April 4, 2025 • 9 mins
On this episode of Our American Stories, Brett Favre's father coached the legendary QB on many subjects—most of which shaped his training, practice, and play. The passing game? Not so much. But life itself? Absolutely. Here's Brett himself with the story.
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Episode Transcript
Available transcripts are automatically generated. Complete accuracy is not guaranteed.
Speaker 1 (00:12):
This is our American stories. Much of what's been known
about legendary NFL quarterback Brett Favre has been kept between
the goalposts. So Greg Hengler took the three and a
half hour long drive south from here in Oxford, Mississippi,
where we broadcast this show and sat down with Brett
and his Hattiesburg, Mississippi home. Here's Brett on tough love,
(00:37):
telling the truth, and having a parenting style that's different
than his father's. And this is part two of our
five part series.
Speaker 2 (00:48):
I coached two years of high school football, not because
I wanted to. The head coach here at the high school,
who I knew really well kind of talked me into it.
I don't know, I don't really want to. It was
the first year out of retirement and I ended up
loving it, but I felt like I was really tough
(01:08):
on the kids. I didn't pick my dad, and the
other coaches picked a lot you big sissy, not so
much me. But and that, of course at that time,
that's all I knew. Now and looking back, as a
(01:28):
coach or as a person in that position doesn't have
to be a coach, com be a teacher. I think
our job is to mentor rather than pick. I mean,
in some respects, it's like bullying to where some of
those kids didn't want to come around. And don't get
(01:48):
me wrong, I would joke around with these kids, but
it would always be in a playful manner, and I
knew that whoever it was that could handle it. In fact,
it may it may even help with team bonding, but
I would be really demanding on what I knew they
were capable of. Only because I knew what they were
(02:12):
capable of. It's just like talking to your kids and
you say, and I'm bouncing all around. But like my
twenty year old daughter, and I use this example all
the time, like first or second year of American Idol.
We're in Green Bay and I'm studying, but we got
American Idol on and we love watching. And I don't
(02:36):
know if it was when the show was over, and
she's probably eight, she comes over and she said, Dad,
I want to try out for American Idol. What do
you think? I said no, She said why, I said,
you can't sing, said you're terrible, and I was just
telling her the truth. I said, trust me, if I
(02:57):
let you try out, someday, you're gonna say what were
you thinking? And I knew what she's capable of. And
I mean, she's she's a smart kid. She if she
wanted to be a doctor, she could. She wants to
be a lawyer, she could, But she's not going to
(03:19):
be a rocket scientist. And I think I think as
a as a coach, I demanded what I thought they
were capable of achieving. And I felt like if they
were not, there's a reason for it, not studying, not
paying attention in practice. But when they did well or
(03:40):
did something that I'd been trying to coach them to do,
I would reward them. I'd hug him, put marm around them.
Great job. And that's where my dad lacked. When you
did something right, it was you were supposed to do
it that way. You didn't say anything non about damn time,
(04:00):
you know something like that. Yeah, And that's all I knew.
And I was determined that I didn't think i'd ever coached,
But if I did that, I would I would build
them up as well. I mean, it's sorry to get
on there, but they got to know that when they
do well, that you love them. The same can be
(04:22):
said for for life. Like my dad and I don't
I don't say this with any regret, because I don't.
But he never told us he loved this, But again,
he was that was his You know, I don't think
any drill sergeant at the end of the day says
I really love you guys. He may say it, you know,
(04:46):
or our joking manner, like now get your ass out
and give me. So my mom, of course, was kind
of the caregiver, told you she loved you, and oh,
don't worry about your dad. And then when he walked
in the room, and you know, it was all it
(05:07):
was tough, tough love, and I didn't have I was
determined if I had boys, I would tell him I
loved him as much as possible. Now I had two girls,
and I told him I loved him. And Dad, I know,
I know you don't have to tell me, but did
(05:28):
tell them over and over again. Now am I perfect parent,
Absolutely not. But my dad was. I don't know if
it was the way they were raised. I'm sure part
of it was. My grandfather was real mellow, but he
was up in the people change, you know, and you know,
(05:52):
people maybe your own family members, that like, you know,
just the tough guy that you once were. You know,
maybe with the grandkids, Like where was that when I
was a kid. So going back to my dad, when
I had Brittany at Breeley, he he didn't wanna spend
(06:18):
very much time with him. He didn't have patience kids
running around screaming. He'd he'd start yelling and then I'd
have to yell at him, and then it was just
it was bad. But you know, like I told people,
he I knew he loved me us. He didn't have
(06:38):
to say it. Now as I got older, I understood
it more and more sometimes through his yelling and screaming,
and that was his way of It's kind of like saying, well,
you he was supposed to be able to do that,
you know, good, you know, good job, but hell, that's
what I've been coaching you do. That was his way
of saying awesome. It was just the way it was.
(07:02):
And again, it drove me. And I don't even know
what I was being driven by. I you know, maybe
I was. It was driving me, you know, like I'll
get him to say nice child, I'm proud of you
without even knowing it. But it's funny when he would
(07:23):
come up the Green Bay, he'd retire and this is
just kind of a funny exchange between us. But he
would get it in the truck after the game. It
would be a good game. Let me tell you, well,
he completed thirty thirty if you had thrown thirty more
(07:45):
better passes. And I'm like, look for someone who never
threw the ball, don't tell me how to throw, and
he'd just shut up. Well, it was nothing he could say,
you know, I mean, it was the truth. Why'd you
(08:06):
miss that read? I'm like, I don't even want to
hear it. You never coached me one thing about reading.
It was hitting the tackling dummy and doing monkey roles
and you know which, I wouldn't trade it. It worked out,
But don't tell me how I throw. But up until
(08:28):
the end, that meant he was determined to coach me up.
Now all of a sudden, he's gonna coach me up
on the ins and outs of the passing game. And
he didn't know from Sean Nola when it came to
the passing game.
Speaker 1 (08:44):
And you're listening to Brett Farv talking about his dad
who was his coach when he was in high school,
and they never threw the ball. And we're going to
continue if you'd like to hear more on Brett Farre's life.
This is part two of a five part series. Brett
Favre's Story. This one about his father, about parenting, about
(09:05):
love and discipline. Here on our American Stories.
This is our American stories. Much of what's been known
about legendary NFL quarterback Brett Favre has been kept between
the goalposts. So Greg Hengler took the three and a
half hour long drive south from here in Oxford, Mississippi,
where we broadcast this show and sat down with Brett
and his Hattiesburg, Mississippi home. Here's Brett on tough love,
(00:37):
telling the truth, and having a parenting style that's different
than his father's. And this is part two of our
five part series.
Speaker 2 (00:48):
I coached two years of high school football, not because
I wanted to. The head coach here at the high school,
who I knew really well kind of talked me into it.
I don't know, I don't really want to. It was
the first year out of retirement and I ended up
loving it, but I felt like I was really tough
(01:08):
on the kids. I didn't pick my dad, and the
other coaches picked a lot you big sissy, not so
much me. But and that, of course at that time,
that's all I knew. Now and looking back, as a
(01:28):
coach or as a person in that position doesn't have
to be a coach, com be a teacher. I think
our job is to mentor rather than pick. I mean,
in some respects, it's like bullying to where some of
those kids didn't want to come around. And don't get
(01:48):
me wrong, I would joke around with these kids, but
it would always be in a playful manner, and I
knew that whoever it was that could handle it. In fact,
it may it may even help with team bonding, but
I would be really demanding on what I knew they
were capable of. Only because I knew what they were
(02:12):
capable of. It's just like talking to your kids and
you say, and I'm bouncing all around. But like my
twenty year old daughter, and I use this example all
the time, like first or second year of American Idol.
We're in Green Bay and I'm studying, but we got
American Idol on and we love watching. And I don't
(02:36):
know if it was when the show was over, and
she's probably eight, she comes over and she said, Dad,
I want to try out for American Idol. What do
you think? I said no, She said why, I said,
you can't sing, said you're terrible, and I was just
telling her the truth. I said, trust me, if I
(02:57):
let you try out, someday, you're gonna say what were
you thinking? And I knew what she's capable of. And
I mean, she's she's a smart kid. She if she
wanted to be a doctor, she could. She wants to
be a lawyer, she could, But she's not going to
(03:19):
be a rocket scientist. And I think I think as
a as a coach, I demanded what I thought they
were capable of achieving. And I felt like if they
were not, there's a reason for it, not studying, not
paying attention in practice. But when they did well or
(03:40):
did something that I'd been trying to coach them to do,
I would reward them. I'd hug him, put marm around them.
Great job. And that's where my dad lacked. When you
did something right, it was you were supposed to do
it that way. You didn't say anything non about damn time,
(04:00):
you know something like that. Yeah, And that's all I knew.
And I was determined that I didn't think i'd ever coached,
But if I did that, I would I would build
them up as well. I mean, it's sorry to get
on there, but they got to know that when they
do well, that you love them. The same can be
(04:22):
said for for life. Like my dad and I don't
I don't say this with any regret, because I don't.
But he never told us he loved this, But again,
he was that was his You know, I don't think
any drill sergeant at the end of the day says
I really love you guys. He may say it, you know,
(04:46):
or our joking manner, like now get your ass out
and give me. So my mom, of course, was kind
of the caregiver, told you she loved you, and oh,
don't worry about your dad. And then when he walked
in the room, and you know, it was all it
(05:07):
was tough, tough love, and I didn't have I was
determined if I had boys, I would tell him I
loved him as much as possible. Now I had two girls,
and I told him I loved him. And Dad, I know,
I know you don't have to tell me, but did
(05:28):
tell them over and over again. Now am I perfect parent,
Absolutely not. But my dad was. I don't know if
it was the way they were raised. I'm sure part
of it was. My grandfather was real mellow, but he
was up in the people change, you know, and you know,
(05:52):
people maybe your own family members, that like, you know,
just the tough guy that you once were. You know,
maybe with the grandkids, Like where was that when I
was a kid. So going back to my dad, when
I had Brittany at Breeley, he he didn't wanna spend
(06:18):
very much time with him. He didn't have patience kids
running around screaming. He'd he'd start yelling and then I'd
have to yell at him, and then it was just
it was bad. But you know, like I told people,
he I knew he loved me us. He didn't have
(06:38):
to say it. Now as I got older, I understood
it more and more sometimes through his yelling and screaming,
and that was his way of It's kind of like saying, well,
you he was supposed to be able to do that,
you know, good, you know, good job, but hell, that's
what I've been coaching you do. That was his way
of saying awesome. It was just the way it was.
(07:02):
And again, it drove me. And I don't even know
what I was being driven by. I you know, maybe
I was. It was driving me, you know, like I'll
get him to say nice child, I'm proud of you
without even knowing it. But it's funny when he would
(07:23):
come up the Green Bay, he'd retire and this is
just kind of a funny exchange between us. But he
would get it in the truck after the game. It
would be a good game. Let me tell you, well,
he completed thirty thirty if you had thrown thirty more
(07:45):
better passes. And I'm like, look for someone who never
threw the ball, don't tell me how to throw, and
he'd just shut up. Well, it was nothing he could say,
you know, I mean, it was the truth. Why'd you
(08:06):
miss that read? I'm like, I don't even want to
hear it. You never coached me one thing about reading.
It was hitting the tackling dummy and doing monkey roles
and you know which, I wouldn't trade it. It worked out,
But don't tell me how I throw. But up until
(08:28):
the end, that meant he was determined to coach me up.
Now all of a sudden, he's gonna coach me up
on the ins and outs of the passing game. And
he didn't know from Sean Nola when it came to
the passing game.
Speaker 1 (08:44):
And you're listening to Brett Farv talking about his dad
who was his coach when he was in high school,
and they never threw the ball. And we're going to
continue if you'd like to hear more on Brett Farre's life.
This is part two of a five part series. Brett
Favre's Story. This one about his father, about parenting, about
(09:05):
love and discipline. Here on our American Stories.
Host
Lee Habeeb
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