GREEN BAY, Wis. -- Jon Gruden never got to coach Brett Favre. But this might be the next best thing -- the two of them talking football, together.

Last week, the ESPN Monday Night Football analyst and the iconic quarterback filmed “SportsCenter Special: Gruden’s QB Camp -- Brett Favre” at Gruden’s office in Tampa, Fla. The one-hour show, which highlights key moments and milestones from Favre’s 20-year NFL career, debuts July 21 at 7 p.m. ET on ESPN in advance of Favre’s induction into the Pro Football Hall of Fame on Aug. 6.

Together, they broke down film of Favre’s career and discussed his "ironman streak," his arm strength and toughness, his reputation as a gunslinger, and what made him one of the most compelling figures in NFL history, especially when it came to playing on Monday Night Football.

"Brett Favre epitomizes what a Hall of Fame football player is," Gruden said. "He has all the stats, but what I like most is that he made everyone around him better. He has an enthusiasm for the game and this charismatic vibe that brings the team together. He can still sling it and he still has a photographic memory when it comes to the playbook and the personnel he played against. The only thing that disappoints me is that there aren’t many players in the league like him anymore."

Gruden might have one other disappointment: While he was on the Green Bay Packers' coaching staff for the first three of Favre's 16 years with the team, he never truly got to coach one of his all-time favorite players.

Gruden was the Packers' offensive assistant in 1992, Favre's first season, and the wide receivers coach in 1993 and 1994 before leaving to become the Philadelphia Eagles' offensive coordinator in 1995 -- the year Favre won the first of three NFL MVP awards.

Then, when the Packers and Favre parted ways in the summer of 2008, Gruden's Tampa Bay Buccaneers thought they had a deal for Favre as the Packers worked to trade him -- and keep him away from their NFC North rivals, the Minnesota Vikings.

The Packers traded Favre to the New York Jets -- a team outside the NFC and outside their division -- instead. But when Favre joined the Vikings in 2009, Gruden retold the story of the near-trade -- and lamented losing out on Favre -- in a conference call with Twin Cities-area reporters.

After not getting Favre and going 9-7, the Buccaneers fired Gruden, despite a Super Bowl title, after seven seasons -- leading to Gruden’s hiring at ESPN.

“I talked to Brett on the telephone [the night before the trade], and I think if you talk to Brett yourself, both of us thought he was coming to Tampa,” Gruden said in advance of Favre’s first game as a Viking against his former team in October 2009 -- a game Gruden called as part of his first season on Monday Night Football. "I went to bed at about 20 minutes after 12, 12:30 thinking we had Brett Favre. I was sure we had Brett Favre. When I woke up the next day, Santa Claus didn't arrive. It was a sad day for me.

"My understanding was we had it done. [Tampa Bay executive] Bruce Allen was working with [Packers general manager] Ted Thompson in terms of the compensation and I really don't think that any of us knew there was another partner that was willing to get involved at that stage of the game. Remember, it was seven or eight or 10 days deep into training camp. So, I think we were both thrown a curveball.

“I think both of us thought, Brett and I, that we were going to get the deal done. But there was another partner that developed later that evening somewhere across the next seven or eight hours and fortunately for me I get a chance to see him play on 'Monday Night Football' but it would have been a thrill to coach him again."