Dwight Howard and the Most Indecisive People in Sports

As brilliant as they are on the field or on the sidelines calling plays, many athletes and coaches are just a bit less confident in their decisions away from the athletic domain.

Whether they had difficulty defining the word retirement by leaving and coming back numerous times or decided to ditch a team they just recently signed with, these confused souls never could rest calmly on their initial decision.

Annoying, frustrating, ridiculous...the words that come to mind after witnessing such colorful indecision.

Let's take a look at the 20 most indecisive people in sports.

Perhaps therapy was the better option.

20. Danny Ainge

First drafted into the major leagues by the Blue Jays in 1977, Danny Ainge would leave the diamond three years later to join Larry Bird and Robert Parish on the Celtics, who drafted him in the second round of the '81 NBA draft.

Following his playing career, Ainge went on to become head coach of the Phoenix Suns in 1996...only to resign in his fourth season. 

His heart always seemed stuck in Boston.

19. Bill Belichick

After losing Super Bowl XXXI as a Patriots assistant, Bill Belichick followed Bill Parcells to the New York Jets. The two remained with Gang Green until 1999, when the Big Tuna decided to step down.

With Belichick set to succeed him, the future seemed bright. But he would only last as head coach for one day.

The press conference set for his hiring became a resignation speech.

The AFC East rivalry became that much steamier following the odd chain of events.

18. Peter Forsberg

What a roller-coaster ending to this two-time Stanley Cup winner's career.

After being a free agent for most of the 2007-08 season and hinting that he would not return to the NHL, Peter Forsberg resigned from his beloved Avalanche.

But during the 2008-09 and 2009-10 seasons, Forsberg played for Swedish club MODO, eventually giving fans the idea he would retire in 2010. 

He came back for two road games in 2011 amid a comeback effort, only to retire the same year.

17. Nick Saban

After a 9-7 season in 2005 and a 6-10 year in '06, it became clear that Nick Saban was the wrong choice for head coach of the Miami Dolphins—or any NFL team for that matter.

When the University of Alabama dismissed Mike Shula in 2006, Saban was immediately flooded with questions of joining the program.

After constant denials that he was leaving, he arrived in Tuscaloosa.

Perhaps choosing Daunte Culpepper over Drew Brees was too much to bear for Saban.

16. Drew Henson

Baseball, football—no wait, baseball. Eh, football seems better...must be hard to be a multi-sport athlete like Drew Henson. 

After being taken in the third round of the '98 MLB amateur draft, the third baseman seemed set on making the major leagues as a promising Yankees minor leaguer.

He finally made it, before retiring in 2004 after only three games in the pros.

He then took his talents to the gridiron, where he was equally unimpressive for the Cowboys, Vikings and Lions before retiring from professional sports in 2009. 

15. Teemu Selanne

Sure, the Finnish Flash is the all-time points leader in men's Olympic ice hockey, but Teemu Selanne had us clinging to our seats in preparation of the 2011-12 season with his curious indecision.

Obviously it's a tough decision, but with respect to his team, the man has to let them know his plans early.

And for us fans, it was naturally a heart-wrenching process.

14. Eric Mangini

For a coach who learned under Bill Belichick, former Browns head honcho Eric Mangini was quite far from confident in his approach to managing his players.

After having difficulty deciding between Chad Pennington and Kellen Clemens while coaching the Jets, Mangini found himself in a similar situation in Cleveland.

Brady Quinn was named the starter, only to be benched for Derek Anderson, who was eventually benched for...Quinn.

Properly keeping all those egos in check.

13. Mats Sundin

While he is the first Swedish player to score 500 goals, it was Mats Sundin's lack of action in the 2009 season that had fans fuming.

After endless speculation about whether he was set to retire or not, Sundin finally called it quits weeks before the season.

Somewhat selfish in the end, though the indecision couldn't possibly tarnish his role as the longest-serving captain born outside North America in NHL history.

12. LeBron James

While we hate to take shots at the Heat star after all this time, his indecisiveness led to quite the glamorous "Decision" back in 2010.

But what really got us thinking was his quote this season, per ESPN: "I think it would be great, it would be fun to play in front of these fans again." (Speaking of Cleveland, of course.)

Huh? Really?

11. Andy Reid

Another quarterback conundrum. Andy Reid seemed to have plenty of issues deciding on what to do with his two signal-callers, each yearning for redemption.

Kevin Kolb was named starter, only to get hurt on a tackle by Clay Matthews in the season opener. Michael Vick replaced him, only to get hurt in Week 4.

This went on for quite some time before Reid realized egos were at stake, leadership for the taking.

He eventually chose the athlete.

10. Billy Donovan

Sure, he's got a career record of 383–157 (.709), but that's not what had us giving Billy Donovan a curious stare in 2007.

After Florida's second title run, Donovan was rumored as the next Kentucky head coach, before he eventually signed with the Orlando Magic for $27.5 million over five years.

He then began having second thoughts about leaving Florida, and eventually came to an agreement with the Magic that would allow him to return to the Gators if he didn't coach in the NBA for the next five seasons.

9. Scott Niedermayer

After winning his fourth Stanley Cup and recording career-best stats, Ducks defenseman Scott Niedermayer announced in June of 2007 that he was considering retirement.

Still undecided for several weeks, Niedermayer was eventually fined for missing training camp, before coming back 28 games into the Ducks' 2007–08 season.

And he was curiously joined by fellow holdout and teammate Teemu Selanne.

Those Mighty Ducks.

8. Bjorn Borg

While this former No. 1 tennis player is remembered for the 11 Grand Slam singles titles he won between 1974 and 1981, it was Bjorn Borg's attempted comeback that had fans shaking their heads.

His attempt came ten years after his first retirement, and boy did he fail mightily (not a single win) before retiring again in 1993.

Borg can now be seen marinating on the champions tour, for those 50 and older.

7. Dwight Howard

While we'd love to name this dramatic soap opera "The Indecision," we'll take a quiet step back and try to understand this star center's situation.

After changing his mind more than a couple times in the past few days about whether to stay with the Magic, it's clear that nothing is clear.

We expect Dwight Howard to stay in Orlando, as he's stated he does "love the city," but who knows with his constantly changing repertoire.

6. Bobby Petrino

Following five seasons in college as an assistant and head coach, Bobby Petrino took his talents to the NFL gridiron once again (he had coached under Tom Coughlin on Jacksonville early in his career), signing with the Atlanta Falcons in January of 2007 for five years and $24 million. 

After Michael Vick was caught for running his dog fighting establishment and the team fell to a record of 3-10, the frustrated Petrino resigned to become coach of Arkansas...leaving solely a limited note on the players' lockers.

Classy departure.

5. Junior Seau

(Updated: R.I.P.)

After an emotional retirement press conference on August 14, 2006, most of us believed it was the official end of a ferocious career.

All it took was four days for linebacker Junior Seau to realize he missed the sweaty jock straps, and sign with the Patriots.

A second retirement was set to come in 2010, after Seau stated on Inside the NFL that he was indeed finished.

We're still waiting...

4. Roger Clemens

He stated early in 2003 that he was set to retire, but that wouldn't stop Roger Clemens from coming back a year later with the Houston Astros, who even drafted his son to likely keep him smiling (or so we suspect).

After spending several years there, Clemens announced that he was ready to retire following Team USA's elimination by Mexico in the second round of the 2006 World Baseball Classic.

But he wasn't done yet, eventually coming out of retirement yet again to pitch with the Yanks.

3. Michael Jordan

After a brilliant start to his legendary career, Michael Jordan decided to trade in his sneaks for spikes and pursue a career in baseball.

He then returned to basketball during the 1994-95 season, only to retire again four years later with the looming departures of Phil Jackson, Scottie Pippen and Dennis Rodman.

But oh, you can bet he came back...with the Washington Wizards.

Making his presence felt on all cylinders.

2. Floyd Mayweather Jr.

He beat Oscar de la Hoya in 2007, before retiring for a first time, only to come back and fight Ricky Hatton.

And you can bet he retired after that fight as well, while also applauding Hatton for his hard-fought effort.

21 months later, Mayweather once again came back to fight The Ring Lightweight Champion Juan Manual Marquez.

His plead for attention never stops.

1. Brett Favre

Three retirements in four years...yeah, it's safe to say gunslinging signal caller Brett Favre partially tarnished the glamorous Hall of Fame legacy he once owned.

While his stats are still perfectly intact, the respect from fans certainly took quite the hit following his dramatic tenure away from Green Bay.