A day after saying he might retire and expressed displeasure at Lovie Smith's firing, Chicago Bears record-setting return man Devin Hester on Tuesday clarified his statement without backing off of it.

Hester said via Twitter that he still could retire.

"Let me make myself clear the reason why I feel like retiring has nothing to do with Lovie Smith getting fired," Hester tweeted. "It's hard to play this game when you're not happy or having fun at what you love to do in life."

Hester gave no further clue as to what made him unhappy and what made it difficult to play. Apparently it resulted from lack of playing time on offense. Hester was on the field on offense against Detroit for three plays, and was not targeted with a pass. He ran once on a 2-yard end around.

Hester had only one play the previous week against Arizona. He was not targeted with a pass this season after running a route which resulted in an interception against Green Bay just before halftime in Week 15. A tie game turned on the interception, which Green Bay's offense converted into the go-ahead points in a 21-13 win. At the time, QB Jay Cutler said he'd take the blame for the INT, although it appeared he expected Hester to run somewhere else on the route.

Hester continued returning the ball on punts and kicks in both of the final games.

On Monday, Hester said he had his worker's comp papers in his pocket and added, "I am going to go home and get away from football right now. I don’t even know if I want to play again, man. You know, that’s been on my mind for two years now."

Hester also expressed displeasure with fans and media for running Smith out of town.

He was one of many Bears upset over the firing of Smith, who obviously was more popular with players than Bears fans.

"It’s tough for guys that have been here for a long time," C Roberto Garza said about Smith's dismissal. "We’ve won a lot of football games and had a lot of great times and really enjoyed being part of this team.”

GM Phil Emery said Tuesday he understands the player reaction, and why Hester was upset after the firing.

"I saw the comments," Emery saiid. "I felt for Devin. Again, I take all that in context of these guys that have played a long time. Devin came in as a draft pick with Lovie. I certainly understand the emotion. There will be a time when his emotion is clear. And Devin has come into my office and we've talked before. And my door is always open and if he wants to do that we can have the conversation. And if he doesn't I'm open to that, too.

"Obviously Devin is under contract so if he sent his retirement papers in I would know. But I don't anticipate that. I think he's a great competitor. I think that was an emotional situation that evoked an emotional response and I certainly understand that."

Hester is under contract through 2013.

Follow Bears reporter Gene Chamberlain on Twitter @CBSBears.