McNabb: Return To Eagles’ Facility ‘Was A Sour Day For Me’

Philadelphia Magazine’s own Richard Rys recently sat down with Donovan McNabb for a wide-ranging Q&A that covers everything from the day he was drafted to the day he was traded — and the hard feeling that followed. Plenty of good nuggets in there. Here’s a sample:

Did your time with Washington and Minnesota give you a different perspective on the Eagles?

I never forgot what happened in Philadelphia. Those were great years. I would have loved to have had another couple years after that and just say “Thank you, I’m done.” But it didn’t happen that way. I sold my house when I got traded. Never even touched foot in Philadelphia until I played there as a Washington Redskin. I hadn’t even been back to the facility until Brian Dawkins retired. It was a sour day for me. I was pissed off to go, but [Brian’s] like my brother. I went for my brother. I felt the same as Brian—you turned your back on me. You basically pointed the finger at me. Things haven’t been right in Philadelphia since [I left].

Tell me about your decision to retire two years ago. 

You have to know when it’s time. I told [the Vikings] to release me. I called my agent: “Get me out of here. I’m done.” Everybody wants to play many years, win Super Bowls, ride off in a chariot, retire, confetti comes up, cheerleaders are dancing. You want to end like Jerome Bettis did. Like Ray [Lewis] did. But it could end the way it did for me that week. It’s tough to swallow. I continued to work out. I was ready to go if the right call was there. It’s funny, because I talked to Jim Harbaugh, because [the San Francisco 49ers] were one of the teams I was thinking about. I said, “I’m all in. Just let me know.” He said, “Be ready. You’re on the short list for us.”

Who were the other teams?
Baltimore. Which is funny, because they both ended up in the Super Bowl. Which would have been really funny if I won a Super Bowl and wasn’t the starter. Those were the only two teams. I didn’t want to be a guy just waiting around—what you see T.O. doing, what you see Chad [Johnson] doing. I was done. And I was at peace.

You can read the entire piece here.