About a week or more into training camp last season, Tampa Bay Buccaneers coach Jon Gruden went to bed with visions of regular-season touchdown passes dancing in his head.
He woke up the next day to discover nothing had changed . . . .
Jeff Garcia and Brian Griese were still his guys.
Gruden thought his quarterback for the 2008 season was going to be none other than Brett Favre. But the Green Bay Packers decided to trade Favre to the New York Jets.
"I talked to Brett on the telephone," Gruden said Wednesday during a conference call with reporters. "I think if you talk to Brett yourself - both of us thought he was coming to Tampa. I went to bed about 20 minutes after 12 or 12:30 (a.m.) thinking we had Brett Favre. I was sure we had Brett Favre.
"When I woke up the next day, Santa Claus didn't arrive. It was a sad day for me."
This season, Gruden is an analyst on ESPN's "Monday Night Football," working with Mike Tirico and Ron Jaworski.
"My understanding was we had it done," Gruden said. "(Tampa Bay general manager) Bruce Allen was working with Ted Thompson in terms of the compensation. And I really don't think any of us knew there was another partner that was willing to get involved at that point. So I think we were both thrown a curve ball. Both of us, Brett and I, thought we were going to get the deal done. There was another partner that developed later that evening, somewhere across the next seven or eight hours."