NFL Legend Drew Brees Talks Saints, Hall of Fame, Josh Allen, Caleb Williams & More in B/R Interview

New Orleans Saints legend Drew Brees knows the NFC South is probably a step below the rest of the divisions this season.

But he also knows that means opportunity for his former team.

"The division is wide open," Brees told Bleacher Report when discussing the Saints. "They're right there, it's all in front of them. You take care of your division games and win the ones you're supposed to, then you have a great shot at being a division winner and hosting a playoff game."

Winning the division and hosting playoff games was business as usual in New Orleans during Brees' tenure, but the team hasn't been to the postseason since he retired after the 2020 campaign. In fact, it finished in last place in the NFC South in each of the previous two seasons.

Yet there was reason for optimism coming into 2026 since Tyler Shough provided a boost as a rookie last season by going 5-4 as a starter. A second-year leap figured to be in play with more experience under his belt, and it was also the second year for head coach Kellen Moore.

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Instead, inconsistency has been the defining theme on the way to a 3-5 start, although the silver lining is nobody has taken control of the division since all four teams each have three wins.

"Early on, it was just up and down," Brees said. "They lost that opening close game at Detroit and then had a big win on the road against Baltimore with a healthy Lamar Jackson. Cleveland's playing well right now, they just beat them in overtime. Also went on the road and beat the Giants when they were rolling. They've had some good wins, and yet you would just say maybe the lack of consistency has been it. That's what this game is about, you want to feel like you're doing all the little things and putting yourself in position to win."

Shough has been part of that inconsistency with some turnover issues undercutting his otherwise solid numbers while completing 66.2 percent of his passes for 1,986 yards, 14 touchdowns and six interceptions through eight games.

But Brees feels things are going to continue to improve as the season progresses.

"I would still call the Saints a young team from the perspective of a new coach from last year in Kellen Moore and a new quarterback from last year in Tyler Shough who only had a few starts going into the year," he said. 

"They also drafted Jordyn Tyson, who is going to be an explosive player but gets hurt for the first half of the season. They were banged up on the defensive side for a while. Just getting guys healthy and finding your bread and butter, the things you want to hang your hat on for both sides of the ball. And when they do that, they'll slowly build a foundation and stack on top of that as they trend upward."

Ideally for the Saints, they can start building a foundation that comes anywhere close to the one in place when Brees was establishing himself as one of the best quarterbacks in NFL history.

The franchise icon was one of the defining players of his generation with a resume that includes a Lombardi Trophy, Super Bowl MVP, two Offensive Player of the Year awards, 12 seasons with more than 4,000 passing yards, four seasons with more than 5,000 passing yards, seven seasons when he led the league in passing yards and four seasons when he led in passing touchdowns.

The 13-time Pro Bowler finished his career with 80,358 passing yards and 571 passing touchdowns, and both marks are second in league history behind only Tom Brady.

Brees was a Hall of Fame lock and was officially inducted as part of the 2026 class alongside Larry Fitzgerald, Roger Craig, Luke Kuechly and Adam Vinatieri.

"I don't know if it ever completely sinks in," he said of being referred to as a Hall of Famer. "I've asked a couple other Hall of Famers who have been in for a long time, and that's exactly what they said. 'I still pinch myself.'"

He also greatly appreciated his entire football career building toward such a memorable induction ceremony.

"There were so many unbelievable moments at the Hall of Fame induction, especially just being able to have every single person who has been a part of the journey going back to when I was a kid to high school to college and the pros," Brees said. "Teammates, coaches, family members and others who were such an impactful part of the journey being there was amazing. It was amazing to be able to share it with them."

Brees has gotten to spend even more time with some of those important people in his life during retirement by coaching his sons at Santa Fe Christian in California as a passing game coordinator.

That experience is perhaps all the more notable since one of his quarterback contemporaries in Philip Rivers appears set to take the North Carolina State head coaching position. On Saturday, Jonathan Jones of The Athletic reported "all signs are pointing in that direction."

While Brees is happy for Rivers, his own alma mater in Purdue might not want to get any ideas.

"There are some guys where it's just in their DNA," he said. "He is certainly one of those guys. … This was inevitable, it's hard-wired into his system. I love coaching, I coach high school football right now. It's one of the most enjoyable things ever, this window of time and phase of life where I get the chance to be on the field for a couple hours a day with them and their friends and putting together gameplans and watching them struggle and then persevere. All the things we love about football. And I get a chance to do it firsthand with my kids.

"It's always in my system. But I just don't know if I'd be a head college coach, especially in today's era. But the desire to compete is always there."

That desire to compete has propelled him to incredible heights on the football field, which has given him an even bigger platform off the field for partnerships such as the one he has with ARS Pharma to further raise awareness for the need to be prepared in the face of severe allergies.

ARS Pharma makes neffy, which is a needle-free epinephrine nasal spray that can be used in an emergency situation when it comes to severe allergic reactions, including anaphylaxis.

"Millions of people around the world suffer from severe allergies, so you never know when a severe allergic reaction or potentially life-threatening situation could surface," Brees said. "So we have to be prepared. Especially with the holidays approaching with those big family get-togethers around the dinner table, it's important to understand what to do for somebody you know and love. This carries beyond the holidays. This is teachers and coaches and parents who are in environments with kids always being ready and prepared and understanding what to do."

When he isn't raising awareness and coaching his sons, Brees is still closely following the NFL and particularly enjoys watching another quarterback who will surely join him in Canton, Ohio, one day as a Hall of Famer.

"Josh Allen is a guy I love watching," he said. "Joe Brady, his coach, was an assistant with us with the Saints, so there's a lot of pieces of that system that are familiar. I love watching great coaches with great systems and gameplans you can watch unfold as the quarterback executes it."

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About the only thing missing from Allen's list of accomplishments that includes a league MVP and four seasons with more than 4,000 passing yards is a Super Bowl ring, but Buffalo is well positioned to once again challenge for one following a 7-1 start.

And perhaps it will face another team that Brees has his eye on this season.

"I'm really interested to see how the Bears continue to trend," he said. "That Jeffery Simmons trade for them was huge. He's an impact player for them defensively, and not just in his production but now Devin Bush is having monster games at the linebacker position. Having that big guy in front of him gives him a lot more opportunities to make plays.

"And Caleb Williams can do a lot of incredible things. He's kind of one-of-one with some of the things he can do. And that offense with Ben Johnson is next level. That's one of the offenses I absolutely love watching."

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Last season was Johnson's first as the head coach in Chicago, and he led the team to an NFC North title and Divisional Round appearance. This season brought a chance to build on that with continuity in place and Williams working in the system for a second straight year. That the Bears also bolstered their defense with the addition of Simmons only makes them more dangerous following a 7-2 start.

Brees knows what it takes to win a Super Bowl ring, and he likes what he sees so far in the Windy City.