GREEN BAY, Wis. -- Green Bay Packers officials don't plan to grant Brett Favre's request for release and remain committed to Aaron Rodgers as their starter, even if Favre returns to the team.
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But in late March, coach Mike McCarthy and general manager Ted Thompson told the Associated Press, they were set to bring Favre back when he reversed course for the first time weeks after announcing his retirement.
In their first public comments since Favre demanded his release this week, Thompson and McCarthy said Favre changed his mind again as they were about to fly to Mississippi to seal the deal.
Favre seemed unsure whether he was completely committed to football until several days ago, they said.
"We've communicated that to Brett, that we have since moved forward," Thompson said. "At the same time, we've never said that there couldn't be some role that he might play here. But I would understand his point that he would want to play."
A message left by the AP with Favre's agent, Bus Cook, was not immediately returned.
"Ted always wanted Brett back," McCarthy said. "We always wanted Brett back."
Favre, who led the Packers to a Super Bowl title after the 1996 season, held a tearful news conference to announce his retirement March 6. Through Packers offensive line coach James Campen, Thompson and McCarthy heard a few weeks later that Favre was having second thoughts. Campen is a friend of Favre's who McCarthy said had been miscast as an official intermediary between Favre and the team in various media reports.
After several telephone discussions with Favre led them to believe he wanted to return, Thompson and McCarthy were preparing to board a private plane. Then Favre suddenly called McCarthy.
"He said he appreciated all the planning we were going to do," McCarthy said. "But he felt that at this point, he had reached a point of closure, to use his words, and he was going to stick with his initial decision."
Even after the March episode, McCarthy and Thompson said they regularly communicated with Favre. Thompson even went to Mississippi to visit Favre in May, and didn't get the sense Favre was having serious thoughts about playing again as the two had lunch on his back porch.
"He mentioned several things where you could tell there's always indecisiveness," Thompson said. "He's wondering if he made the right decision. I think that's normal."
But the tone changed dramatically in June, when Campen said he was getting worried about Favre. McCarthy said he had a phone conversation with Favre on June 20, and the coach said the quarterback sent a clear message: "Give me my helmet or give me my release."
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