Brett Favre said in an exclusive interview with ESPN on Sunday he hasn't decided whether to play next season but is leaning toward retirement. He would like to wait until training camp to decide whether to retire or return to the Green Bay Packers for a 16th season.

But the league's only three-time MVP realizes this amount of time is likely not a luxury he will be afforded.

"I wish I knew where I stood," Favre told Chris Mortensen in an interview that was first broadcast during Sunday night's "SportsCenter."

"If I had to pick right now and make a decision, I would say I'm not coming back."

In the interview at his home in Mississippi, Favre told Mortensen he would like more time to decide whether to return for another NFL season. But he understands the Packers need to know soon to properly prepare for the NFL draft and other offseason personnel matters.

"I'd like to wait till training camp," Favre said with a laugh. "But I know I have to make the decision in the next month for their sake."

Favre said he's told Packers general manager Ted Thompson recently that if the team doesn't want to wait for him to commit to either playing the 2006 season or retiring, then he should be "cut loose."

"I love the game too much and I love my legacy too much to have that just be OK," Favre said, "and I don't want to be just OK. I want to be good, and I don't know if I'm committed enough [right now] to be good on an everyday basis."

Favre suggested to Mortensen it was not his physical shape that was complicating his decision, instead acknowledging a host of factors -- his daughter's upcoming high school graduation, off-field moves and whether at "crunch time, with two minutes left" in a game he would be able to say he wants the ball.

"It's a matter of how much I'm willing to give. I don't want to come back and three games into [the season] say, 'what am I doing?'"

As he's said in the past, Favre maintains he's physically capable of continuing his career, but it is the intangibles that will ultimately decide whether he returns. He has suggested that his $10 million salary in 2006 might discourage the team's interest in retaining him.

"I still know I can play, I still love to play, but there's still much more to it. I never thought I'd give out mentally before I gave out physically," he said.

Favre has also hinted that the Packers' offseason moves would play a role in his decision and it isn't clear what impact the team's hiring of Mike McCarthy to succeed Mike Sherman as coach has had.

McCarthy had worked as a tutor to Favre while he was the Packers quarterbacks coach in 1999. However, Favre's agent, James "Bus" Cook, suggested his client might have been more likely to return to the team in 2006 if Green Bay had hired Steve Mariucci, a former Packers assistant who was later the head coach in San Francisco (1997-2002) and Detroit (2003-2005).

McCarthy met with Favre on Friday and Thompson traveled to Favre's home earlier in the week to talk to him. The two spent a combined six hours with the QB, but Favre would not offer details of the conversation.

PackersNews.com staffer Chris Havel reported last Saturday that Thompson also declined to offer details of their conversation, except to say he left feeling confident that Favre still believes he can play at a high level "which is a good thing because he can, and he wouldn't come back if he didn't think so."

Thompson made it clear that the team would like the veteran signal caller to return.

"He knows he's wanted," Thompson said. "I've told him we're doing everything we can to get better and to make this a better team. But I really and honestly think Brett's going to make this decision based on what's best for him and his family."

It's safe to assume that, McCarthy and Favre discussed the new coach's offensive philosophy and how that might affect the quarterback.

"I know Mike wants to be a physical team that runs the ball and relies on play action and puts Brett in position to make plays and win games," Thompson said. "I do think it's a quarterback-friendly offense in that it establishes the ability to gain yardage -- whether it's through Texas (pass) patterns or running the ball -- so the quarterback is constantly looking at second-and-5."

Thompson believes a team develops the personality of its coach, and his description of McCarthy's personality sounded like it could mesh with Favre's.

"I think Mike's a very naturally tough guy, and he wants his players to be that," Thompson said. "Certainly his expertise is in the passing game, and I think we'll go vertical more than we have in the past and attack defenses."

The Packers haven't imposed a deadline on Favre and Thompson sounded like he is willing to wait at least until free agency heats up in March.

Thompson added that he and Favre have spoken regularly since the season ended. They talk about a variety of topics, he said, "and only a small part of it is football."

"We get along pretty good, I think, and we know where each other is coming from," Thompson said. "Shoot, we're both just a couple of good old Southern boys."

Thompson acknowledged Favre's presence would be a bonus in the team's efforts to attract big-name free agents.

"About 90 percent of it, I believe, is the money," Thompson estimated. "Brett Favre's being here is a drawing card, and historically the Packers have been really good at (acquiring free agents). We're a little down right now but it's temporary."

Meanwhile, as Milwaukee Journal-Sentinel beat writer Tom Silverstein noted, since the season ended, Favre had not spoken to reporters until Sunday and was using his time off to hunt and spend time with his family. It was clear in the interview that Favre was still weighing his options.

A year ago, he was leaning toward retiring after a playoff loss to Minnesota.

"There's days I wake up and say, 'You know what? I can't retire. Don't be stupid. What will I do?'" Favre said. "There's other days, I go, 'What if it's crunch time, 2 minutes left, do you want the ball?' I don't know if I do. If I was to come back and play, I would hope that I would be totally committed to the team because I've always been that type of player.

"We'd be down by 30 points and [Sherman] would go, 'I'm thinking about pulling you out.' And I'd go, 'No. We can win this game,' even if we couldn't. That's the way I've always played the game and I don't know if I can play it that way."

Favre told Mortensen he has told Thompson he won't return for the money or records, saying "it's not about me. ... I want to make the right decision for everyone involved."

"When you sit down and tell a GM, 'I don't know if I can give you everything' -- and I have -- that's usually the first ticket out of town," Favre said Sunday.

Green Bay is coming off a 4-12 season, Favre's worst as a Packer, after winning its season finale 23-17 over Seattle.

Favre, who finished with a career-worst 29 interceptions, said the Packers' final game had been on his mind long before he took the field, relating a talk he had with his former coach, the Seahawks' Mike Holmgren, in the month preceding it.

"We had a good conversation in late November or early December and I told him, 'it might be my last game and that I was so thankful you'll be there for it.' He said, 'if it is, I'll be glad I was there for it, too."

"The game meant nothing," Favre said, "but in a lot of ways it meant a lot. ..."

According to the Sports Xchange, there's a not-so-small legion of Packers backers who are hoping Favre decides to call it quits. After all, he ranked 31st with a career-worst 70.9 passer rating, and his league-high 29 interceptions (12 more than runners-up Aaron Brooks, Drew Bledsoe and Eli Manning) tied Lynn Dickey's 22-year-old franchise record.

The Xchange added that contrary to the coddling of the coaches, "there's no gentle way to put it other than to say Favre was downright awful down the stretch."

It's hard to argue their point.

He lost trust in his injury-depleted receiving corps yet repeatedly insisted on throwing downfield passes into double and triple coverage. The brutal consequences were just six touchdowns, 21 interceptions and an atrocious passer rating of 58.0 in the last 10 games.

On the other hand, if Favre doesn't return, the jury is out whether heir apparent Rodgers, last year's first-round draft pick, can capably run an offense at this early stage.

He got on the field for only three games, though he had just one legitimate opportunity to show what he could do.

The late-season relief appearance in the lopsided loss at Baltimore wasn't pretty, as Rodgers fumbled twice, threw an interception, was sacked three times and compiled a sickly passer rating of 36.8.

Also, the future in Green Bay for four-year backup Craig Nall, scheduled to be an unrestricted free agent, hinges on whether Favre returns. ...

In a semi-related note. ... The Packers made Tom Clements their quarterbacks coach on Sunday.

Clements spent the past two seasons as offensive coordinator for Buffalo, which fired him Jan. 6.

He has coached quarterbacks for seven years with Pittsburgh, Kansas City and New Orleans. He also worked as quarterbacks coach for his alma mater, Notre Dame, under Lou Holtz.

Clements played one season, 1980, as a quarterback with the Chiefs, and 12 years in the Canadian Football League.