson was injured in the third game of the season (against Colorado State), McMahon became the starting quarterback. McMahon led BYU to victory against Colorado State, accounting for 112 passing yards, 80 rushing yards, and two touchdowns. He was named Chevrolet Player of the Game and Western Athletic Conference (WAC) Player of the Week for his performance. McMahon and Wilson shared quarterback duties for the rest of the season; McMahon played well enough to earn All-WAC and Associated Press honorable mention All-American honors. The best game of his sophomore year was against Wyoming: he passed for 317 yards and rushed for 49 more yards, earning another WAC Player of the Week award.
McMahon suffered a knee injury towards the end of the 1978 season and BYU coaches chose to redshirt him in 1979. McMahon watched from the sidelines as Wilson set nine NCAA records, tied two others, and became the first BYU player to earn consensus first-team All-American honors; he finished third in Heisman Trophy balloting.
With Wilson graduated and in the NFL with the Oakland Raiders, McMahon beat out Royce Bybee to claim the starting quarterback position in 1980. BYU lost the opener 25–21 against New Mexico, but then won eleven straight to claim the WAC championship. McMahon set 32 NCAA records, including single-season records for yards of total offense (4,627), passing yards (4,571), touchdown passes (47), and passing efficiency (176.9). His best game was against Utah State; he completed 21 of 33 passes for 485 yards and six touchdowns, and added two rushing touchdowns. That performance earned him Sports Illustrated's National Player of the Week award. McMahon's season statistics might have been even better, but he spent significant time on the sidelines because the Cougars won many games by wide margins. Although he started all 12 regular-season games, he only finished three of them.
BYU led the nation in passing offense, total offense, and scoring offense during the regular season. McMahon earned numerous awards for his individual accomplishments, being named WAC Player of the Year, unanimous First-team All-WAC, Utah Sportsman of the Year, and Deseret News Athlete of the Year. He was named to four All-American teams and finished fifth in Heisman Trophy voting.
In the Holiday Bowl, the Cougars faced an SMU team led by star running backs Craig James and Eric Dickerson, and the Mustangs built a 45–25 lead over BYU with just four minutes left in the game. As Cougar fans headed for the exits, McMahon screamed that the game was not over yet. He promptly guided BYU's offense to three quick touchdowns, including a 41-yard Hail Mary pass to Clay Brown to win the game as time expired. It is regarded as one of the greatest comebacks in college football history; BYU fans refer to it as the "Miracle Bowl".
In McMahon's senior season in 1981, despite missing two games due to injuries, he passed for 3,555 yards and 30 touchdowns in the regular season, again leading BYU to a WAC championship. For his efforts, he was named WAC Player of the Year and unanimous First-team All-WAC. On a national level, he was named First-team All-American by five different organizations and finished third in Heisman Trophy balloting. He received the Davey O'Brien Trophy and the Sammy Baugh Award, and he shared the Pigskin Club NCAA Offensive Player of the Year award with USC's Marcus Allen. He earned Sports Illustrated's Player of the Week award after his performance against Colorado State, in which he tied a school record with seven touchdown passes.
In his last game as a Cougar, McMahon passed for 342 yards and 3 touchdowns in BYU's victory over Washington State in the 1981 Holiday Bowl. His career totals were 9,536 passing yards and 84 touchdown passes (not including bowl games). McMahon left college with 70 NCAA records and tied for one other. He entered the College Football Hall of Fame in 1999.
In September 2010, McMahon announced he would complete his coursework at BYU, which would qualify him for induction into the Brigham Young University Athletics Hall of Fame. On October 2, 2014, after completing his degree in communications, McMahon was inducted into the BYU Athletics Hall of Fame as part of the 2014 class. BYU honored McMahon by retiring his No. 9 jersey during a halftime ceremony at the BYU vs. Utah State football game on Friday, October 3, 2014.
The Chicago Bears selected McMahon in the first round (fifth overall) of the 1982 NFL draft. McMahon, thrilled to be free from what he considered a restrictive culture at BYU, strolled into his first public function with the Bears holding a cold beer in his hand. Head coach Mike Ditka was not impressed, nor was Bears owner and founder George Halas. McMahon was to find the atmosphere in Chicago almost as challenging as that at Brigham Young, and he would lock horns with Ditka routinely during his seven years with the Bears.
McMahon won the Bears' starting quarterback job as a rookie in 1982, and was named to several All-Rookie teams when he nearly led the team to the playoffs, despite the NFL only playing two games before a players' strike that cancelled nearly half the season. McMahon quickly displayed a natural ability to read defenses and an athletic versatility that surprised many.
McMahon, a rollout passer, explained that coaching in his youth had taught him to square his shoulders to the direction he wanted to throw the football, and he was thus able to execute passes with tight spirals and a high degree of accuracy when running to either his left or his right. The Bears finished the strike-shortened season at 3–6, and McMahon was named NFC Offensive Rookie of the Year, losing the league-wide honor to Marcus Allen.
In 1983, McMahon continued to improve as a passer and as a field general. He made a habit of changing the play both in the huddle and at the line of scrimmage, a practice which frustrated Ditka but usually led to success. His knowledge of the game and an instinctive, intuitive grasp of in-game situations were significant. He became a frequent scorer in goal-line situations, after the dying Halas instructed Ditka to make the quarterback sneak a bigger part of the Bears' offense. He also began to catch touchdown passes on option plays, and was the emergency punter. Chicago finished the season at 8–8, missing the division title and a playoff berth by one victory.