As the end drew near, the inevitability already had settled.
Alone, 15 ultra-productive seasons with the New Orleans Saints was enough to warrant entry into the Pro Football Hall of Fame and when Drew Brees' first five seasons with the Chargers was tacked on to it, he was as much of a slam-dunk shoo-in as there ever has been.
So Saints Executive Vice President/General Manager Mickey Loomis didn't have the same sense of relief as when one of his former players with the Seahawks, defensive tackle Cortez Kennedy, was chosen for the Hall of Fame in his sixth year of eligibility and fourth year as a finalist.
"It's a little bit different with Drew because I think the minute he retired, we all just expected five years from now he's going to go in, first ballot, no questions asked. And that's what happened," Loomis said. "That's what should have happened and that's what did happen. So, there's a little bit of that. It's not a surprise."
That's not the same as saying Brees was considered as such when he signed with the Saints as a free agent in 2006. When he signed his original, six-year deal with New Orleans on March 16, Brees was two months removed from shoulder surgery, couldn't raise this throwing arm above the shoulder, and was embarking on a rehabilitation regimen that would probably make others squeamish.
"It was a bit of a gamble," Loomis said. "(Late Saints owner) Mr. (Tom) Benson used to say that he hated gambling and I reminded him, we kind of rolled the dice on Drew with that shoulder, and we rolled the dice on a young coach (Sean Payton), and that's kind of gambling, too.
"But we had so much information and such a belief in the person that Drew was — I've said this before; yeah, we weren't sure that he was going to be healthy and ready to go in Season 1, or when in Season 1, but I think we had a lot of confidence that at least within a two-year period, we would get the player we expected. Now, he far exceeded expectations as a player, (and) obviously he exceeded expectations in terms of coming back from that shoulder injury so quickly."
Fifteen seasons later, he'd earned his gold jacket — the only first-ballot inductee in Saints history.
"When we signed Drew and Drew got here, I don't think anybody in our building thought, 'Man, we got a Hall of Fame quarterback,'" Loomis said. "We thought we had a good quarterback and if he gets healthy, a good quarterback to pair with a good, young coach. But they kind of grew together, along with the rest of our team.
"And Drew became a Hall of Fame player. And I think probably the '09 season, it was like, OK, wow. But there were signs of it all the time. I think early on, we could recognize the leadership capability and the confidence that he had in himself, and that went over to the rest of the team pretty quickly."
It all culminates with Brees' enshrinement Saturday.
"I think the emotion of that is really going to be felt on that day," Loomis said. "Just excited for him; he deserves it. So meaningful to the city of New Orleans and the organization. He contributed to a lot of people's success here, mine in particular."
