Mike Holmgren, left, and Brett Favre helped each other attain greatness, but eventually each had to move on.

They spent nearly an hour talking about their seven years together. The coach and his quarterback endured good times and bad, everything from countless shouting matches and disagreements to their triumph in the 1997 Super Bowl.

"I guess I can turn him in. He was tampering. He was trying to work out something to get me to Seattle," Favre joked.

Who could blame either man for wanting their relationship to continue?

Favre acknowledges he wouldn't be the game's most feared quarterback without Holmgren's guidance through his development. Likewise, Holmgren says he wouldn't have had some of his coaching success without the estimable talents of the three-time Most Valuable Player.

Favre and Holmgren meet as foes for the first time Monday night, when the Seahawks visit Lambeau Field.

"I think he has the physical tools that no one can match right now in the game," Holmgren said. "Beyond that, he's become a very smart quarterback. You can see that in the way he's played this year. He's become one of the smartest quarterbacks ... ever to play the game."

Though they rose to prominence together, their parting in January wasn't entirely sad. In particular, Favre thought he had reached a point in his career where he wanted to show what he could do without Holmgren's guidance.

	Favre

"Over time, I listened to him and became a smarter quarterback," Favre said. "Now, I think I'm able to leave out from under his wing and go on my own."

Favre and Holmgren arrived in Green Bay in 1992, Favre from Atlanta and Holmgren from San Francisco. Favre was an almost completely undisciplined quarterback with a phenomenal arm, Holmgren a career assistant given the task of rebuilding a team that hadn't scared opponents in years.

Holmgren made Favre his starter right away, saying, "We're going to win or lose with you," Favre recalled. For seven years, they worked side by side as Holmgren called the plays and Favre ran them.

While dozens of offensively gifted assistants like Steve Mariucci, Jon Gruden and Andy Reid shuttled in and out of Lambeau Field, Holmgren and Favre were constants. They studied film, practiced and argued over Favre's play and Holmgren's play-calling.

"My first couple of years, now that I look back, I don't know how I made it," Favre said. "I never stopped to think of what was going on. He would talk to me, and it was in one ear and out the next.

"But over time, I kind of started believing in what he was saying and knowing that he was right. I did start becoming more of the quarterback he wanted me to."

Quarterbacks like the young Favre -- with dizzying physical gifts and considerably less acumen -- enter the league every year, and most disappear. From Todd Marinovich to Ryan Leaf, the list of could-have-beens is long and infamous.

But Favre had Holmgren and, make no mistake, Holmgren had Favre. The West Coast offense he teaches relies on a smart, strong quarterback, something Favre eventually became. With another signal-caller, who knows if Holmgren would be known as an offensive genius now?

Favre realized their relationship had reached its zenith with the Super Bowl victory, which also coincided with the best season of Favre's career. After that, Favre said he needed room to grow outside of Holmgren's strict offense and control.

"It got to a point where I had to make decisions on my own and to please myself, but I still had to do it the way he wanted," Favre said.

After a rocky 1998 season that ended with a first-round playoff loss, Favre had little public comment when Holmgren accepted Seattle's offer to become executive vice president, general manager and coach. Some thought there were unresolved issues between the two.

"I had no hard feelings towards Mike, and I would hope that he had none towards me," Favre said. "I don't think anyone should ever be mad at a person for wanting to move up. That's been a goal of his for a long time.

"But that doesn't mean I won't love to beat him on Monday night."