Glauber: If not for Sanchez, Rex would've wanted Favre

The timing of Rex Ryan's news nugget Monday might have seemed more than a little coincidental, especially given that the Vikings are the Jets' next opponent. But the coach insists that he speaks the truth when he says Brett Favre might very well have remained the Jets' quarterback had the team not made the draft-day deal for the current one.

"If we never drafted Mark Sanchez, there would have been some major recruiting done," Ryan said when I asked if there is any added significance to Favre's return when the Vikings visit New Meadowlands Stadium Monday night.

Ryan was curiously silent when Favre announced his second retirement from the NFL shortly after the coach took the Jets' job in January 2009. And he rarely spoke about the former Packers star, who went to the Vikings after his request to be relased by the Jets was granted on April 28, 2009.

So might there be a little gamesmanship going on here, with Ryan buttering up the 40-year-old quarterback in advance of Monday night's game?

Ryan said that's not the case, that he legitimately would have attempted to convince Favre to keep playing had the Jets not swung the deal for Sanchez.

Led by Favre in 2008, the Jets were 8-3 and looking like a Super Bowl contender when the quarterback began having arm problems; they wound up going 1-4 in the last five and missed the playoffs. Eric Mangini was fired after the season and Favre believed it wasn't worth getting surgery to repair a torn biceps.

He eventually changed his mind and had the surgery done, then had a brilliant 2009 season with 33 touchdown passes and seven interceptions. He led the Vikings to the NFC Championship Game, where they were beaten by the eventual Super Bowl champion Saints.

Ryan said he spoke briefly to Favre on Feb. 11, 2009, the day the quarterback informed the Jets he was retiring.

"I just let him know how much I respected him and the kind of competitor he is and the kind of quarterback he was," Ryan said of their conversation. "That was a tough time for him; he basically announced his retirement from football. I wasn't going to stay on the phone with him. He didn't know anything about me . . . just some random guy talking to him."

Ryan gushed about Favre, saying he thought "he was one of the best in the history of the game. Still do. He makes all the throws at any arm angle. The guy's amazing. He takes shots and he keeps getting up. He's an ultimate competitor."

But Ryan is the first to say everything worked out well for Favre and especially for the Jets. It couldn't have turned out better for Ryan: He got a quarterback who looks to be every bit as good as the coach had envisioned. Maybe even better, especially the way he's played the last three weeks in wins over the Patriots, Dolphins and Bills.

Better that than having to depend on an aging quarterback who has retired - and returned - three times in the last three years.

"We got a quarterback who's going to be here for the next 10 years," Ryan said. "Brett's a great player. Last year, those statistics . . . I kept saying that can't be right. The guy is a once-in-a-lifetime quarterback."

Ryan said he has incredible respect for Favre's competitiveness and scoffs at suggestions he orchestrated his way to the Vikings.

"I think he came here to try to win a Super Bowl," Ryan said. "That's why he plays, period. Any great competitor comes for the same reason, to try to win a Super Bowl. He's a great quarterback, a great competitor."