ORLANDO - The prevailing theory since the Vikings' season ended with a loss at New Orleans in the NFC title game has been that Brett Favre would be back in 2010. Some have suggested the Vikings already know the quarterback will return but will not say anything so the
40-year-old can again miss part of training camp before making a triumphant return after all activity in Mankato has ended.
While Vikings coach Brad Childress and team executives seem to have a quiet confidence that Favre will play a 20th season, four days at the NFL owners meetings left observers with the impression that nothing has been decided. No secret handshakes have taken place either at Winter Park or during Childress' visit to see Favre in Mississippi this month.
"I don't know," Childress said when asked for an update on the Favre situation Wednesday during the NFC coaches' breakfast at the Ritz-Carlton. "(It's) just the same as it has been really. I just don't know. In this business you have to be able to deal with uncertainty and ambiguity because that's what this is about."
And so the Vikings wait and hope. Will the team's no-pressure approach give Favre the breathing room he needs to make a decision the Vikings desire?
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Childress, like all NFL coaches, likes to control as many things as possible. But he understands that when it comes to getting what he wants out of Favre, ceding control is of vital importance. Not to mention this is a rare case in which the rules are being made up as the sides go.
"You shape what you can shape and then your response to whatever happens is the most important thing," Childress said.
Childress and his players know Favre most likely will not take part in offseason workouts or even the first part of training camp. Given the quarterback's success last year after arriving in late August, everyone seems to be all right with that. When asked if Favre is angling to avoid a long training camp, Childress said: "I don't know if it's that simple because I don't know what it is."
What Childress does know is that finding a quality starting quarterback isn't easy and finding one who can throw 33 touchdowns and only seven interceptions at the age of 40 is nearly impossible.
The Vikings coach said he would like to have his entire team together at the beginning of camp.
