By David Elfin
For NFLPLAYERS.COM
FORT LAUDERDALE, Fla. -- No relationship in football is more important than that of quarterback and head coach. If they're in sync, the offense can flow like a symphony. If they're not, the team can be as out of tune as an elementary school band.
And while they still trail New England's Tom Brady and Bill Belichick by two titles, perhaps no current quarterback/coach tandem is more simpatico than New Orleans' Drew Brees and Sean Payton, who cemented their 4-year relationship by leading the underdog Saints to a 31-17 victory over the Indianapolis Colts in Super Bowl XLIV on Sunday night at Sun Life Stadium.
Brees, undersized for an NFL quarterback at 6 feet and 209 pounds, had surgery on his throwing shoulder as he was heading to free agency in 2006 after four inconsistent seasons -- averages of 2,587 yards, 20 touchdowns and an 80.5 passer rating -- as San Diego's starter. The Chargers, who had 2004 first-round quarterback Philip Rivers waiting for his chance to play, didn't fight to keep Brees, who signed with the downtrodden Saints.
New Orleans' new coach was the 42-year-old Payton, whose NFL career as an undersized -- 5-11, 200 -- quarterback had consisted of dreadful 27.3 rating in three games for Chicago's replacement Bears during the 1987 strike. Payton had coordinated successful offenses for the New York Giants and Dallas but had never been a head coach.
Four years later, there has been a near mind-meld between coach and quarterback.
"You're game planning, you're in constant communication about the opponent," Brees said. "On that level, I feel like it's ESP. We communicate so well together. I have so much trust, faith and confidence in him. I feel like he has that same confidence in me. When we're on the field, I feel like I know the play that's going to be called before it's called. ... That's why were able to play as we do as [the NFL's top-ranked] offense because we have that faith in him."
Brees has certainly repaid Payton's trust, delivering four seasons as good as any quarterback in the league, averaging 4,575 yards, 31 touchdowns and a 97.3 rating while leading the Saints, 3-13 the season before his arrival, to two NFC Championship Games and now the first title in the franchise's 43-year history.
"Beyond that player-coach relationship, Sean's a tremendous person," Brees said. "He's a tremendous family man. Saturday for our walkthrough at the stadium, Sean said, 'I want all the guys to bring their sons to the stadium, let 'em run on the field. I want them to have a pickup game going on while we're doing our walkthrough.' He wanted this week to be as much about the families, about this experience for them, as it was for us as team. That's a guy who gets it."
So does Brees, who shared the Walter Payton Award three years ago for his on field excellence and sterling community service. Brees and his wife Brittany have become intensely involved in helping their adopted hometown recover from Hurricane Katrina which devastated New Orleans less than seven months before their arrival.
"I try to be the best role model I can be," Brees said. "People ask all the time if representing a city that has been through so many struggles, do you look at it as a burden or pressure? We all look at it as a responsibility. Our city, our fans give us so much strength."
Brees was one two players to accompany Roger Goodell to visit the troops in Iraq and Afghanistan in the summer of 2008, earning him a warm embrace Monday morning from the NFL Commissioner, who called him "not just the most valuable player but the most valuable person" during the press conference conducted alongside his newly won Super Bowl MVP trophy.
Hall of Famer Troy Aikman, who quarterbacked the Cowboys to three Super Bowl victories, said the trifecta of Payton, Brees and New Orleans is "the perfect marriage."
That was certainly the case on Sunday night. After a slow start -- Brees was 3-for-7 for 27 yards as New Orleans trailed 10-0 heading into the second quarter -- the quarterback was beyond sharp the rest of the way. During the final three quarters, Brees was 29 of 32 for 261 yards and two touchdowns. One of the incompletions was a spike. Another was a drop. Brees' only true miss during the final 45 minutes of the biggest game of his life was a deep ball to tight end Jeremy Shockey which a Colts defender knocked away with 8:09 left in the second quarter. So Brees essentially was on target on all 26 of his throws during the final 38 minutes of a title match that was always within a touchdown until the final 3:12.
"Drew was phenomenal," said Saints receiver Marques Colston. "His performance is one for the ages. I'm just so happy for the guy because he puts in so much work. He really deserves it."
Asked about what's ahead for the Saints, Brees said he's looking forward to using the term "repeat" all year.
Payton, who slept with the Lombardi Trophy next to him during Monday's wee hours, was even less intimidated by the prospect of being the hunted instead of the hunter for the first time.
"When you've got a quarterback like Drew Brees who's in the prime of his career, it's not enough," said Payton, whose team's comeback against Indianapolis equaled Washington's Super Bowl-record rally from a similar early deficit 22 years earlier. "Last night was great. And yet, there's still something that burns in you to separate yourself more. We'll spend a little bit of time refueling, recharging the batteries for the challenges ahead. We know they'll be difficult and yet no more difficult than getting this team going after Katrina. Our players will be ready for the challenge."
None more than the 31-year-old Brees.
-- David Elfin has covered the NFL for two decades. He is the former President of the Pro Football Writers of America and serves on the selection committee of the Pro Football Hall of Fame.