Dan Marino was 38 when he played his last season in 1999. Nearly 15 years and 17 starting quarterbacks later, the Dolphins still are trying to replace him.

Before Ryan Tannehill, the latest candidate trying to step in and be the man in Miami, the Fins had Jay Fiedler, Damon Huard, Ray Lucas, Brian Griese, A.J. Feeley, Sage Rosenfels, Gus Frerotte, Joey Harrington, Daunte Culpepper, Cleo Lemon, Trent Green, John Beck, Chad Pennington, Chad Henne, Tyler Thigpen and Matt Moore.

They all gave it a whirl but didn’t have anything close to Marino-like results.

That scenario, of course, is what the Patriots want to avoid when Tom Brady finally moves on. The Pats quarterback, who turns 37 in a few months, has indicated on several occasions he’d like play at least to 40, if not beyond.

Marino, in Boston last week for AARP’s Life@50+ National Event and Expo, didn’t believe the Pats had to worry about coming up with a successor for a while.

Only the Pats, it appears, have other ideas. Or at least they’re keeping the backup chain moving.

Bill Belichick spent a second-round pick Friday on Eastern Illinois quarterback Jimmy Garoppolo.

But is he the guy? Will he be the guy? Drafting a quarterback so high would suggest the Pats plan on having him as the heir apparent to Brady. Time will tell.

According to Marino, however, Garoppolo will have plenty of time to learn. There’s some extensive clipboard-holding in his future.

The Hall of Fame quarterback is convinced Brady will break the mold, stare down Father Time and play beyond 40. He thinks that scenario is realistic.

“I really think it is (a possibility). I think he can play into his 40s,” Marino said, taking a break from Thursday’s slate of activities which included running a football clinic at the Gerald and Darlene Jordan Boys & Girls Club in Chelsea. “It really comes down to health. Tom has had such a great career. He plays the position at such a level that’s as good as anyone that’s ever played it. It just comes down to physical ability and health.”

Beyond that, Marino said Brady still has to want to play, and have the desire to put in the work. That can’t wane. To this point, Brady seems as dedicated as ever. He’s been in town working with his teammates in Foxboro since the start of the voluntary offseason program.

“You have to still have that burning desire to compete, and go to camp and go through the work it takes to get prepared to go through a whole season,” Marino said. “As long as you have that, and somewhat your health — you’re not going to be as healthy as you were when you were 25 or 26 — if you have that desire to compete and put the work in, he can play into his 40s, sure.”

Marino watched Brady pretty intently last year. He said he really didn’t see much, if any, signs of a decline in the quarterback that could be attributed to age. The legs usually are the first to go, but Brady remains elusive in the pocket. Marino also believes Brady still thinks the game as well as anybody.

“Last year, I really didn’t see it,” Marino said of a decline. “Tom’s never been a very mobile guy, but he’s mobile enough in the pocket, he still makes people miss. I was the same way. But as I got older, it got a little tougher to make people miss, and move around a little bit. But his mind and his ability to throw the football, I don’t think that’s changed at all.”

With the Patriots doing homework on so many quarterbacks pre-draft, a lot of talk leading up had to do with when the right time was for them to pull the trigger on Brady’s eventual successor.

Marino, the last quarterback of the highly touted class of 1983 to be taken in the first round, didn’t seem to think there was a rush to bring in a replacement. But he did toss in a stipulation which likely applied to the Pats making a move on Garoppolo.

“When do you draft a successor? I guess that question is one that’s a tough answer for all NFL teams,” he said. “If you have a chance to draft a guy you think is going to make a difference for 10 or 12 years for your team, you’re probably going to have to take him now. Without that, to me, I don’t think it’s the time yet.”

The Patriots seem to think Garoppolo might ultimately ride a similar path as Green Bay’s Aaron Rodgers, holding the clipboard for four years until getting a shot. Or he might jump in much sooner should Brady get hurt. At the very least, the Pats have someone in place for the eventual departure of Ryan Mallett. The latter enters the final year of his contract in 2014, so the Pats were smart to grab a third developmental QB.

Irish hospitality

Belichick had more intel than most on Notre Dame players heading into the draft given he essentially provided an independent audit of the program at coach Brian Kelly’s request before last season.

After scouring game film, Belichick spent about a day and a half with the Fighting Irish coaching staff working through the footage.

Notre Dame defensive line coach Mike Elston, who was hoping the Pats might take either of his linemen, Louis Nix or Stephon Tuitt, won’t ever forget the Belichick sessions in South Bend.

“It was a great visit. It was a blessing for me, a young coach in this profession, to get a chance to talk to if not the most successful active coach in the NFL, a defensive-minded guy. It gave us an opportunity to pick his brain and learn from him. It was a blessing. It was great. I wish I could do it more.”

As it turned out, Belichick didn’t make a move on either Tuitt or Nix.

Tuitt went to the Steelers in the second round. Nix, once thought to be a high first-round prospect, dropped way down the board. He lasted into the third round when he went to the Texans. He’s a perfect fit as a nose tackle in Romeo Crennel’s 3-4 defense.

Heavy hitter

The Jets selected one of the hardest-hitting safeties in the draft when they nabbed Louisville’s Calvin Pryor.

Asked if Rex Ryan told him he’d have to tone it down in the NFL given all the rules protecting receivers, Pryor said the coach told him to just be himself. Besides, big hits can impact games.

“It definitely can set the tone of the game. And most receivers and quarterbacks, guys on the offensive side of the ball, they don’t like being hit like that,” Pryor told the New York media on draft night. “So when you see someone have an impact like that and can be very physical on defense and knock guys out, it can become an intimidation factor.”

Faulk keeps giving

Kevin Faulk is bringing back an oldie but goodie, as he’s returning to Campanelli Stadium in Brockton at 6 p.m. Saturday to throw another charity softball game to benefit his foundation.

The retired former Patriots running back always had the softball game as a staple of his charity endeavors in New England.

“The guys wanted to play, they missed it, and I still wanted to come back and do (charitable) things in the Massachusetts area,” Faulk said last week.

Faulk is busy coaching his high school alma mater’s football team in Louisiana but will take time out to reconnect with some of his old teammates. Nate Solder, Julian Edelman, Matthew Slater and Dont’a Hightower are among those who will play for a good cause.

“I remember after the first one we did, one the guys said to me, ‘Hey, Kev, can we do this again next week?’ ” Faulk recalled. “It’s just a lot of fun, a way to entertain the crowd and raise money for a great cause.”

Tickets are available at KevinFaulkCelebritySoftball.com. . . .

One more charity note: Brady and Belichick are hooking up on the charity auction site Charitybuzz to give one lucky fan the chance to meet them at training camp plus receive four tickets and field passes to a 2014 game.

Fans can place bids at www.charitybuzz.com/catalog_items/468995 through May 13.

Proceeds from the auction benefit the the RFK Center for Justice and Human Rights.