McNabb's interview with GQ

Former Eagles quarterback Donovan McNabb was interviewed for GQ magazine by Stephen Rodrick for an article that's in the current issue. In the discussion, McNabb, now with the Washington Redskins, covers many topics familiar to Eagles followers, including his relationship with coach Andy Reid, his benching in 2008, big-game losses, and the team's fans.

This version of the interview has been edited. The full interview is on GQ.com.

Question: Back in 1999, when Ed Rendell orchestrated his campaign against drafting you, was there a moment when you were like, "Can the mayor do this?"

Answer: I was saying to myself, "Man, you have so many other things to focus in on, and you're focusing on me being drafted." I remember being booed at the draft, I remember going back into the green room, and I remember laughing with my parents. I'd never been booed in my life. You see it on TV, and you think, "Yeah, that won't happen to me." But when they did boo, I laughed about it.

Q: So the longtime perception that the booing (upset) you . . . is wrong?

A: Yeah, absolutely. What people try to do is get something out of you by continuously bringing it up. "He was booed at the draft." We all know Philly fans can be a little difficult, but there's a higher percentage of fans who truly love the Eagles and appreciate the things that you present to them.

Q: You must have run into Rendell 1,500 times.

A: Yeah.

Q: Do you joke about it?

A: We're cordial. We've talked about what happened and he apologized and I said, "I'm not really worried, everyone has their own opinions," and I swear, for the last seven, eight years, he's been on television, praising me, and telling the fans, "Hey, this is the dumbest move you possibly could have done." I talked to him about three months ago and he told me, "You know what, I'm still an Eagles fan, but I'm a Donovan McNabb fan, everything that you brought to this city and what you were able to do every Sunday and Monday, I was truly behind you, and I'm going to continue to be behind you, I feel like it's a slap in the face for them to trade you within the division, but I know you're going to be able to prevail."

Q: So were you upset the Eagles traded you within the division?

A: I was more happy that it was over. Every year for the last three or four years, it was the same drama, me and Brett Favre, going back and forth, "Is Brett going to play, is he not, are the Eagles going to trade Donovan, is this it for Donovan McNabb?" Brett does what he wants to do, he's his own man. For me, I just believe in keeping everything to myself and continuing to stay focused on the goal at hand - to win a Super Bowl no matter what team I'm with.

Q: What was the secret to your relationship with Andy Reid?

A: He stuck his neck out to draft me when he had the Mel Kipers of the world and some scouts who said, "He's not accurate, he's going to take three, four, five years to learn a West Coast offense." Our relationship is so strong that I can finish his sentences sometimes. We laugh about it. When I'm out on the field, if he calls a play and I can't hear it, I'd look back and mouth "What is it?" and he'd just say, "Just call something." I'd go out there and probably get a first down or we score or whatever, and he'd say, "Why don't you just call the whole game?" and I would say, "I've been waiting on that."

Q: I asked Gov. Rendell if he had any questions for you, and he said to ask you if T.O. had not gone crazy, how many Super Bowls would you have made it to?

A: The whole T.O. situation, it was unfortunate, to say the least. When we both decided to make that move and bring him over to Philadelphia, the atmosphere changed in the locker room, the atmosphere changed in the city of Philadelphia. Every time we stepped out on the field, it wasn't, "Are we gonna win?" It was, "How much are we gonna win by? and it's unfortunate how everything panned out afterwards, and we've talked about it to this day.

Q: The NFL Network did a show on the league's top ten feuds, and you and T.O. were number six. You don't seem like a feud guy.

A: It's so funny because they always try to bring that up, and the clip that they show, we weren't feuding then. The whole feud happened in the off-season. When he was walking behind me at the Pittsburgh game, he was actually trying to calm me down. At that time I believe we were 7-0, and we went out there playing like a team that was 1-8 or something, and he was trying to calm me down.

Q: Here's the question every Eagles fan wants to know. It's the Super Bowl, you're down by 10 to the Patriots late in the fourth quarter. Why did that touchdown drive take so . . . long?

A: We were trying to figure out if T.O. was in or if T.O. was out, because of his leg. T.O. wanted to be in. We were trying to rotate different guys in and get the personnel together and things of that nature. The play calling was a little slow, maybe, but it made it look like we were just kind of standing around. We were hustling, it was just blown out of proportion.

Q: Did you puke?

A: No, at no point did I throw up. I got hit and dumped on my face a couple of times . . . we lost Todd Pinkston . . . we all were gassed, and there were a couple of times in the game where I got hit either by (linebacker Teddy) Bruschi or by (defensive end Richard) Seymour, I had grass in my helmet and maybe I lost my wind a little bit, but nothing to the point where I would come out of the game. People can run that game back and forth and find out that I wasn't throwing up, but I guess it's a sexy topic to talk about.

Q: Do you regret being honest enough to say you were confused about the overtime rules?

A: The media wants you to be honest and up front with them, and then when you are, they just throw the dagger at you. "Oh, what was he thinking?" There were a lot of responses from other players who said the same thing I did, and then when the referee tells you, "Hey, you get another five minutes to go after this quarter . . . " Nobody talks about that.

Q: When Rush Limbaugh was talking about trying to put together an ownership group what did you think?

A: I didn't get involved in that, either. They tried to pull me in it, and I said, "Hey, there's one team I wouldn't play for."

Q: If you ran into the dude . . .

A: I would shake his hand and say, "How are you doing, it's really nice meeting you." I wouldn't be standoffish to him or anything.

Q: In 2008, you were benched for the first time. Late in the season you were reinstated as the starter and the Eagles went on a tear. You seemed to play with more of swagger, namely when the Giants ran you out of bounds after a scramble and you picked up one of their sideline phones. What were you thinking?

A: Really, it was just kind of a spur of the moment. I got pushed out of bounds and I looked over and saw a couple of guys I knew on the bench, and I picked up the phone and was like, "Hey, how are you doing, everything all good?" You should have seen their face.

Q: Did you get fined for that?

A: I did, and I pleaded for that one. That's just not me, either. I laugh and joke with the guys out on the field, but I don't really get into that trash-talking like that, and I apologized to the coaches.

Q: How did you and Reid repair the damage after your benching?

A: I had a meeting set up with Andy and (owner) Jeffrey Lurie after the season. We sat down and talked, and I got everything off my chest from '99 on. It went all the way back to the T.O. situation, it went back to us not winning big games, me being criticized for whatever, leadership, whatever it may be, and how no one in the organization ever stepped up and said anything. They'll say something to you in the building, but not publicly. My feeling was, "I'm out here getting cut up, where are you? I'm always defending and helping you guys, but where's that support?" I thought it was beneficial, because you can sit there and tell somebody you truly love them, you're a big fan, your family loves you, but what about when we're over here in the hot seat, where are you now?

Click here to read the complete Donovan McNabb interview on GQ.com.