Nearly three and a half decades ago, the Green Bay Packers made a trade that set the franchise on a course for the next 16 years: the acquisition of Brett Favre.
Longtime NFL coach Jon Gruden was a part of the Packers coaching staff at the time and recently spoke about the 1992 trade. Gruden revealed that many people did not think acquiring the second-year quarterback was a good idea.
Jon Gruden Reveals Many Thought Packers Were ‘Idiots’ For Getting Brett Favre
In 1992, the Packers hadn’t made the playoffs in nine years and were coming off back-to-back losing seasons with just one winning season since their last playoff appearance.
It was head coach Mike Holmgren’s first season at the helm, and he needed a quarterback to build around. So, Green Bay traded for the 22-year-old Favre at the time, who was a second-year quarterback with two games under his belt.
Favre had been drafted in the second round of the draft the previous year by the Atlanta Falcons, and the Packers gave up a first-round pick to get him.
“It was 1992, and I knew Favre because he played at Southern Miss against my brother at Louisville. But I don’t know if Andy (Reid) knew who the hell Favre was. He was a backup quarterback for the Falcons,” Gruden said on the “Not Just Football With Cam Heyward” podcast. “We had two first-round picks, and we traded a No. 1 (first-round) pick to Atlanta to get Brett Favre, and a lot of people were shocked. They thought we were idiots.”
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Gruden was an offensive assistant and quality control coach with the Packers at the time. The Super Bowl champion said he and the coaching staff stayed in the office all offseason to teach Favre the offense and communication.
“That was before the quarterback-to-coach walkie-talkie, and Brett bought in, and the rest is history,” Gruden said. “He was the kingmaker. Favre is the guy that got all of us jobs because when he took off, man, he took off.
“As you know, that’s how it is in pro football. If your quarterback is great, there’s a good chance your team is gonna be good and your coaches are gonna be coveted.”
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The Packers would finish 9-7 in 1992, which began a stretch of 13 straight years without a losing season. Over the next 16 seasons, Favre was a nine-time Pro Bowler, three-time NFL MVP, three-time first-team All-Pro, won Offensive Player of the Year in 1995, and won the Super Bowl in 1996.
The Packers made the playoffs 11 times during those 16 years, including 10 times in a 12-year span from 1993 to 2004.
Gruden became an offensive coordinator for the Philadelphia Eagles in 1995 and then got his first head-coaching opportunity in 1998 with the Oakland Raiders. Reid remained with the Packers until 1998, when he got his first shot as the man in charge in 1999 with the Eagles.
Gruden went on to coach the Tampa Bay Buccaneers to a Super Bowl, and Reid did so three times with the Kansas City Chiefs.
People might have thought the Packers were crazy to trade for Favre in the moment, but it certainly paid off for all parties involved.
