Maestro behind 49ers dynasty belongs in Pro Football Hall of Fame with Bryant Young, maybe

Bryant Young was taking care of some business in the Pro Football Hall of Fame when someone pointed to the stadium next door.

"That's where John McVay played for Massillon in a game against Canton McKinley. It's a few miles from where Alan Page played for McVay at Canton Central Catholic."

Small world.

Young is about to be enshrined in the Hall of Fame based on a 14-year run as a San Francisco 49ers defensive tackle. McVay was a front-office force on 49ers teams that won Super Bowls capping the 1981, 1984, 1988, 1989 and 1994 seasons.

Young was one of the McVay era's big draft his who kept the dynasty going.

Young grew up near Chicago and played college football for an Ohio guy, Lou Holtz, at Notre Dame. McVay played at Miami University for two Ohio legends, Woody Hayes and then Ara Parseghian, who went on to be iconic pilots at Ohio State and Notre Dame.

Small world.

Bryant joins Page in the Hall of Fame. Page played for McVay at Central Catholic before playing for Parseghian at Notre Dame.

Notre Dame quarterback Joe Montana was the first of the McVay era's great San Francisco draft picks. Young was among the last.

Sitting at No. 15 in the 1994 draft, McVay and the 49ers traded up to No. 7 to get Young, who started every game as a rookie, and helped the team win that season's Super Bowl.

The trade partner in the Young deal was the Rams, whose fortunes have soared under Sean McVay, John's grandson.

"Football is in the blood in that family," Young said. "You see the lineage at work.

"John had a great football mind. He made sure the pieces were together and the numbers were right. And he was pleasant to be around."

San Francisco's list of drafts hits on McVay's watch — a treasure trove of Hall of Famers and All-Pros — includes Montana (No. 89 overall) in 1979, Ronnie Lott (No. 8 overall) in 1981, Roger Craig (No. 49 overall) in 1983, Jerry Rice (No. 16 overall) in 1985, Tom Rathman (No. 56 overall) and Charles Haley (No. 96 overall) in 1986, Harris Barton (No. 22) in 1987, Bill Romanowski (No. 80 overall) in 1988, Eric Davis (No. 53 overall) in 1990, Ricky Watters (No. 45 overall) and Mertin Hanks (No. 122 overall) in 1991, and Dana Stubblefield (No. 26 overall) in 1993.

The five Super Bowls add up to one of the great NFL dynasties. The overall winning was immense.

In the 10 regular seasons before Young arrived, the 49ers went 15-1, 10-6, 10-5-1, 13-2, 10-6, 14-2, 14-2, 10-6 14-2 and 10-6.

In Young's first five seasons, the records were 13-3, 11-5, 12-4, 13-3 and 12-4.

McVay's Hall of Fame candidacy tends to get lost in a traffic jam. The 49ers boasted a Hall of Fame coach, Bill Walsh, Hall of Fame QBs Montana and Steve Young, a GOAT receiver, Rice, and a Hall of Fame owner, Eddie DeBartolo Jr.

But hear out DeBartolo, who, the year he went into the Hall of Fame, told the Canton Repository:

"It's hard to put it in the proper perspective, but John McVay was the epitome of a general manager. John had more responsibilities than just a general manager.

"I truthfully believe that John stands alone. What he did went from A to Z. He worked so closely with everybody.

"There was such an easy way about him, but he was such a worker. His knowledge of the sport was unbelievable.

"If anybody I know that was in management belongs in the Hall of Fame, it's John."

Dwight Clark (No. 249 overall, 1979) was another 49ers draft hit. Clark migrated to player personnel with the 49ers in the 1990s, when Carmen Policy, an old Youngstown friend of DeBartolo, emerged as team president.

Clark and Policy wound up in Cleveland in 1999 when the Browns came back as an expansion team. McVay was asked to do consulting work for the Browns, but he stayed put in California.

"From a selfish standpoint, I was sad to see Carmen and Dwight go," Young said. "They were good guys. I thought they would repeat some of the success we had in San Francisco."

Policy told the Repository a long story about the Browns' struggles. Long story short, he said:

"We had our hands full just getting up and running. (Owner) Al Lerner and I made a trip to New York to try to get the league to postpone our first season from '99 to 2000, but the league just couldn't."

The "new Browns" went 2-14, 3-13 and 7-9 in their first three seasons, then went forward without Lerner, who died midway through a 9-7 season in 2002.

The expansion team's first game against the 49ers didn't happen until 2003. McVay and Walsh, 49ers consultants then, watched from a Candlestick Park suite.

Young made the first tackle of the day on a 1-yard run by William Green. Bryant also made the second tackle, dropping Green for a loss.

The 49ers held a 12-0 led in the fourth quarter, before QB Kelly Holcomb kept playing with a hairline leg fracture. The Browns got close with a touchdown and then drove in the final moments. On third-and-10, Holcomb threw a touchdown pass to Andre Davis with 29 seconds left.

By then, Policy had a chilly relationship with the new owner, Al Lerner's son Randy. Head coach Butch Davis never really listened to Clark, who faded away.

McVay, 91, was not available for this article. Clark fell ill with Lou Gehrig's Disease. His death in 2018 saddens Young.

"Dwight loved ball, and he loved people," Young said. "He brought a positive vibe to a room. He was always gracious and encouraging to me."

The 49ers dynasty ended. After a 12-4 year in 1998, the 49ers went 4-12 in 1999 and 6-10 in 2000. They were back in the playoffs the next two years. One constant got Young to Canton. His play never fluctuated much.

Reach Steve at steve.doerschuk@cantonrep.com

On Twitter: @sdoerschukREP

This article originally appeared on The Repository: NFL draft fueled dynasty, brought Hall of Famer Bryant Young to 49ers