September 18, 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 Lee Habib and this is our American Stories,
the show where America is the star and the American
people coming to you from the city where the West begins,
Fort Worth, Texas.
Speaker 2 (00:24):
A bunch of.
Speaker 1 (00:24):
What's known about legendary NFL quarterback Brett Farv has been
kept between the goalposts. So our own Greg Hengler sat
down with Brett Farv and his Hattiesburg, Mississippi home. Here's
Brett on tough love, telling the truth, and having a
parenting style that's different than his father's. And this is
(00:45):
part two of our five part series.
Speaker 3 (00:50):
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
(01:10):
on the kids. I didn't pick my dad, and the other.
Speaker 2 (01:15):
Coaches picked a lot you big sissy, not so much me.
But and that, of course at that time, that's all
I knew.
Speaker 3 (01:26):
Now and looking back, as a coach or as a
person in that position doesn't have to be a coach
can be a teacher.
Speaker 2 (01:36):
I think our job is to mentor rather than pick.
Speaker 3 (01:41):
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 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 teen bonding,
(02:05):
but I would be really demanding on what I knew
they were capable of, only because I knew what they
were capable of. It's just like talking to your kids
and you say, and I'll 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
(02:28):
American Idol.
Speaker 2 (02:29):
We're in Green.
Speaker 3 (02:29):
Bay and I'm studying, but we got American Idol on
and we love watching. And I don't 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?
(02:51):
Said you're terrible, and I was just telling her the truth.
I said, trust me, if I 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
(03:12):
smart kid. She if she wanted to be a doctor,
she could. She wants to be a lawyer, she could.
But she's not gonna 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,
(03:37):
not studying, not paying attention in practice.
Speaker 2 (03:40):
But when they did well or did.
Speaker 3 (03:42):
Something that I'd been trying to coach them to do,
I would reward them.
Speaker 2 (03:46):
I'd hug them, put my arm around them. Great job.
Speaker 3 (03:50):
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 no damn about damn time you
know something like that. Yeah, yeah, And that's all I knew.
And I was determined that I didn't think i'd ever coached,
(04:12):
but if I did that, I would I would build
them up as well. I mean, it's sorry to get
on there as but they got to know that when
they do well, that.
Speaker 2 (04:22):
You love them. The same can be said.
Speaker 3 (04:25):
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,
(04:48):
or our joking manner.
Speaker 2 (04:50):
Like now get your ass out and give me.
Speaker 3 (04:53):
So my mom, of course, was kind of a caregiver,
told you she loved you, and oh, don't worry about
your dad, and then when he walked in the room,
it w you know, it was all It was tough,
tough love, and I didn't have I was determined if
(05:16):
I had boys, I would tell him I loved him
as much as possible.
Speaker 2 (05:22):
Now I had two girls, and I told him I
loved him.
Speaker 3 (05:25):
And Dad, I know, I know, you don't have to
tell me, but did tell him over and over again.
Now am I perfect parent, Absolutely not, But.
Speaker 2 (05:39):
My dad was.
Speaker 3 (05:41):
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.
Speaker 2 (05:48):
Up in the.
Speaker 3 (05:50):
People change, you know, and y you know people, maybe
you own family members that like, you know.
Speaker 2 (05:57):
Just the tough guy that you once were, you.
Speaker 3 (06:01):
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 want
to spend very much time with him. He didn't have
(06:21):
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.
Speaker 2 (06:34):
But you know, like I told people, I knew he
loved me us. He didn't have to say it.
Speaker 3 (06:42):
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. And again, it
(07:05):
drove me. And I don't even know what I was
being driven by. I you know it, I maybe I was.
It was dr 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 come
(07:25):
up to Green Bay, he'd retire and I n this
is more just kind of a fu funny exchange between us.
But he would get in the truck after the game
would be a good game. Let me tell you, well,
he completed thirty f thirty if you'd f thrown thirty
(07:47):
more 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, well it it was. It was
the truth. Why'd you miss that read? I'm like, I
(08:10):
don't even want to hear it. You never coached me
one thing about reading. It was hitting the tackling dummy
and doing monkey rolls and you know which I I
wouldn't trade it. It worked out, But don't tell me
how I throw. But up until the end, that meant
(08:31):
he was determined to coach me out. Now all of
a sudden, he's gonna coach me up on the ins
and outs of the passing game.
Speaker 2 (08:41):
And he didn't know from Sean Nola when it came
to the passing game.
Speaker 1 (08:46):
And you're listening to Brett Favre talking about his dad
who was his coach when he was in high school
and they never threw the ball. Brett was running well,
a lot of running plays and getting in shape and
Oregon I his life around a running game coach, his dad.
Speaker 2 (09:03):
And a tough old guy.
Speaker 1 (09:05):
You know, a lot of old dads were like that.
Speaker 2 (09:08):
That's just how it was.
Speaker 1 (09:09):
And here's Brett Farve lamenting, remembering and trying to improve
upon what his father passed on to him and the
best way he knows how. 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. Go
to our American Stories dot Com now and just go
(09:30):
on that search bar and put in the name Brett Farvan.
It'll pop up Brett Farvre's story. This one about his father,
about parenting, about love and discipline. Here on our American
Story
This is Lee Habib and this is our American Stories,
the show where America is the star and the American
people coming to you from the city where the West begins,
Fort Worth, Texas.
Speaker 2 (00:24):
A bunch of.
Speaker 1 (00:24):
What's known about legendary NFL quarterback Brett Farv has been
kept between the goalposts. So our own Greg Hengler sat
down with Brett Farv and his Hattiesburg, Mississippi home. Here's
Brett on tough love, telling the truth, and having a
parenting style that's different than his father's. And this is
(00:45):
part two of our five part series.
Speaker 3 (00:50):
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
(01:10):
on the kids. I didn't pick my dad, and the other.
Speaker 2 (01:15):
Coaches picked a lot you big sissy, not so much me.
But and that, of course at that time, that's all
I knew.
Speaker 3 (01:26):
Now and looking back, as a coach or as a
person in that position doesn't have to be a coach
can be a teacher.
Speaker 2 (01:36):
I think our job is to mentor rather than pick.
Speaker 3 (01:41):
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 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 teen bonding,
(02:05):
but I would be really demanding on what I knew
they were capable of, only because I knew what they
were capable of. It's just like talking to your kids
and you say, and I'll 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
(02:28):
American Idol.
Speaker 2 (02:29):
We're in Green.
Speaker 3 (02:29):
Bay and I'm studying, but we got American Idol on
and we love watching. And I don't 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?
(02:51):
Said you're terrible, and I was just telling her the truth.
I said, trust me, if I 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
(03:12):
smart kid. She if she wanted to be a doctor,
she could. She wants to be a lawyer, she could.
But she's not gonna 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,
(03:37):
not studying, not paying attention in practice.
Speaker 2 (03:40):
But when they did well or did.
Speaker 3 (03:42):
Something that I'd been trying to coach them to do,
I would reward them.
Speaker 2 (03:46):
I'd hug them, put my arm around them. Great job.
Speaker 3 (03:50):
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 no damn about damn time you
know something like that. Yeah, yeah, And that's all I knew.
And I was determined that I didn't think i'd ever coached,
(04:12):
but if I did that, I would I would build
them up as well. I mean, it's sorry to get
on there as but they got to know that when
they do well, that.
Speaker 2 (04:22):
You love them. The same can be said.
Speaker 3 (04:25):
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,
(04:48):
or our joking manner.
Speaker 2 (04:50):
Like now get your ass out and give me.
Speaker 3 (04:53):
So my mom, of course, was kind of a caregiver,
told you she loved you, and oh, don't worry about
your dad, and then when he walked in the room,
it w you know, it was all It was tough,
tough love, and I didn't have I was determined if
(05:16):
I had boys, I would tell him I loved him
as much as possible.
Speaker 2 (05:22):
Now I had two girls, and I told him I
loved him.
Speaker 3 (05:25):
And Dad, I know, I know, you don't have to
tell me, but did tell him over and over again.
Now am I perfect parent, Absolutely not, But.
Speaker 2 (05:39):
My dad was.
Speaker 3 (05:41):
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.
Speaker 2 (05:48):
Up in the.
Speaker 3 (05:50):
People change, you know, and y you know people, maybe
you own family members that like, you know.
Speaker 2 (05:57):
Just the tough guy that you once were, you.
Speaker 3 (06:01):
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 want
to spend very much time with him. He didn't have
(06:21):
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.
Speaker 2 (06:34):
But you know, like I told people, I knew he
loved me us. He didn't have to say it.
Speaker 3 (06:42):
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. And again, it
(07:05):
drove me. And I don't even know what I was
being driven by. I you know it, I maybe I was.
It was dr 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 come
(07:25):
up to Green Bay, he'd retire and I n this
is more just kind of a fu funny exchange between us.
But he would get in the truck after the game
would be a good game. Let me tell you, well,
he completed thirty f thirty if you'd f thrown thirty
(07:47):
more 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, well it it was. It was
the truth. Why'd you miss that read? I'm like, I
(08:10):
don't even want to hear it. You never coached me
one thing about reading. It was hitting the tackling dummy
and doing monkey rolls and you know which I I
wouldn't trade it. It worked out, But don't tell me
how I throw. But up until the end, that meant
(08:31):
he was determined to coach me out. Now all of
a sudden, he's gonna coach me up on the ins
and outs of the passing game.
Speaker 2 (08:41):
And he didn't know from Sean Nola when it came
to the passing game.
Speaker 1 (08:46):
And you're listening to Brett Favre talking about his dad
who was his coach when he was in high school
and they never threw the ball. Brett was running well,
a lot of running plays and getting in shape and
Oregon I his life around a running game coach, his dad.
Speaker 2 (09:03):
And a tough old guy.
Speaker 1 (09:05):
You know, a lot of old dads were like that.
Speaker 2 (09:08):
That's just how it was.
Speaker 1 (09:09):
And here's Brett Farve lamenting, remembering and trying to improve
upon what his father passed on to him and the
best way he knows how. 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. Go
to our American Stories dot Com now and just go
(09:30):
on that search bar and put in the name Brett Farvan.
It'll pop up Brett Farvre's story. This one about his father,
about parenting, about love and discipline. Here on our American
Story
Host
Lee Habeeb
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