Glen Coffee Retires

[hoping4ASuperBowl]

49ers backup RB Glen Coffee shockingly announced his retirement from football Friday.

Coffee was nowhere to be found Friday after missing Thursday afternoon's practice. He released a statement Friday afternoon, indicating that he's "moving on" from football. Coach Mike Singletary runs a notoriously tough camp, but there has to be more to the story here. Coffee was battling rookie Anthony Dixon for the No. 2 job behind Frank Gore. Dixon is now the clear "handcuff" to Gore.

Coffee says in a statement he is moving on from football.

— Matt Barrows (@mattbarrows)

August 13, 2010

[Blurredorunfocused]

Once news of this filtered through it was bound to create a stir, so much for the 49ers ground attack.

[Lil Bit Special]

http://blogs.sacbee.com/49ers/archives/2010/08/coffee-ive-alre.html

Coffee: I've already told Christ it's time to goI called Glen Coffee at his Los Gatos apartment at 8:30 this morning. When I told him who I was, he said he was told not to talk to the media. But he said he would because, "I feel like it needs to be known why I did what I did." Coffee seemed very confidant of his decision and was happy and thoughtful throughout the conversation. There is an ongoing push - from teammates, family members, etc. - to get him to return to the team, but it's very hard to see them winning Coffee over. If you ask me, his decision is final. Here's the interview:

The first question I asked him was why, why step away from such a lucrative profession?<br style="margin-top: 0px; ">Coffee: "It was a struggle for a long time. Actually when I look back I feel I never should have entered the draft in the first place. Football was no longer my dream. I found Christ in college. It changed my views on everything. But I still was a football player because it was expected of me, it was something I did all my life. I was basically wasting the (49ers') time."

Why do you think you couldn't reconcile football and your faith?<br style="margin-top: 0px; ">Coffee: "His will, I felt, wasn't football. I felt like I forced football because everyone expected me to play football. He told me a long time ago to walk away from the game."

What will you do now?<br style="margin-top: 0px; ">Coffee: "It's simple. I'm going back to school." Coffee, who left the University of Alabama after his junior year, said he needed only six hours to get an undergraduate degree in consumer affairs. However, he plans to get a master's as well.

I noted that Alabama associates him with football more than anywhere else. Will it be hard to return to a school that knows you as a tailback?<br style="margin-top: 0px; ">Coffee: "It's going to be both. There's going to be people that understand and there's going to be people that don't understand and don't care to understand. They're going to feed off that negativity. That's life."

There has been speculation that outside influences, something like a failed drug test, prompted your decision. Can you put that to rest?<br style="margin-top: 0px; ">Coffee (laughs): "Yesterday I was reading on the Internet and some reporter said I made the decision because I got blown up in a blocking drill. Come on, man! Give me more credit than that! But I've got to expect that when I do something so unexpectedly. No, there were no personal issues. But I really am sorry that I put the 49ers in this situation. I should have handled it a lot differently."

You've been working nonstop since the 2009 season ended to transform your body and become a better running back. How do you do that when your mind's not fully into football?<br style="margin-top: 0px; ">Coffee: "Because whatever you do, you've got to do it to glorify Christ. You've got to do it 100 percent. Even though my head - it was sort of me holding onto the sport. I tried to get all the way into it."

Did the harshness of Mike Singletary's training camp play a role?<br style="margin-top: 0px; ">Coffee: "No. It's what we do. We're football players. I'm not walking away because of that. As far as coach Singletary and the 49ers - Singletary, that dude is legit. He's legit on all levels. He's doing what he feels is right. It's definitely not camp (that prompted his decision) and how hard camp was. That's football."

Was it difficult to tell Singletary your decision Friday morning?<br style="margin-top: 0px; ">Coffee: "It wasn't necessarily that I thought he was going to me mad at me. It was that I didn't take lightly that I was leaving my teammates. Because they thought I was going to war with them."

Any way you will reconsider?<br style="margin-top: 0px; ">Coffee: "No, man. I've already told Christ it's time to go. I've already rung the bell. That's not going to happen."

<br style="margin-top: 0px; "><br style="margin-top: 0px; ">Read more: http://blogs.sacbee.com/49ers/archives/2010/08/coffee-ive-alre.html#ixzz0wbQXVcSK

[visajets]

Looks he was only as good as his last drop.

[sirlancemehlot]

Looks he was only as good as his last drop.

I blame Jesus for that drop.

[Vudu]

Hopefully Jesus can pay the bills.

[Bruce Banner]

Coffee: "It's simple. I'm going back to school." Coffee, who left the University of Alabama after his junior year, said he needed only six hours to get an undergraduate degree in consumer affairs.

I've lost track of the number of jobs I didn't get because I didn't have a degree in consumer affairs.

[Sperm Edwards]

How'd you like to live your life with people referring to you, correctly, as Mr. Coffee?

Brutal.

[GodWearsAGrayHoodie]

Hopefully Jesus can pay the bills.

Between his signing bonus and salary he made appx $1 million dollars last year. While that isn't "set for life" type money, if managed carefully he can live a middle class lifestyle on a low income job for life.

[sirlancemehlot]

Between his signing bonus and salary he made appx $1 million dollars last year. While that isn't "set for life" type money, if managed carefully he can live a middle class lifestyle on a low income job for life.

or he could play football. Too bad that's not cool with the Lord.

[T0mShane]

Between his signing bonus and salary he made appx $1 million dollars last year. While that isn't "set for life" type money, if managed carefully he can live a middle class lifestyle on a low income job for life.

One of my friends' friends was dating a major league player a while back and when she told me who it was, I was like "Haha. That guys sucks. Total journeyman," to which she replied, "He made $300,000 last year," to which I replied, "Oh."

[sirlancemehlot]

One of my friends' friends was dating a major league player a while back and when she told me who it was, I was like "Haha. That guys sucks. Total journeyman," to which she replied, "He made $300,000 last year," to which I replied, "Oh."

That's a great story, Tom. A great story.

[kelticwizard]

Once news of this filtered through it was bound to create a stir, so much for the 49ers ground attack.

Three puns in one sentence-you should be hung for this post.

[GodWearsAGrayHoodie]

Three puns in one sentence-you should be hung for this post.

Not to be a drip, but instead of "hung", don't you mean he should be creamed for percolating such stale puns.

[Matt39]

He was terrible last year anyway. I thought hed be a decent pro. Whoops.

[T0mShane]

That's a great story, Tom. A great story.

It was an Aesopian morality tale.

[bitonti]

How'd you like to live your life with people referring to you, correctly, as Mr. Coffee?

Brutal.

soon he will be reverend coffee

[Sperm Edwards]

soon he will be reverend coffee

So it would seem.

If I had to go through life as Mr. Coffee I'd seek out a higher power also. He should change his name to something more socially acceptable. Something like Sperm Edwards.

[sirlancemehlot]

It was an Aesopian morality tale.

Aesopian. Good word. I once used the word Brobdignagian in a dinner conversation and three people slapped me. Including the waiter. Damned illiterates.

[Bruce Banner]

Aesopian. Good word. I once used the word Brobdignagian in a dinner conversation and three people slapped me. Including the waiter. Damned illiterates.

: )