Talking NFL

Today, we’re proud to have our first interview published here at Talking NFL. With the Green Bay Packers getting ready to take on the Seattle Seahawks in this week’s NFC Divisional Round playoff, it’s fitting that the subject of our interview is best known for discovering and recruiting the 2007 SI Sportsman of the Year, Brett Favre.

Mark McHale was an assistant football coach at the University of Southern Mississippi when a few high school coaches changed the course of a quarterback’s life and the USM program. The football coaches told McHale to visit a school to see a player named Brett Favre…

In his new book, 10 to 4, Brett Favre’s Journey from Rotten Bayou to the Top of the NFL, Mark McHale and Brett Favre, with the help of award-winning sportswriter Tim Stephens, detail how the coach’s persistence enabled the gifted, but raw quarterback to prove himself at college football’s highest level and lay the foundation for becoming the winningest quarterback in NFL history and its only three-time consecutive Most Valuable Player.

The book provides a fascinating behind the scenes look at how the college recruiting process works, along with some great stories from Brett’s early career that showed Mark and the rest of the coaching staff at USM just how special he could become. Most of all, it’s amazing to read the early chapters of this book and discover just how close Brett came to not receiving one scholarship from a Division 1 school. Had Mark and the University of Southern Mississippi not stepped up to the plate, we might have never seen this gunslinger step onto an NFL field…let alone become a legend in the game.

• Back in 1986, you were the Offensive Line Coach for the University of Southern Mississippi, and went on a recruiting trip to Hancock North Central High to visit Brett Favre. What we your first impressions of Brett as you watched him play?

I was not impressed when I first watched him play because Irvin (Brett’s dad and head coach) didn’t have him throw the ball but maybe 4 times the whole game! However, I was very impressed with Brett in pre-game warmups where he really showed off his arm. During the second game I went to, I did see one pass that was absolutely phenomenal; it was a 50 yard TD pass that had smoke coming off it.

• What were your first impressions of Brett off the field like when you first met him?

I actually met him before I saw him play, and it was based on those impressions that I decided to come back and see him perform in a game. When I first met Brett at his dad’s field house, he displayed so much confidence in his persona–he was very confident, but not cocky. It gave me a gut feeling to pursue him.

• Is it true that when Southern Miss offered Favre a scholarship, it was to play safety? How did that offer come about?

Every Thursday we would talk about the recruits from each coaches geographical area. When I brought up each prospect’s name, the head coach (Jim Carmody) would always ask me, “can he play another position?” That’s when I saw the opportunity to up the odds to recruit Brett.

I told Jim he was a safety that played like a linebacker–very tough–he could play for us at safety if he didn’t work out at quarterback. This stuck in the back of the head coach’s mind when we lost a linebacker from Atlanta and he offered Brett to fill a defensive slot in that recruiting class!

• Can you give us one moment during Brett’s career at Southern Miss during a game that stands out to you as a moment when you thought, “this kid not only might make it as a pro, he might become one of the best?”

I’ll give you three moments from three different games:

The first one was vs Auburn. We had a 4th and goal on the Auburn 3 yard line with 4 seconds left and we needed a touchdown to win. I called time out, got Brett on the phones and asked him what he liked. He did not hesitate; he wanted to run a naked play action pass. That’s confidence. He ended up running it in, and we won the game.

The second game was vs Florida State. He took the 2 minute offense right down the field against the pre-season ranked #1 team. We ended up with the same scenario–4th and a couple to go, and he threw a TD pass to win the game.

The third moment was following a very bad car wreck he got in during his senior year. He went from 230 lbs to 190 lbs, did not practice 2-a-days or play in the first game, but then he went up to Alabama and won the game when he was not ready physically to play–again, that’s toughness– his players believed in him, his coaches, etc. Those are the qualities that told me he would be special at the next level.

• You’ve coached for over 33 years in college, high school, the CFL and NFL Europe. Can you tell us about any other players you’ve coached that made a lasting impression upon you, either for their play or their character?

I had an offensive tackle at Marshall University by the name of Nathan McPeek. He started as a true freshman, and had a record of 53 starts. We threw the ball all the time, yet he never gave up a sack. He loved the game like Brett–played with a bad back his senior year–and he had super character! He was not blessed with great talent — Brett was blessed with “the arm”.

• In the heat of a close game, what do you tell your players to keep them focused on the task at hand?

That they are prepared from practicing. You must focus on the basic fundamentals and communicating with the players next to you.

• Where did your love of football come from? Through your family? Through playing?

I had a strong interest when I played Little League football in my home town. I had a great high school coach who was the biggest influence on my love of the game. He is still coaching and winning today at age 70…

• How would you like to be remembered by the players you coached?

I frequently get letters and emails from my former players. I get the biggest thrill from them saying that I was a great teacher and that they remember the “quotes” from all of our meetings that had to do with life and not just football.

Mark’s book, 10 to 4, Brett Favre’s Journey from Rotten Bayou to the Top of the NFL is available at www.coachmchale.com.