Drew Brees Talks Pro Football Hall of Fame Induction, Saints & More with Rich

A week after Joe Montana slid a gold jacket onto his shoulders, Drew Brees was still trying to get his arms around it.

"Finally having a chance to maybe process it all," Brees told Rich. "It was a whirlwind leading up to it just because there's so much preparation that goes into that weekend." He compared the Canton experience to getting married a second time, rehearsal dinner and reception included, with the Hall of Fame deliberately keeping pieces of it a surprise so the reactions stay authentic.

The Montana moment landed hardest through his father, who could not believe what he had just watched. It sent Brees back to being 10 years old, watching Montana lead the two-minute drive against the Bengals with his dad next to him. "Here we are 35 years later and he's putting that jacket on my back. It's amazing. It's crazy."

Brees also cleared up the naming question. He grew up believing he was named after Drew Pearson, though he suspects his parents never quite made it a declaration, and that the name simply got them over the hump. "I told Drew Pearson, I think you're partially responsible here," Brees said. Pearson, for the record, believes it completely.

The part of Brees' induction speech that stuck with Rich was not the celebration. It was the film room story from 2003, when a Chargers coach asked why he had not connected with a receiver and Brees answered that he could not see him. That season, he was benched three times.

"A huge shot to the ego," Brees said. "But you go one of two ways. You either go in the tank and you let it affect what's going to happen next or you say, darn right, I need to get better." He rebuilt everything, preparation, training, sleep, diet, recovery, and went looking for mentors, naming Tom House and Todd Durkin as guides through that offseason.

His conclusion was that excuses were off the table. "I have to find a way to play this game, to play it well, to play it effectively with the gifts that God's given me," Brees said. For a shorter quarterback, that meant throwing through lanes, anticipating, and knowing coverage cold enough to deliver to spots he could not see.

One of the coaches in that room was Brian Schottenheimer, now the head coach of the Dallas Cowboys. Brees was his quarterback for four years in San Diego, and he pushed back hard on the idea that Schottenheimer was hired to be pliable. "We grew up in a lot of ways in this league together," Brees said, noting Schottenheimer turned down head coaching chances that were not the right fit before Dallas came calling.

Dallas has carried a reputation for dysfunction and distraction, and Brees thinks the connection with Dak Prescott is the fix. "He has created an incredible atmosphere," Brees said of Schottenheimer, adding that he visited during the offseason and was heading to the Saints and Cowboys practice hours after the interview. "I think he's the perfect guy to do it."

Then there is Sean Payton handing off play calling in Denver, which drew a laugh before an answer. "I think it's going to be tough, man. He's wired to call plays," Brees said. He also sees the logic, framing it as Payton's chance to develop Davis Webb into a play caller Bo Nix already trusts, and to run the building more like a CEO. "Sean is a bit of a micromanager," Brees said. "I think it's a good thing."