The year was 2010. The Minnesota Vikings were coming off a 12-4 season and one wayward interception from a Super Bowl appearance. Brett Favre, after one season wearing purple, planned to retire, again.
It's August. Training camp has started. Jared Allen, Steve Hutchinson and Ryan Longwell are dispatched on owner Zygi Wilf's private jet and zip down to Mississippi to coerce Favre to return for another season.
Or at least they were supposed to try and convince Favre.
During a recent chat on linebacker A.J. Hawk's podcast, The HawkCast, the newly retired Allen said he just "used that to get out of training camp for a few days," via the Minnesota Star Tribune.
"I was the one guy who told him, 'Stay retired,'" Allen added.
The former pass rusher then gets further into what he recalls telling Favre.
"Hutch and Longwell put the pressure on him," Allen said. "I was like, 'Listen, dude. It looks like you got it pretty good down here.' His place is amazing. I'm like, 'I'm going to be real honest with ya. If I'm you, I stay retired.' But I'm like, 'Don't come back thinking you gotta prove something. If you want to come back and have fun with us and try to win some football games, do it. If not, I might retire and move down here.'"
Favre, of course, did return for one more forgettable season. The Vikings went 6-10, coach Brad Childress was fired and Favre's ironman streak was snapped in December at 321 straight games played.
If what Allen recalls saying is true, then maybe he was right. Favre should have stayed retired.
