The story of Chad Pennington tutoring Mark Sanchez on Tony Sparano's offense has fueled questions about the possibility of Pennington re-signing with the Jets to serve as Sanchez's backup.

Sounds intriguing, right? Well, Pennington threw some cold water on the prospect of returning to New York.

"You can say you want to go back someone up, but you gotta understand, starters go down and starters have to be relieved," Pennington said Monday on "The Michael Kay Show" on 1050 ESPN New York. "So if you’re a backup, you have to believe you can go in there and believe you can make something happen. That’s so important for me, to have that confidence that I can look Coach Sparano and Coach (Rex) Ryan in the eye and say, 'Yeah, you can trust my sholder.’ Right now, I don’t know if that’s the case or not."

Pennington, 35, he of the multiple shoulder surgeries and major knee surgery, didn't play last season and said he's "leaning toward retirement." He spoke glowingly of Sanchez, with whom he met recently to discuss Sparano's system. He said they had "really good sessions," noting they also talked about quarterback play in general and Pennington's meticulous preparation habits.

"Just talking to him, I think his demeanor is really good," Pennington said. "I think he has a hunger and desire to get better and take some of the criticisms he has received and turn them into something that can make him better, and learn from those."

Pennington was the ideal person to tutor Sanchez because he also knows the Brian Schottenheimer system, and he was able to help Sanchez with the differences in terminology between the Schottenheimer and Sparano offenses.