"The Last Dance" – the 10-part documentary detailing the trials, tribulations and glory of Michael Jordan's dynastic Chicago Bulls – concluded its ratings bonanza run for ESPN on Sunday night.
Part of the series' popularity was surely due to the COVID-19 pandemic, which has left sports fans ravenous for fresh content. However "The Last Dance" surely would have been a smash under normal circumstances given its rare access to Jordan while peeling back the layers of Bulls teams that retain a prominent position in popular culture and continue to be a measuring stick for NBA greatness, including the Golden State Warriors' recent powerhouses.
Such a docuseries format would, of course, be easily applicable to compelling teams in any other sport … which naturally got me thinking about NFL versions. Here are nine clubs – they all won to varying extents and, probably more importantly, each featured captivating "characters" – I'd love for NFL Films or ESPN's "30 for 30" franchise to do a deep dive on:
TAKEAWAYS: What we learned about Michael Jordan and the Chicago Bulls from 'The Last Dance'
WINNERS, LOSERS OF 'THE LAST DANCE': Michael Jordan, Jerry Krause, Isiah Thomas and memes lead way
(Note: "The '85 Bears" has already been done by "30 for 30," hence that team's notable exclusion from this list.)
9. 1978 Oakland Raiders: This was the final season of coach John Madden's 10-year run with the Silver and Black, when they basically won 75% of their games and Super Bowl XI at a time when they were competing against Pittsburgh's Steel Curtain dynasty and Don Shula's Dolphins, among others. The book "Badasses" provides great insight into these renegade Raiders, but it would be even better to hear tales from those players, whose ranks have been sadly thinned by the losses of such colorful personalities as QB Ken "Snake" Stabler, CB Willie Brown, DE John Matuszak and LG Gene Upshaw.
8. 2011 Denver Broncos: Admittedly, these one-year wonders would likely require two episodes … max. But how delicious would it be to get the inside scoop on QB Tim Tebow's magic carpet ride, one that consistently left GM John Elway appearing like he was dealing with agita as the unorthodox southpaw led the .500 Broncos to the unlikeliest of AFC West crowns. Definitely going to need a few segments to break down the wild-card stunner of the defending AFC champion Steelers and their top-ranked defense … before Tebowmania was snuffed out 45-10 by the Patriots.
7. 2018 Pittsburgh Steelers: For half a decade, they sported one of the greatest sets of triplets in league history. QB Ben Roethlisberger and WR Antonio Brown will likely wind up in the Hall of Fame, and RB Le'Veon Bell has time to polish his own Canton résumé. But these "Killer B's" never reached a Super Bowl together, and the flameout in 2018 was spectacular. Unhappy with his franchise tag, Bell skipped the season. Big Ben led the league in passing yards (career-high 5,129) but was at loggerheads with Brown, who was benched for the regular-season finale even though the collapsing Steelers were still vying for a playoff spot. The "he said, he said" recollections could be … delightful.
6. 1990 New York Giants: Bill Parcells' initial retirement from coaching coincided with his team's narrow escape from the Buffalo Bills to win Super Bowl XXV. It was a masterful job by Parcells, who led this team to glory – Big Blue's path included a derailment of the San Francisco 49ers' three-peat bid – even after losing starting QB Phil Simms to a broken foot in Week 15. And with storytellers such as Parcells, Simms and Lawrence Taylor delving into this past, who wouldn't want to relive it?
5. 1999 Dallas Cowboys: It was the last time "America's Team" was underpinned by "The Triplets." And even though an 8-8 record was good enough for a wild-card spot, Dallas was waxed by the Minnesota Vikings in the playoff opener. A Week 5 spinal injury prematurely ended WR Michael Irvin's career. CB Deion Sanders bolted after the season, and concussions would force QB Troy Aikman to walk away following the 2000 campaign. Still, so much to explore with the NFL's dynasty of the 1990s, which was well chronicled in Jeff Pearlman's "Boys Will Be Boys."
4. 2007 Green Bay Packers: Brett Favre's sterling final season with the Pack was plenty memorable, a surprise run to the NFC title game summarily extinguished by one of his ill-advised interceptions in overtime as the Giants prevailed at Lambeau Field. But the real fireworks occurred in the subsequent months – when Favre retired, the franchise anointed Aaron Rodgers as his successor, Favre unretired and was controversially offloaded to the New York Jets. Plenty to "unpack" here, including the genesis of a cold war between Favre and Rodgers which took years to thaw.
3. 2017 Seattle Seahawks: The final time CB Richard Sherman, S Kam Chancellor and DL Michael Bennett would play for Seattle, it was effectively the "Legion of Boom's" swan song. And there are stories to be told, from the transition of a team that had been reliant on its defense to one that depended on QB Russell Wilson … not to mention latent feelings from the Seahawks' infamous Super Bowl XLIX loss to New England, one that aborted any dynastic aspirations in the Pacific Northwest. Sherman always teems with unvarnished honesty, but this truly becomes must-see TV if RB Marshawn Lynch opts to opine in any meaningful manner.
2. 2010 Indianapolis Colts: Whenever there might be an opportunity to tap into Peyton Manning's memory bank, you take it, right? This, of course, represents Peyton's final on-field ride in Indy, one that occurred after an unprecedented decade of success but ended ignominiously with a wild-card defeat at the hands of Mark Sanchez's Jets. It'd definitely be riveting to hear Reggie Wayne, Dallas Clark, Dwight Freeney, Robert Mathis and Pat McAfee – you'd hope Tony Dungy, Edgerrin James and others who were instrumental to building this powerhouse would also participate – regale us with stories about how Manning maniacally drove the Colts while simultaneously trying to keep things light in the locker room. Yet the Favre-esque aftermath in 2011, when Manning was still listed on the roster but unable to play while trying to cure his injured neck, would be just as engrossing – especially as the team cratered, laying the groundwork for Manning's inevitable departure and Andrew Luck's arrival. Definitely potential for docu-gold here.
1. 2019 New England Patriots: We're already wondering, right? The friction between coach Bill Belichick, QB Tom Brady and owner Robert Kraft near the end of their epic 20-year run together had long been rumored. TB12 finally bolted to freedom (aka Tampa) after engineering a contractual escape hatch following this season and seems rejuvenated by his new challenge (and assortment of weapons, including old buddy Rob Gronkowski). Like Jordan's Bulls, might be a minute before Brady, Gronk, Belichick (would he?) et al. are truly willing to take viewers into this inner sanctum. But it'd certainly be worth any requisite wait.
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Follow USA TODAY Sports' Nate Davis on Twitter @ByNateDavis.
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