MIAMI — Brian Schottenheimer sat in front of his television set in New Jersey last night and wept.
After watching Drew Brees, one of his closest friends in the world, deliver his MVP performance in the Saints’ Super Bowl 31-17 victory over the Colts, the Jets offensive coordinator couldn’t contain his emotions.
Schottenheimer, who coached Brees in San Diego and has had a special bond with him ever since, told The Post in an exclusive interview moments after the game that seeing Brees win it all last night “is not better than if we [the Jets] won it, but it’s pretty darned close.
“The end is what really got me,” Schottenheimer said. “Seeing it brought tears to my eyes. There is not a better person in the NFL than Drew. My wife and I were pinging off the walls watching it.
“We couldn’t be happier for Drew. He’s been through so much this year, with his mother passing away and the birth of his baby boy. I loved watching the game, but the moment I’ll always remember the most is seeing him holding his baby boy, thinking to myself how much I’d love to do that one day.
“This guy has been beaten down, doubted and dealt with adversity,” Schottenheimer said
When Brees’ mother passed away in late summer, Schottenheimer took a short leave from coaching the Jets in training camp to be with him in support.
Schottenheimer and his family arrived in Miami on Thursday to stay at the Saints’ team hotel and visit with Brees and his family after a vacation at Disney World earlier in the week.
“Being around him this week he was really loose, confident and comfortable,” Schottenheimer said.
As he does before every game, Schottenheimer called Brees hours before kickoff.
“I spoke to him this morning. We had our traditional phone conversation on the day of the game, and I told him, ‘You deserve this and the team deserves this,’ ” Schottenheimer said. “The real message was to ‘just go out and play. I know this game is bigger than any you’ve ever played, but it’s still football. There’s no difference.’
“He sounded very confident and very comfortable,” said Schottenheimer, “and it was good to see him that way.”