FORT LAUDERDALE, Fla. — Jets offensive coordinator Brian Schottenheimer is coming to South Florida today to support his favorite quarterback — other than Mark Sanchez.
Schottenheimer and Saints quarterback Drew Brees are so close they’re like family. So Schottenheimer, who coached Brees in San Diego, is coming to town to support one of his closest friends, though he still is bitterly disappointed about not getting to the Super Bowl.
Schottenheimer and his family, who have been at Disney World vacationing this week, will remain here until before the game.
AGENT: CFL SACKS LEADER ON MARKET
“I can’t go to the game, though” Schottenheimer told The Post last night. “It would be different if we weren’t so close to getting in, but I just can’t do it. I’ll be there to support Drew for a couple of days. He understands how hard it’s going to be. He appreciates the fact that we’re coming down and supporting him.
“What a great moment for him and his family after everything he’s been through. We’re so happy for him.”
Schottenheimer recalled a couple of poignant moments bonded him to Brees.
“The biggest thing was being there in the beginning with him and then through the tough times when we benched him [in 2003],” he said. “He wasn’t taking care of the football and we had to put Doug Flutie in. To see the look on his face when he got benched was something I’ll never forget.
“I remember that first game he was benched, it was against Minnesota. He never once took his helmet or chinstrap off the entire game. That showed me how important the game was to him. It showed the competitive spirit and fire in the guy.
“I’ll never forget the look on his face when I told him we were going to draft a quarterback two days before the [2006] draft. His eyes just kind glossed over and he said, ‘That would be the worst decision this organization ever makes.'”
Schottenheimer said adversity made Brees better and stronger.
“I saw him reinvent himself,” Schottenheimer said. “He started spending more time on all the little things. He changed his diet. He would work out at our facility and then work with another trainer in San Diego, so he was doing two workouts a day.
“I saw a guy that totally recommitted himself. He had that competitive fire, like, ‘I’m going to show you guys.’ You cheer for guys like that, a guy you know has been doubted and questioned.”
The Chargers picked Eli Manning in that 2006 draft and traded him to the Giants for Phillip Rivers, and they let Brees walk as a free agent, never getting anything for him after he had thrown 51 touchdown passes the previous two seasons.
“When San Diego let him go I was pounding table to get him to come to New York,” Schottenheimer said. “But we had Chad Pennington and he had the chance to go to Miami and New Orleans, where there were openings [at quarterback].”
The Dolphins inexplicably passed and the Saints pounced. Brees, who led the NFL in TD passes (34) and completion percentage (70.6) this season, has thrown 122 TD passes in four seasons in New Orleans.
“You talk about winners and losers in this?” Schottenheimer said. “[The Chargers] got nothing for the guy, so you can’t say San Diego was a winner. The fact that they got nothing for him says New Orleans was the winner. Miami had a chance to sign him but they didn’t pass him medically.
“Can you imagine the changes in those two teams’ fortune if they had Drew Brees?”