Mark Gastineau a Hall of Famer? Ex-Jets teammate Marty Lyons isn’t sure

On By Littum

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Does Mark Gastineau belong in the Pro Football Hall of Fame? It’s a question being asked again this week like 1981 New York Jets turns out to be more newsworthy than the 2024 New York Jets.

A clip of ESPN’s upcoming “30 for 30” edition profiling the Jets’ famous “New York Sack Exchange,” which debuts Friday night, showed Gastineau, the most prolific pass rusher in franchise history, confronting Hall of Fame quarterback Brett Favre with a card. show in Chicago last year. The reason? Gastineau remains upset that Favre essentially gave himself up on what was largely a meaningless play at the end of a 2001 game against the New York Giants — but a game that resulted in future Hall of Famer Michael Strahan broke Gastineau’s 17-year-old (at clock time) single-season NFL sack record.

“I know Mark was upset with Brett Favre,” Gastineau’s longtime Jets linemate Marty Lyons told USA TODAY Sports this week.

“I was there and I said to him, ‘Mark, you’ve got to stop.’ And he wouldn’t let it go. … It’s just a number and it’s already tied with (Pittsburgh Steelers linebacker) TJ Watt.

“But for Mark to carry that burden so many years after the fact, it’s sad. It really is. … (I’ve) been eating at Mark’s all these years — he wasn’t able to let go and move on. Meant that much to him? It obviously did.”

A three-time All-Pro, Gastineau led the NFL in sacks in both 1983 (with 19) and 1984, when he had 22 to set the record. Strahan finished with 22½ after his questionable takedown of Favre, a number Watt matched in 2021.

“You really hurt me. You hurt me, Brett,” Gastineau could be heard saying in the video clip of the brief meeting, in which Favre appeared slightly stunned before being escorted away.

Favre explained his side of the story in a lengthy social media post Tuesday, but also appeared to endorse Gastineau as HOF-worthy.

“I have a lot of respect for Mark. I hope one day he joins me in the Hall of Fame,” Favre wrote on X.

“He deserved it. Look at his numbers.”

While Watt appears to be a shoo-in to eventually join Favre and Strahan in Canton one day, Gastineau — a five-time Pro Bowler with 107½ career sacks (74 after they became an official stat in 1982) — has no bronze bust.

Should he?

“Look, that’s a valid question. I’ve always thought that if you’re that good, you don’t need to be out there promoting yourself, you know?” said Lyons, Gastineau’s teammate from 1979 to ’88.

“Does Mark deserve to be in the Hall of Fame? You know, the numbers would say yes – but to be honest with you, I don’t know.

“Did he play for (the sacks)? Or did he play for the game, did he play for his teammates?

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It is just one issue at the center of Gastineau’s candidacy. At 6-5 and 265 pounds—and Gastineau was an admitted steroid user, like many NFL players of his era—he was ultra-athletic and the kind of explosive talent that helped shape what the modern edge rusher is became But he was also often accused of ignoring his gap responsibilities or failing to focus on defending the run when pursuing quarterbacks.

That separated Gastineau from another “Sack Exchange” member, Joe Klecko. A Pro Bowler at defensive end, defensive tackle and nose tackle, Klecko had 31 sacks (unofficially) spread between the 1980 and ’81 seasons, but also spent much of his career exploiting his signature strength and doing the dirty work inside.

Klecko was enrolled in the Hall last year after a 35-year wait. Whether Gastineau will get in appears to be an open question.

“I think Mark was an excellent defensive end, he could get to the quarterback,” Lyons said.

“Was he one-dimensional? Maybe. Did he think every play was a pass? Maybe — but he could get to the quarterback.”

Lyons, a close friend of Klecko’s for decades, has admittedly had a complicated relationship with Gastineau, often offering him support — including when Gastineau was diagnosed with colon cancer — but just as often clashing with a man who has his share of the challenges to and from the field.

“I don’t live in the past,” Lyons said. “I said to Mark, ‘There’s an old saying: Your future happiness may well depend on your ability to let go of the past.’

“I always wished Mark the best.”

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Follow USA TODAY Sports’ Nate Davis on X, formerly Twitter, @ByNateDavis.