Kerry Collins: ' I did the best I could at each and every place I was at'

Retiring from the NFL after 16 seasons, former Tennessee Titans quarterback Kerry Collins said he leaves the game with no regrets other than not winning a Super Bowl.

Talking with Tennessee beat writers, including TitanInsider, Collins explained his decision and commented on his career.

"All I know is that everywhere I’ve been, granted in Carolina I made my mistakes and didn’t act like an NFL quarterback needed to act," Collins said. "But since then, I have. I’ve always taken the approach that I’m going to do it the best I can. The approach I take and the professionalism and all those things, and I’ve done that since then. Why didn’t I stay at one place for all 15 years, I don’t know. But I know this. I did the best I could at each and every place I was at. I look back and I’m proud to have lasted this long. It’s not an easy thing to do to not only play for 16 years, but to be a starter for most of those years. I played around 200 games, and I’m proud of that. That in itself says something. I don’t have a good answer for you, but at the end of the day, it’s hard to argue with the longevity I’ve had. ..

"Definitely the high point was that NFC Championship Game with the Giants. We beat the Vikings 41-0 to go to the Super Bowl. Everything was just right. The crowd was amazing and the energy at Giants Stadium and finally getting to a game like that and being able to win it in such convincing fashion, knowing you’re going to a Super Bowl, that was really special. The low point? Getting cut by Carolina in ’98. That was a real low point for me. But to me, that’s the thing. It’s a football thing, but that’s the way life is. We all make mistakes. We go through things. It’s how we respond to them. And I’m proud of the way I responded to that situation."

Collins said he was convinced after last season that retiring was the right move.

"After last season, I pretty much knew what I wanted to do," he said. "And really what I wanted to do was give it some time to make sure that two months down the road or three months down the road I wouldn’t feel any different, that I still felt the same way. Also, the lockout comes up and it’s like, well there’s no real reason to do anything or say anything, and not only that, in the meantime, Jeff (Fisher) leaves and Munch (Mike Munchak) gets hired. So even though after the season, I knew what I wanted to do, I wanted to give it time, because I knew the situation Vince (Young) was probably going to be gone, and I’m still confident that that’s going to happen.

"And with Munch, I really respect Munch, and I really have a good relationship with him, and once he got hired, I wanted to keep giving myself time to make sure that that wasn’t going to be a big enough pull for me to come back. With the lockout, we didn’t have to do anything. I wasn’t up against a deadline. They didn’t have to know anything. There was no contact or communication. When I spoke to you guys at the (Fisher) softball game, I wasn’t ready to say it right then and I was still trying to get there in my mind. Like I said, it really is a big pull coming from Munch and Dowell (Loggains) and everybody else. So when I got to that point and when I said that, that wasn’t the time for me. But as time went on and I kind of saw the lockout coming to an end, I just wanted to give them enough time. Wherever I was in their plans, I wanted to give them enough time to adjust their plan or go with whatever plan that they were going to go do. I wanted to keep my options open, I think, at that point. I knew when I saw it kind of come to that critical point where there were going to have to be some decisions made on their part, I wanted to go ahead and say my peace."

Collins is sure he's going to miss football, especially during Sundays.

"I’m sure the first Sunday that comes around this fall, I’ll probably be freaking out sitting there watching it," he said. "But at the same time, there’s a lot of things I won’t miss. I know what needs to be done to prepare for a season, and my commitment to do that is just not there anymore. If I could just show up on Sunday and be ready to play, it’d be great, but I know it takes more than that. And I’ve always said to myself if I ever get to the point where I’m not there, I just don’t want to do it to just be hanging out. I want to do it the right way."

After a troubled start to his career with the Carolina Panthers where he struggled with drinking, Collins turned his life and his career around and made it to a Super Bowl with the New York Giants.

"I just really kind of looked in the mirror and said what do I want my story to be, when I’m 50 and I look back on my NFL career," Collins said. "What do I want to be able to tell people about it? What do I want people to think about it? Do I want them to think about the troubles and the off-field stuff and the drinking and all that kind of stuff? Or do I want them to say, ‘Hey, yeah, he had some problems, but he changed his ways, he changed the way he was approaching the game. He didn’t take it for granted anymore. He started respecting the position and being a professional?’

"And really at the end of the day that’s what I wanted people to think about. And not only for them and the outside world, but for myself as well. I wanted to be able to look back and say regardless of what happened in some of those years in the beginning, I came back and did it the right way. That’s the thing I’m most proud of. Listen, there’s going to be wins and losses, good years and bad years, interceptions and touchdowns. That’s part of the position. That’s part of playing quarterback in the NFL. But from a personal career and what I was able to accomplish after having some tough times, I’m proud of the way I handled myself. "

Collins said he won't change his mind and retire, not even if a Super Bowl contender lost its starter and asked him to take over.

"It’s not gonna happen," he said.

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Aaron Wilson covers the Ravens for the Carroll County Times.