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13 Aug 2010

Glen Coffee Retires (Updated)

49ers running back Glen Coffee unexpectedly retired today. Coffee, the team's third-round pick in 2009, had been absent from practice without an injury on Thursday and Friday.

Saturday update: The Sacramento Bee has an exclusive interview with Coffee (linked) where he talks about his decision to leave football in order to pursue his degree. The interview doesn't say it, but it seems clear from various reports that he plans on becoming a minister. He seems like a very religious guy and sounds very comfortable with his decision.

Posted by: Bill Barnwell on 13 Aug 2010

37 comments, Last at 16 Aug 2010, 4:28pm by jimbohead

Comments

1
by matt h (not verified) :: Fri, 08/13/2010 - 2:20pm

Well that was a short cup of coffee in the big leagues.

(I'll show myself out)

(Hope it was because his heart wasn't in football, not due to medical/family issues)

2
by Karl Cuba :: Fri, 08/13/2010 - 2:24pm

???????????????????????

Whoever is in charge of the 49ers better get hold of Brian Westbrook's phone number quickly. Reports of out training camp suggest that Dixon can't pass block at all. Poor running back depth has just become even more shallow. Bugger.

3
by billsfan :: Fri, 08/13/2010 - 2:29pm

Maybe the guy who missed most of last season with concussion issues isn't the guy you want diving head-first at the knees of oncoming pass-rushers.

(I also like the Eagles)

5
by chemical burn :: Fri, 08/13/2010 - 2:53pm

Yeah, as an Eagles fan, I genuinely pray Westbrook has the good sense to hang it up...

6
by jklps :: Fri, 08/13/2010 - 3:19pm

As an NFL fan and a fan of Brian Westbrook/Marshall Faulk type running backs, I hope Westbrook hangs it up also...and I'm a Redskins fan.

7
by chemical burn :: Fri, 08/13/2010 - 3:40pm

Yeah, I guess I should've said "as a human being who hates to see a seemingly decent human being sustain debilitating injuries for almost a decade, including most recently a string of concussions that he tried to come back from too early... I hope Westbrook hangs it up."

9
by tuluse :: Fri, 08/13/2010 - 3:46pm

As fan of people retaining their mental faculties, I hope Westbrook hangs it up.

11
by Karl Cuba :: Fri, 08/13/2010 - 4:10pm

Now I'm being made to feel guilty for hoping that he can have a productive year for the 49ers as a 3rd down back without his brains dribbling out of his ears. Cheers guys.

14
by chemical burn :: Fri, 08/13/2010 - 4:19pm

Ah, don't feel bad, Westbrook just is beaten to death and watching him play last year (the last two years, really) was as depressing as watching Curtis Martin hobble around with a cane.

16
by Karl Cuba :: Fri, 08/13/2010 - 4:31pm

At the same time, I can remember a couple of amazing plays by him last season and he's always been fun to watch when he does something amazing.

30
by Noah of Arkadia :: Sat, 08/14/2010 - 10:45am

+1

29
by fek9wnr (not verified) :: Fri, 08/13/2010 - 11:20pm

As a Redskins fan, you should hope Westbrook hangs it up so Snyder doesn't sign him four years from now.

4
by mathesond :: Fri, 08/13/2010 - 2:34pm

Why now? Why not 20 minutes ago?

8
by dryheat :: Fri, 08/13/2010 - 3:41pm

Apparently he quit because coach Tom Rathman was yelling at him after whiffing on a blitz pick-up.

10
by chemical burn :: Fri, 08/13/2010 - 4:03pm

What? Is that a super-insider-y joke? That can't possibly be true...

12
by Dean :: Fri, 08/13/2010 - 4:12pm

But PFT's reporting it. It's gotta be true!

22
by furtigan :: Fri, 08/13/2010 - 5:18pm

No, they didn't. They noted he retired, and noted that reporters were tweeting about the yelling. They did not say the yelling >caused< the retirement.

13
by masoch (not verified) :: Fri, 08/13/2010 - 4:15pm

Meh. Coffee doesn't need football, he's got a college degree to fall back on. His General Studies major should get him a nice job at Wal-Mart.

15
by Dean :: Fri, 08/13/2010 - 4:26pm

Maybe he's just trying to stay fresh for the season?

Or maybe he's just sick of the grind?

17
by Karl Cuba :: Fri, 08/13/2010 - 4:34pm

I've found some reasonably credible sources that suggest that he really might become a minister. The retirement decision sounds very final.

18
by benjamnoz (not verified) :: Fri, 08/13/2010 - 4:38pm

what a p*ssy, but hey i wouldn't want to go head to head with the best linebackers in the league either, must have just realized that this is a mans sport.

19
by jack :: Fri, 08/13/2010 - 4:41pm

Is Mike Singletary going to board DeBartolo's personal jet to make sure?

20
by dsouten :: Fri, 08/13/2010 - 5:10pm

I don't mean to sound trite but... maybe he just doesn't LIKE football. Being a pro football player has always struck me as a pretty miserable existence. Every now and then there's a guy who just doesn't think the money is worth it. If that's the case here, frankly I would respect that.

21
by Karl Cuba :: Fri, 08/13/2010 - 5:13pm

Apparently that is exactly the case.

23
by JasonK :: Fri, 08/13/2010 - 5:21pm

Fair enough, although he might someday regret that he didn't stick around for one more season. 3 years is the threshold for vesting in the NFL's pension plan. It's not a particularly lucrative pension, but it is income for life, and with only 2 years in, you get nothing.

24
by Raiderjoe :: Fri, 08/13/2010 - 6:23pm

eyah but if guy join pastrohood and become gerat one like Joel osteen or creflo dollalr or jimmy swaggart then can make milliosn of dollars and not have ton worory aboiut getting concsussions from getting hit by steorid using linebakckers and 320 pound fat pig dfefensive linemen

25
by Sundar (not verified) :: Fri, 08/13/2010 - 6:54pm

As always, Raiderjoe telling it like it is

26
by Robbie (not verified) :: Fri, 08/13/2010 - 7:19pm

Raiderjoe is Mike Tanier, right? No one else here is that funny, that consistently.

27
by buzzorhowl (not verified) :: Fri, 08/13/2010 - 10:08pm

I refuse to believe that he is anyone other than Al Davis.

32
by Noah of Arkadia :: Sat, 08/14/2010 - 10:48am

That would be so funny!

31
by Noah of Arkadia :: Sat, 08/14/2010 - 10:47am

Agreed, you'd have to be an idiot who values money over a long life, mental health and the ability to walk to play that sport at a professional level.

28
by lionsbob :: Fri, 08/13/2010 - 10:32pm

Well people already said the minister thing, but when I first heard he retired this afternoon, I said the same thing (before knowing anything about it). He was very religious when he was at Alabama, it is a surprising time to decide to retire, but if he decided to go for a higher calling I would not be surprised.

33
by Maximum :: Sat, 08/14/2010 - 8:34pm

I would have complete respect if Coffee decided to retire in may. By waiting until the end of training camp he has put the entire organization in a compromised position as they do not have a suitable replacement. If Frank Gore has health issues due to overuse this year, and he will almost surely be overused as they no longer have a legitimate back to spell him, it will be largely Coffee's fault. The fact that he is quitting to become a minister is horribly hypocritical...

34
by lionsbob :: Sat, 08/14/2010 - 9:54pm

It isn't hypocritical...

35
by Jimmy Oz (not verified) :: Sun, 08/15/2010 - 2:35am

Glen Coffee's timing to commit to a life of helping others is selfish, as he's left the 49ers, and specifically Frank Gore, requiring help that he was due to provide.

Its a catch 22 situation, because if Gore wasn't going to go and help the masses, the 49ers wouldn't need help.

36
by lionsbob :: Sun, 08/15/2010 - 11:42am

I am sure the 49er can find someone else to take Coffee's 34 carries in non-starts....and there is still cutdown time when there will be plenty of warm bodies to take the job. I liked Coffee, but he is certainly easy to replace.

37
by jimbohead :: Mon, 08/16/2010 - 4:28pm

Perhaps he hadn't come to this point in May? Let's face it, life crisises happen when they happen, not when we like them too. Gore's issues aren't from overuse - he's been injury-prone since college where he was part of a three-back rotation. Coffee was barely passable last year, and the niners drafted a RB in a late round to compete with him. Really, let's not confuse this guy with a more religious version of Favre.

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