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Favre Hints That He's Leaning Toward Retirement
If Brett Favre had to decide on his future today, he says he'd likely retire.
But his interview aired Sunday on ESPN didn't set off any alarm bells for new Green Bay Packers coach Mike McCarthy.
"Well, he doesn't have to make a decision today," McCarthy said Monday.
McCarthy says Favre's comments, the quarterback's first since the end of his only losing season with the Packers, are a natural reaction for a veteran player coming off a frustrating year.
He said the comments weren't drastically different from what McCarthy heard when they met at Favre's home in Mississippi this past weekend.
Favre told ESPN he hasn't reached a decision on retirement, but added, "If I had to pick right now and make a decision, I would say I'm not coming back."
Favre still thinks he can play, but isn't sure he wants to.
"The Monday mornings now, they add up," McCarthy said. "I went through it myself. Definitely. That's why I think he needs to get away. I think he needs to go out in the woods with his chain saw and cut trees down and keep doing what he's doing. He needs to answer that question, because if it's not in here (his heart) then it's not going to be right for him and it's not going to be right for everybody."
The 36-year-old Favre threw a career-high 29 interceptions this season, and the Packers finished 4-12 - their first losing season since he joined the team in 1992.
Favre's retirement speculation is becoming an annual rite of winter in Wisconsin. He has spoken of retirement in years past, only to return.
Favre apparently would like to wait until the start of training camp to decide this time around, but realizes that would not be fair to the team.
McCarthy said he isn't pressuring Favre to make his decision by a particular deadline. But McCarthy expects to know before the team's first minicamp, which has not yet been scheduled.
Last week, Favre met separately with McCarthy and Packers general manager Ted Thompson, who drove over from the Senior Bowl in Mobile, Ala. Favre said he told Thompson that if the team doesn't want to wait for his decision, then he should be "cut loose."
"When you sit down and tell a GM, 'I don't know if I can give you everything' - and I have - that's usually the first ticket out of town," Favre said.
Thompson said Monday the team wants Favre to return and is willing to wait for his decision.
"That's a decision Brett has to make with his family," Thompson said. "They'll get it worked out."
McCarthy said Favre told him playing another year wouldn't be "that big a deal," but referred to other issues that could push him toward retirement.
Favre's family has been through a string of difficulties in recent years, from his father's death to his wife's bout with breast cancer to his family members' displacement by Hurricane Katrina.
"I still know I can play," Favre said in the ESPN interview. "I still love to play. But there's just so much more to it than that now. I never thought it would be complicated, never thought mentally I would give out before I did physically."
Source: AP
But his interview aired Sunday on ESPN didn't set off any alarm bells for new Green Bay Packers coach Mike McCarthy.
"Well, he doesn't have to make a decision today," McCarthy said Monday.
McCarthy says Favre's comments, the quarterback's first since the end of his only losing season with the Packers, are a natural reaction for a veteran player coming off a frustrating year.
He said the comments weren't drastically different from what McCarthy heard when they met at Favre's home in Mississippi this past weekend.
Favre told ESPN he hasn't reached a decision on retirement, but added, "If I had to pick right now and make a decision, I would say I'm not coming back."
Favre still thinks he can play, but isn't sure he wants to.
"The Monday mornings now, they add up," McCarthy said. "I went through it myself. Definitely. That's why I think he needs to get away. I think he needs to go out in the woods with his chain saw and cut trees down and keep doing what he's doing. He needs to answer that question, because if it's not in here (his heart) then it's not going to be right for him and it's not going to be right for everybody."
The 36-year-old Favre threw a career-high 29 interceptions this season, and the Packers finished 4-12 - their first losing season since he joined the team in 1992.
Favre's retirement speculation is becoming an annual rite of winter in Wisconsin. He has spoken of retirement in years past, only to return.
Favre apparently would like to wait until the start of training camp to decide this time around, but realizes that would not be fair to the team.
McCarthy said he isn't pressuring Favre to make his decision by a particular deadline. But McCarthy expects to know before the team's first minicamp, which has not yet been scheduled.
Last week, Favre met separately with McCarthy and Packers general manager Ted Thompson, who drove over from the Senior Bowl in Mobile, Ala. Favre said he told Thompson that if the team doesn't want to wait for his decision, then he should be "cut loose."
"When you sit down and tell a GM, 'I don't know if I can give you everything' - and I have - that's usually the first ticket out of town," Favre said.
Thompson said Monday the team wants Favre to return and is willing to wait for his decision.
"That's a decision Brett has to make with his family," Thompson said. "They'll get it worked out."
McCarthy said Favre told him playing another year wouldn't be "that big a deal," but referred to other issues that could push him toward retirement.
Favre's family has been through a string of difficulties in recent years, from his father's death to his wife's bout with breast cancer to his family members' displacement by Hurricane Katrina.
"I still know I can play," Favre said in the ESPN interview. "I still love to play. But there's just so much more to it than that now. I never thought it would be complicated, never thought mentally I would give out before I did physically."
Source: AP