On Saturday, August 8, 2026, the Pro Football Hall of Fame in Canton, Ohio, opened its doors to welcome its newest class. Around 12 p.m. ET, the enshrinement ceremony began at Tom Benson Hall of Fame Stadium, where Drew Brees, Larry Fitzgerald, Roger Craig, Adam Vinatieri, and Luke Kuechly received their gold jackets and unveiled their bronze busts.
For Brees, a first ballot inductee who headlined the five-member class, it was the culmination of a 20-year career that saw him throw for 80,358 yards and 571 touchdowns, lead the New Orleans Saints to their first Super Bowl championship, and cement his legacy as one of the greatest quarterbacks to ever play the game.
As he stood on that stage in Canton, he was introduced by his longtime head coach, Sean Payton. Yet, nearly a thousand miles away in Texas, one of the men who helped shape Brees’ earliest years as a professional was watching from a distance: Brian Schottenheimer.
The connection between Cowboys HC Brian Schottenheimer and HoF Drew Brees runs deeper than football
Schottenheimer, who is now the head coach of the Dallas Cowboys, was Brees’ quarterback coach with the San Diego Chargers from 2002 to 2005.
While Schottenheimer could not be in Ohio to witness the moment in person, his pride and regret were evident as he spoke of the quarterback he once helped guide, the same one he now calls “one of the greatest leaders” he has ever known.
Schottenheimer will have one eye fixed on the Pro Football Hall of Fame ceremony on August 8, 2026. The Dallas Cowboys head coach will be watching from afar as Brees, the quarterback he once coached with the Chargers, receives football’s highest honor. And it stings.
“I couldn’t be more proud of Drew, Brittany, their entire family,” Schottenheimer said. “I mean, what he’s done for this game. And I’m devastated I won’t be able to be there, but we’ve got family day. And so I need to be here with our guys.”
The Cowboys are in the throes of training camp, and Schottenheimer made the difficult choice to remain with his team rather than travel to Ohio for the induction ceremony. It is a decision he called necessary, but one that clearly weighs on him. “He understands that as a competitor,” Schottenheimer added. “The ultimate competitor.”
That word, competitor, is one Schottenheimer returns to again and again when describing Brees. And for good reason. The journey from Purdue to San Diego to New Orleans was never a straight line.
“The journey that he’s had to walk from Purdue to San Diego, to playing really well in San Diego, to getting benched in San Diego, to tearing up his shoulder, to going to New Orleans, to the Super Bowls,” Schottenheimer recounted.
“I don’t let many people talk to the team. I’m very selective, but I asked him to come last year, just a couple of weeks ago and speak to the team,” Schottenheimer said. “And he brought his boys and it was great.”
Brees arrived in San Diego as a promising second-round pick in 2001, but his early years were marked by inconsistency. By 2003, he had been benched in favor of Doug Flutie. The following year, he reclaimed the starting job and played well enough to earn a Pro Bowl selection. But the shoulder injury that followed in 2005 changed everything. The Chargers moved on, and Brees found his forever home in New Orleans.
Schottenheimer has witnessed greatness up close, but he is remarkably selective about who gets access to his team. He does not let many people speak to his players. However, Brees is one of the exceptions.
Schottenheimer made a subtle comparison between Dak Prescott and Hall of Fame Drew Brees
While talking about Brees, the Cowboys HC transitioned to talk about Dak Prescott. “But I’ve always said that Drew, I’ve always been on a pedestal and maybe one of the greatest leaders I’ve ever been around,” Schottenheimer said. “And then I met Dak.”
“I think he and Dak are very similar. I’m not going to pick, but they’re both just incredible human beings, one. They’re both guided by their faith. They’re both great fathers. And they are both special, special young men that they’re about the right things and that’s winning.”
It is a remarkable comparison. Schottenheimer did not simply praise Brees in the rearview mirror. He connected the past to the present while drawing a line from one great leader to another. Prescott, his current quarterback, embodies many of the same qualities that made Brees legendary.
For Schottenheimer, today is bittersweet. Pride swells in his voice when he speaks of Brees and at the time regret creeps in when he acknowledges his absence. But there is also a quiet peace. The men he has coached, the ones who have defined his career, are cut from the same cloth.
Brees will stand on the stage in Canton today, gold jacket draped over his shoulders. Schottenheimer will be in Texas, watching on a screen, with his own team surrounding him. He will miss the moment in person, but he will not miss the meaning.
