The post-Drew Brees era has been relatively unkind to the New Orleans Saints. Falling from being home to one of the greatest signal callers in NFL history to becoming a revolving door of mid-tier talent is burdensome enough on its own. However, their troubles haven’t stopped there.
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The franchise now finds itself with its second Head Coach since Sean Payton’s departure in 2022, suggesting that there are many organizational problems that need addressing as much as the performance issues. Intriguingly, Brees could once again prove to be the hero of New Orleans.
During a recent appearance on the Up & Adams Show, the 13-time Pro Bowler, who was accompanied by his beloved former teammate, Reggie Bush, expressed his desire to be brought back into the Saints fold. Upon being asked if he had any desire to coach the team, Brees didn’t shy away from the idea. It’s perhaps just a question of whether the NFL is ready.
“I could see myself doing a lot of things in the football world. I’d really like to be involved at the NFL level, in some capacity, but we’re just going to have to see what that is,” said Brees.
In light of his former quarterback’s comments, Bush, the 2005 Heisman trophy winner, said that he is “100% in full support” of the idea of Brees “taking over” in New Orleans. And Bush would also like to be involved in that process.
“I would also 100% want to coach with him,” added Bush.“If I played with him, why wouldn’t I coach with him?”
After Adams inquired about what was holding them back, the future first-ballot Hall of Famer joked that “I don’t know if the league is ready for us.”
Former players, especially ones of Brees’ caliber, often see a readily available pipeline to coaching once they’ve retired. Whether it’s Dan Campbell and the Detroit Lions, J.J. Redick and the Los Angeles Lakers, or Deion Sanders and the Colorado Buffaloes, the trend of former players venturing into coaching has picked up in recent times.
However, Bush believes that the NBA, rather than the NFL, is better at discerning which players will make for the best coaches.
— Up & Adams (@UpAndAdamsShow) June 16, 2025
“One of the things I think the NBA does a great job of is they do a better job of hiring former players as coaches. They also make the path a little bit easier for former players to go and coach,” highlighted Bush.
I would love to see that narrative play out for the NFL and former players… It’s just very hard to get into that coaching cycle,” he added.
Should Kellen Moore falter in his attempt to develop a homegrown talent in New Orleans, then there may just be a path to the sidelines for Brees after all. His signing, while unlikely, would undoubtedly see the support of the Who Dat nation.
Unfortunately, for both the fanbase and Brees, they will likely have to wait a few more years before such an idea could even be considered by the franchise’s top brass.
Moore has a proven track record when it comes to QB development, and he also has the same number of Super Bowl wins as the Saints have in 58 years of existence. So it’s certainly worth giving him a shot before attempting to manifest a storybook head coaching scenario such as this.
Then again, should Brees somehow manage to help the Saints go marching in again, he may very well find himself in line for a statue outside the Caesars Superdome.
