Favre shot down reports that Thompson and McCarthy had chartered a flight to Mississippi to talk to the quarterback in late March about finalizing his comeback, only to have Favre back out at the last minute. Favre said McCarthy told him they were heading to Orlando, Fla., for the owners’ meetings and wanted to stop by to speak with him.

“The next day I told him, ’Mike, don’t worry about coming down or dropping by. I still can’t commit,”’ he said. “They made it sound like they had chartered a plane just to see me and I had made a call and said, ’I’m coming back,’ which is not true.”

A series of he-said, they-said accusations followed, as did rumors of where Favre might end up. The Packers wouldn’t grant Favre his release to become a free agent, but Tampa Bay and the Jets entered the picture as trade partners.

Favre agreed to come to New York after a persuasive conversation with general manager Mike Tannenbaum.

“Mike called me on the phone and I couldn’t get him to shut up,” he said with a grin, “but he sold me.”

Favre has promised the Jets nothing beyond this season. And, he says, none of that matters now, not with the season opener at Miami a week away.

“I didn’t want to go anywhere, including Green Bay, and go through a bad season and lose and get beat up and everyone say, ’What the hell did he come back for?”’ Favre said. “Now, that could happen here, it could happen in Green Bay and it could happen anywhere. I’ve always felt like I give whatever team I’m on a good chance to win, but there’s way more to it than one guy. ...

“The bottom line was that I wanted to play and I felt like this team had a good chance to win. It would be difficult, as it would be anywhere, but I felt like this would be a good fit for me.”

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