All-time Bears killer Brett Favre might not be coming back specifically to haunt the Bears -- there's a general manager in Green Bay by the name of Ted Thompson he doesn't care for -- but those at Halas Hall will not be surprised if Favre mounts a comeback in Minnesota.
''I'm just reading the newspapers like everyone else,'' Bears GM Jerry Angelo said. ''He says he wants to stay retired, and I hope that is what he does. We have great memories of him. We wish him well.
''When you're a player of his caliber, I don't know if it ever goes away. I don't know what to expect. I don't think anybody does. But everyone in the back of their heads thinks [he'll sign with the Vikings]. That's a possibility. It's fun. He's such an icon in our game.''
The New York Jets released Favre from the reserve/retired list last week, and now he can sign anywhere -- a freedom he didn't have last summer, when Thompson and the Packers were not going to let him remain in the NFC North.
Favre has a 22-10 career record against the Bears , but after Lovie Smith arrived as coach in 2004, the Bears were 6-2 against the Favre-led Packers.
''I'm on record as being a Brett Favre fan,'' Smith said. ''He's a great player. So I assume if he is available, teams will try to get him. It's good for our league if players like that are still playing in our league. Right now, I'm trying to get the team ready.''
Angelo had to deal with Favre for nearly a decade in Tampa Bay before he joined the Bears . Favre's legend with the Packers began when he came off the bench to replace injured Don Majkowski in Week 3 of the 1992 season. But his first appearance came the week before when Mike Holmgren summoned him off the bench at halftime to replace an ineffective Majkowski with the Packers trailing the Buccaneers 17-0 in Tampa.
''I saw him play, and he was horrific,'' Angelo recalled, laughing. ''I said, if this is the guy they are betting their future on, do we have a chance? Absolutely horrific.''
Favre's first completion that day was to himself -- for a seven-yard loss -- when a ball was batted in the air. If he joins the Vikings, he'll be able to complete passes to Bernard Berrian and hand off to Adrian Peterson.
Are you sure it's good for the division, Lovie?
''Well, again, right now we're trying to get the Bears ready,'' he said.
