Nick Saban’s NFL coaching career famously didn’t go as planned, and former New Orleans Saints head coach turned Denver Broncos head coach Sean Payton might be a significant reason. However, Saban may not see it that way. Rewind to the offseason leading into the 2006 NFL season; Saban was viewed as an up-and-coming NFL coach after a 9-7 record in his first year with the Miami Dolphins. The organization was in dire need of a quarterback following an uninspiring season with Gus Frerotte under center, prompting their pursuit of Drew Brees in free agency. Ultimately, Brees chose to sign with the New Orleans Saints and embarked on a Hall of Fame career.
What many may not know, as Saban explained during an appearance on The Pivot Podcast with Ryan Clark on Tuesday, is that Brees did not sign with the Dolphins due to a failed physical that Saban and the Dolphins organization chose not to disclose to any other team. “I never learned how to coach bad players to play good,” Saban admitted. “So I always recruited my ass off so that we always had good players. That was the problem in Miami; we never had a quarterback, and we had Drew Brees there ready to sign. The last thing you do before signing a contract is to do a physical, and I thought it was all done. Then they called me and said they didn’t think he could play.”
New Orleans & Tuscaloosa owe the Dolphins medical staff a great deal of gratitude. Drew Brees failed his physical in ‘06 during his free agent visit to Miami. Nick Saban wanted to sign the Future Hall of Famer that offseason.
The deal was dead. Brees’ agent had a favor to ask of… pic.twitter.com/15ixrIhXfM
— Ryan Clark (@Realrclark25) January 22, 2025
Saban recalls that Brees was virtually signed with the Dolphins before the failed physical. However, Payton, who had only recently become the Saints head coach, views things differently. In a post on X, Payton suggested that Saban’s account was missing some pieces. “A little bit missing in this piece,” wrote Payton in response to Saban’s narrative.
A little bit missing in this piece…
— Sean Payton (@SeanPayton) January 23, 2025
Payton has previously recounted how he was able to persuade Brees to sign with the Saints, an organization that had seen better days, especially following Hurricane Katrina. In the NFL Films documentary America’s Game: The 2009 Saints, which looks back at the team’s Super Bowl victory, Payton noted that his effort to sell Brees on the city of New Orleans played a crucial role in Brees’ decision to join the team. Though his pitch was far from flawless due to the city’s recent devastation, Payton recalled, “I was gonna take Drew and Brittany to the places they might want to live. All that went fine. But on the way back, I took the wrong turn. I can’t tell you where we ended up. I remember thinking I ought to just drive this guy right to Miami right now. I mean, it was awful.” Brees, also featured in the documentary, agreed with Payton, highlighting the “deeper meaning” in helping to revive New Orleans, although he acknowledged that the Dolphins had initially been his “obvious choice.”
Ultimately, while Saban might believe he’s telling the truth, both Brees and Payton appear to have a different interpretation of history due to the failed physical. Regardless of their differing perspectives, it’s clear that things turned out remarkably well for everyone involved.
