Waufle, who said he's talked to Strahan several times during his holdout, said he thinks Strahan is too young to retire.
Here's the rest of what New York's D-line coach said about his best D-lineman.
Waufle: Let’s talk about Michael first. The biggest thing is that Michael and I have been talking. We text each other, we keep in contact. There is no new news, as far as what you know so far. We have a special coach and player relationship. The thing that I told him is that we have a good team, and I feel he is too young to retire. He loves the game so much. If you just watch him in the room, and you start asking Michael in our meeting rooms. You don’t want to retire. You can just feel his passion when you are around him. I tell him, you are still a rookie compared to the Raider team that I had with Jerry Rice, 41, Rich Gannon and Tim Brown were 39, Bill Romanowski and Trace Armstrong were 38. So, I said, “You’re still a young pup.” So, I try to needle him with that and try to lure him. But we have fun because of our relationship. It is his decision, obviously, but he is an emotional leader for this team. There is nobody better in my 10 years in the league on Sundays. He can just get it going, and he has that spark, where he can spark others. And I can’t wait to see him in a stance in my ‘get off’ drill, or have him contribute in the meetings. That’s the thing we want to see him do, is contribute in the meetings, and get him back out here. That’s my side of it, and I am going to give you my perspective and how I feel. I love Michael Strahan, and feel very fortunate to have the opportunity to coach him. He is a Hall of Fame player, and he has been a great New York Giant. We want him to go out on a high note.
Q. In your heart, do you feel that he will be back?
A. Well, I can’t say that. I just want to say there is no new news.
Q. How often do you guys talk?
A. Quite a bit.
Q. You have been around him all of mini-camp, all offseason. Was there any indication in your mind that you saw this coming?
A. No, it was a surprise to me. When I came back, I was all excited; I had all of my depth charts lined up with Michael there.
Q. Do you believe he is sincerely conflicted about retirement, is that really what he is thinking about?
A. I think he is weighing it. He has got to weigh it. Otherwise he would be here, right?
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