San Francisco 49ers running back Glen Coffee abruptly retired from professional football on Aug. 13 leaving the football community in complete confusion.
Coffee, a 23-year-old former third round pick of the 49ers out of the University of Alabama was one of the more promising young players in the NFL and had solidified a slot on the team’s roster as their backup running back after he was the team’s second leading rusher in 2009.
This sudden move to remove himself from football came so quickly that many began to speculate as to why he was retiring. Some believed he had failed a drug test and was trying to escape the embarrassment of a suspension carried out due to the league’s drug policy. Some guessed he had gotten in a fight with 49er coach Mike Singletary and couldn’t handle the tension, but Coffee dissipated those thoughts when he revealed the real reason behind his early retirement.
“Football was no longer my dream. I found Christ in college. It changed my views on everything,” explained Coffee about his early removal from the game. “I didn’t consult with anybody. It was totally between me and Jesus,” Coffee professed to an ESPN affiliate, WJOX 94.5 FM, in Alabama.
Through the witness of college friend, Coffee gave his life to Jesus and was no longer interested in making football his only goal. However, Coffee remained a football player through his years at Alabama and his rookie year in the NFL, but something was always lacking. He viewed his life as being in turmoil and as being a battle between his desire to fulfill his commitment to football and his need to fulfill his promise with God.
“I can’t do what I want to do as far as spreading the gospel and ministry if my heart is not in peace,” Coffee shared in a recent interview. “I really felt like for me to do what I need to do and for me to answer my calling, I needed to be outside of football. If you’re not at peace yourself, it’s hard to minister to others.”
On the business side of things, the 49ers franchise would be losing money from Coffee’s guaranteed signing bonus, but Coffee admitted that the money wasn’t an issue and that he would gladly give the money up because he just wants to help win souls for Christ.
Coffee wants to finish his education at the University of Alabama and then pursue ministry. He is considering full-time ministry after earning his degree but understands that “It’s not something that you can plan out like, ‘I’m going to do this. I’m going to do that’ Right now, I’m going to let it come to me.”
