Drew Brees didn’t need much time in his Hall of Fame speech to drag the Cowboys into the spotlight.
The former Saints quarterback was enshrined as part of the 2026 Hall of Fame class alongside Larry Fitzgerald, Luke Kuechly, Adam Vinatieri, and Roger Craig, and he became the biggest name in the group to mention Dallas. The Cowboys had no players going in, but they still ended up in the conversation.
Brees was speaking about his appreciation for former head coach Sean Payton when he worked in a shot at the Cowboys. Payton, who spent three seasons as an assistant coach in Dallas, had a habit of making the postgame trip even more memorable after beating them.
"I miss the three-hour flights home from Dallas to New Orleans after a big win, by the way, that's supposed to be an hour flight. But Sean would have the pilot circle ten times so we could soak up the celebration," Brees says.
It was a light jab, but it fit the larger theme around Dallas: even when the Cowboys aren’t part of the event, they still manage to show up in the discussion.
Payton’s coaching path started back in 1988 as an offensive assistant at San Diego State, but his name really started to carry weight in 2003. As Bill Parcells’ quarterbacks coach and offensive coordinator, he built the reputation that turned him into one of the game’s most sought-after young coaches.
That momentum led him to New Orleans, where he went 241-152 and won a Super Bowl. He later took over the Denver Broncos in 2023 and has gone 51-32 over three seasons, including an AFC Championship Game appearance last year.
Payton has stayed close with Cowboys owner Jerry Jones and owns a home in Dallas. Even after all his years in New Orleans, his name kept coming up whenever the Cowboys had a coaching opening. The reunion never happened, and for now Dallas is hoping it won’t need to go hunting for a new coach any time soon.
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