"I talked to Brett on the telephone," Gruden said, per Bob Wolfley of the Milwaukee Journal Sentinel. "I think if you talk to Brett yourself -- both of us thought he was coming to Tampa. I went to bed about 20 minutes after [midnight] or 12:30 [a.m.] thinking we had Brett Favre. I was sure we had Brett Favre. When I woke up the next day Santa Claus didn't arrive. It was a sad day for me.
"My understanding was we had it done," Gruden added. "[Former Bucs G.M.] Bruce Allen was working with Ted Thompson in terms of the compensation. And I really don't think any of us knew there was another partner that was willing to get involved at that point. So I think we were both thrown a curve ball. Both of us, Brett and I, thought we were going to get the deal done. There was another partner that developed later that evening, somewhere across the next seven or eight hours."
As we've consistently heard it, however, the Packers were never going to trade Favre to the Buccaneers, and that the Packers used Tampa's interest to leverage the Jets into giving up more in order to land Favre.
And Gruden seems to have heard the same thing."The Jets, the doggone Jets, got involved in this," Gruden said. "I really think after visiting with Brett earlier in the [2009] preseason, I think the Packers didn't want to trade him to a team a, that was in their conference and b, most importantly, on their schedule. I don't think they wanted anything to do with this. I think the last thing Green Bay wanted to see was Brett Favre playing quarterback against them. It was a very emotional departure, divorce, whatever you want to call it. Very emotional."
If Favre hand landed in Tampa, Tony Kornheiser might still be in the MNF booth.
"He would have made a difference," Gruden said of the team that finished 9-7, resulting in Gruden being fired. "I can promise you that."
A Superbowl winning coach who knows how much a guy like Favre could have helped out his team.
What I find interesting is that TT did not have enough class to tell Favre he was trading him to the jets. Brett had to find out through Sportscenter. I think TT was too scared to have a one on one conversation with Brett. Still, he could have had one of his minions do it like Mike Murphy
that would have been a strange greeting " waffler qb meet waffler coach".
He would have made a difference......for Mangini. He would still be coaching the Jets and Chilly will still have his dignity (as if he had any in the first place)
tampering chargers against the bucs ocming in 5-4-3-2-1...........................
Old News, he already said that in the pre season..........
Well he thought wrong. I am more entertained looking at the squirrel running outside my window than I am with this site.
All of the Favre supporters seem to miss one key thing, Favre is not a person worth supporting. We see it in others, like T.O., but Favre is worse because he uses the positive things he's accomplished to justify the horrible, selfish things he's also done. So in defending Favre, please don't bring up a qualifier like class, because Favre has none of that. Ask all the people he's thrown under the bus.
Ted Thompson is as big of a pussy as J.A. Smith is.
Remember, Brent retired first. Then the Pack moved on with Rodgers.
Brent waffled and decided he wanted to come back after retiring. TT and MM were ready to fly to Miss. to announce his return. He waffles again and decided to stay retired.
An organization cannot let one diva hold it hostage - like the Pack had done with this crap for several years prior. Enough was enough.
He will lose.
This is old news and is further proof that Florio likes to use Favre's name only in a pathetic attempt to generate hits for his site, nothing more, nothing less.
@greenandgold:
Admit it, you are just sorry he left GB cause of who you are stuck with now. Absolute proof one way or the other comes Monday night. Are you ready?
Wow keep crying Green and Gold. He left, he's on a better team. So easy how Packer fans forget how much he did for that team and Ted Thompson ran him out. Get over it.
If that was the case then it worked out perfectly for Favre. Minnesota is the perfect fit for him now, not only does he get to stick it up Ted Thompson's dark spot, he gets to play on a real contender. Brett dodged a bullet.
Anytime Gruden says, "I can promise you that," you can assume the opposite.
Green, you mean the fans? Under the Bus?
Give me a freaking break!!
You don't mean Jack shit to Brett Favre.
Do you actually think these guys give a crap about the fans?
That's on your stupid ass for thinking that, not him.
It's his life and his career.
You Pack fans think you are better off with Rodgers?
Then why is thier 900 posts about how much you hate him? Let it go!!
Move on, he obviously has.
"If Favre hand landed in Tampa, Tony Kornheiser might still be in the MNF booth."
.
Well thank God (and Favre) for small mercies - I don't think I could have taken another season with Kornholio and his inane diatribes.
@twiz
I am sorry Favre left Green Bay the way he did, but I'm not sorry about having Aaron Rodgers as our QB for the next 10 years. Bottom line is, I'm a Packers fan. Always have been, always will. Favre is now a Viking. And I want the Packers to crush the Vikings. Nothing complicated or wrong about that.
@gathman78
"how much he did for that team"
You mean all the heart-wrenching playoff losses he was directly responsible for. No, I haven't forgotten those.
Insanity: doing the same thing over and over again and expecting different results.
What's wrong with Aaron Rodgers? He is playing behind an abysmal o-line, little to no running game, yet he has a QB rating near 100? Its only his 2nd season as a starter he is playing under intense scrutiny & pressure. Can you imagine him as the Vikings QB on that offense - the Vikes would be truly scary than, they wouldn't need late game comebacks. And he would be their QB for a decade not 1 year. That's what could have happened if the Packers had bowed down to Brett again last summer. No way A-Rodg would have resigned, the Pack would be stuck with an aging immobile QB behind this line & developing Matt Flynn & Brian Brohm as a successor.
Brett made it clear he wanted to play for a winner didn't he?
Jets were a bit of a surprise, not great the year before. Think Bucs would have been a long shot.
Gruden wants to be talked about in the news with a few head coaching jobs becoming vacant soon.
"He would have made a difference," Gruden said of the team that finished 9-7, resulting in Gruden being fired. "I can promise you that."
It will be great to have Gruden coaching again in 2010.
I miss his intensity and passion for the NFL!
And this story is exactly why PAcker fans should hate Ted Thompson for what happened more then Brett Favre.
Had Thompson been more interested in getting the most he could for Favre instead of worrying more about having to play him, the team perhaps could have gotten, oh I don't know an Offensive Lineman worth a crap and maybe hurt his division rival as well. But Thompson cared more about screwing over Favre. Favre could have been traded to the Vikings for a hell of a lot more then what we got from the Jets.
Instead Favre ends up in Minnesota after all, the Vikings took the division anyways, the Packers went 6-10, and we had another off season media circus around Favre.
I hope every Sunday for a GB loss just so the 2 clowns, Thompson and McCarthy, are show their walking papers.
So i got to say thanks Thompson for sending Fravre to Ny, because that means we could get rid off Gruden, he has to be one of the more overrated coaches ever, yes Morris sucks too, but just i'm glad Gruden is not the coach.
Brett Favre Kornheiser
Tony's future grandson's name?
Wouldn't surprise me
http://FavreHaiku.com
Hey Florio,
Why don't you call him "Lord Favre" anymore? Seems you have more respect for him now that he wears purple. True or not???
Ted Thompson should not have been surprised when Favre unretired. Nobody else was. He should have had a plan in place for that inevitable moment that allowed Favre to continue to QB the team. That would have been best for the Packers legacy and future.
Instead TT who has been with the team 3 years tosses out a guy who has had one losing season in 17 years. The packers were mediocre for two decades and Favre was the biggest reason they climbed back to the top. They were perennial winners.
What does the team that TT built go on to do without Favre. 6-10 record matching the worst Favre could come up with in 17 years. Where is that team headed? We'll get a sneak peak monday night.
Thompson has done little to nothing in the FA world. His drafts have been mediocre at best. He manages to build hype in the team but I personally believe he is running it into the ground.
Yes. Way better off with Rodgers. i think we will see the differance Monday night.
THERE is a reason why Gruden needs an old veteran QB....he can't coach. Dungy had a better offense with a LOT less than Gruden.
Players Gruden could NOT figure out how to put in his game plan:
Mike Alstott..
Michael Clayton..the year after he caught 80+ balls as a rookie..
Joey Galloway..who now plays for the WORLD CLASS Patriots
...name 1 QB he's developed? Look he had Rich Gannon that had NO problem getting Gruden's grill and changing the play. And Garcia that bailed him out on countless plays.
Gruden was exposed on the Bucs as a complete phony that only won because he had a hall of fame defensive coach and players.
Granted the Glazers went cheap on him. BUT maybe they knew that this guy was all smoke and mirrors and because of his petulance couldn't inspire a gnat. Do you want to get into his offensive draft picks...hahahahahaha all but Joseph are pedestrian or busts.
So all you Gruden lovers out(and I was one when we needed a spark in TB) haven't got a clue how this guy truly is....just listen to him on MNF all hot air no meat....
A little man on every level..
kappoa8:
Then why arent you coaching if you know he is a bad one. Why aren't you on MNF?
SS...ummm maybe because I'm NOT an NFL coach. I wasn't sure that observing reality of a situation and having an opinion on it has to come with professional credentials...If so, why are any of us even here?
Come on man..this isn't about me. It's about recognizing the elephant in the room and be willing to expose it for what it truly is....sorry if that offends Gruden lovers. But you ask anybody that has been left in his wake if they are willing to "step up" for his character and you will find a VERY thin line.
I don't like the guy because he has no class....do you know how many times he called Cadillac Williams after he ran his rookie knee into the ground while he was rehabbing for over a year...ZERO...but when he came back "he was HIS guy"....the guys a blowhard and should never lead men
These are things that national people don't hear about. Understood. I can remember all the Oakland fans that called our sports radio and said.."just wait and see...you will love Chucky at first but eventually you will despise him for who he REALLY is..."
I don't like him as a person and the fact that he left our BUCS with nothing makes it worse.
He's a good coach. He was the reason the Oakland team he had made it to the SuperBowl only to be beaten by him in the game. He was hosed out of another in New England with Bradys fumble. He didnt leave the BUCS a mess. Their management did. He's great on MNF. Your post didn't come off as your opinion. It came off as factual which we all know it is not.
Name a young QB he has developed?
Explain why he couldn't find a way to get a HEALTHY Joey Gallaway in his offense?
Ask Oakland, Ask Tampa if they liked him?
I know for FACT the most of the positive plays came when he was calling them or changed them...ditto Gannon. All you have to do is live in one of those towns, listen to the player shows, feel the vibe and "see"....
Sometimes it's best to blow s*** up and start over than use the rotten ingredients left behind. Can't blame the Bucs for that.
You sound like you are neither a Tampa person nor Oakland so your insight is a little eschewed unless of course your family which explains everything....
"Great on MNF"....really how many "best players in the league has he already cheered on"...by the end of season everybody that makes a play will be in his hall of fame....and one more thing ask NFL networks what they think about the guy that they had a deal with until they realized not unlike how he was with his players he found "sumptin better".
Find one ex-player that would go to the wall for him and I'll shut up.
I appreciate your resolve but unless you had to endure his BS for the 5 years you will NEVER know....
I liked PFT better before the deal with NBC because most of the Comments were intelligent. Now it's like sitting at the bar and having to hear the ignorant idiot sitting behind you ramble on as if he if understood the game.