When Glen Coffee suddenly retired on the 49ers last week, many fans thought it was a fishy situation.
But Coffee has explained his decision, it appears to be more of a fish-to-loaves situation. Coffee says he retired because he found Jesus Christ and may pursue becoming a minister.
"I had found Christ my junior year at ‘Bama. When I found Him, football was no longer my dream," Coffee said in a radio interview with WJOX in Birmingham. "It’s definitely been something that I’ve prayed about and thought about for a long time."
"I needed to be outside of football," Coffee said. "If you’re not at peace yourself, it’s hard to minister to others."
This is not the kind of thing we're used to hearing from professional athletes. Admit it -- you would have been way less surprised if Coffee had left football because of DUI charges, a cellular phone picture of his genitals, or a contraband bottle of purple drank.
But Coffee left the game because of his personal relationship with Jesus Christ. Will he pull a Brett Favre and change his mind?
"There’s no turning back now," Coffee said. "I think the football is done for me."
Sports
It's probably true. If Glen Coffee couldn't play for an NFL coach who wears a giant cross on his neck, then he sure wouldn't be able to play for some of the other NFL coaches out there.
Joe Kukura is a freelance writer who attends church regularly. Once a year.
