Favre tells Childress he'll stay retired has 0 comments

May 11th 2009, 14:03 | FFN-Score: 5 points

EDEN PRAIRIE, Minn. (AP) - For Brad Childress, it was just another day at the office. And, for now, Brett Favre is not wearing purple.

The Minnesota Vikings' dalliance with the supposedly retired quarterback didn't reach the stage of face-to-face, close-the-deal talks Thursday — and maybe they never will.

Yahoo! Sports reported that Favre called Childress sometime Wednesday or early Thursday and told the coach he wants to stay retired. Favre's longtime agent, Bus Cook, reiterated for the second straight day that his famously fickle client hadn't changed his plan to stay out of the game.

ESPN and USA Today said Cook told reporters in Mississippi, where Favre lives, that the former MVP was still retired — though the agent added that Favre could always change his mind in the future.

One certainty was Childress spent office hours at work in Minnesota.

After reports the coach was to travel south for discussions with Favre, Twin Cities television station KMSP broadcast video of his early-morning arrival at Winter Park.

The coach's black sports utility vehicle was still parked at the team's facility in suburban Minneapolis into the evening, and through a team spokesman he declined comment to a handful of media across the street.

Yahoo cited an unidentified source close to the team in reporting that the Vikings won't sign the 39-year-old quarterback, who owns many of the NFL's major passing records.

If that holds true, and Favre doesn't come back to fill the only glaring hole on an otherwise Super Bowl-ready roster, can the Vikings win under the original plan of having Tarvaris Jackson and Sage Rosenfels compete for the quarterback job?

No problem, said All-Pro defensive end Jared Allen.

"Our plan never revolved around him," Allen told The Associated Press by phone. "He's obviously a heck of a player. If he wants to stay retired, more power to him. Our offseason goals were never about whether or not we would acquire Brett Favre. Our goals are still the same: to win the division, make the playoffs and see how far we can go. I think our team has all the confidence in the world we can do that."

Allen, one of the leaders in the Vikings locker room, expressed confidence in the current quarterbacks to do what's necessary to win.

"You have to understand that we try to stay focused on the goal at hand, and that's not going to change," he said.

Favre's uncertainty about whether to quit pro football after 18 seasons or keep playing has created the kind of drama usually reserved for one of his performances with the Vikings' chief rival, Green Bay.

When Favre reconsidered his first retirement last summer and the Packers wouldn't let him return, he wanted to be traded to Minnesota. After going to the New York Jets instead, he wore down at the end of last season and said in February he was done for good.

"It's time to leave," he told reporters then.

Several Jets teammates complained afterward about Favre's standoffishness. But after an informal practice Thursday, players took a higher ground when asked the now-annual question about his status.

"This guy's been the face of the NFL for a long time," running back Leon Washington said. "If he can still throw that ball and still sling it, he still has the right to do it, in my opinion."