Before breaking records and winning a Super Bowl with the New Orleans Saints, quarterback Drew Brees started his career wearing the blue and gold 15 years ago.
Leading up to the 2004 NFL draft, Brees was informed by former Chargers quarterback coach Brian Schottenheimer that the team was likely going to draft a quarterback.
Brees wasn’t in favor of the decision to bring in another signal-caller because we was confident enough that he could lead the franchise to success.
We were chatting and he’s like, ‘Hey, who are we gonna draft?’ I said, ‘Hey, bro, listen, you need to prepare yourself, we’re probably taking a quarterback.’ And Albert, when I tell you, and I’ve had to say some hard things to people before … But when I tell you the serious look, how his eyes went from a real fun, jovial conversation, his eyes kind of just locked in.
And he looked at me and said, ‘That would be the worst f—ing mistake this organization could ever make. And I’m like, ‘Hey, man, don’t shoot the messenger.’ He goes, ‘Worst mistake ever.’ And he walked off.
The Chargers ended up selection Eli Manning, who was then traded to the New York Giants for Philip Rivers.
Brees spent the next two seasons as the team’s starting quarterback, but he was shipped to New Orleans in 2006 on a six-year, $60 million deal. It was then when the Rivers era began.
Along with the championship under his belt, Brees now leads all NFL quarterbacks in touchdowns and passing yards. With the Saints, Brees has thrown for 64,815 yards, 464 touchdowns, and 184 interceptions.
Meanwhile, Rivers, who has not missed a start, has thrown for for 58,990 yards, 395 touchdowns, and 196 interceptions. Though the stat sheet is eye-popping, Rivers has not secured a ring in the 14 years as the Bolts’ starting quarterback.
This will always be considered one of the bigger what-ifs in NFL history. Was Brees right? Would the Chargers have a Super Bowl with him under center?