Brees, Payton reflect on Upshaw's death

Gene Upshaw, the executive director of the NFL Players Association and a Hall of Fame player, died Wednesday night of complications from pancreatic cancer after only being diagnosed with the disease on Sunday. He was 63.

Saints quarterback Drew Brees said Richard Burleson has become interim executive director of the NFLPA by a unanimous vote and was the longtime head counsel for the players' union.

Brees missed about the first half of practice to sit in on the NFLPA conference call as he is a member of the union's executive council.

Here's some comments from Brees about Upshaw:

“Gene has been through a number of strikes through the ’70s and ’80s," He is responsible for us having many if the benefits that we have now. Free agency from 1993, that court battle, the benefits we have, the salaries that we have. Gene’s taken that union from being a bankrupt organization to one that is one of the more powerful unions in the country if not the world.”

“It’s probably one of the most stressful jobs you could have, but Gene always found a way to bring humor into a meeting or just kind of had a way to get the point across but do it in a way where everybody could relate to. He was as tough a leader of the (players’ association) as he was a football player and obviously a Hall of Famer. I think Gene for a lot of people was widely misunderstood in some instances. He was a pretty straightforward, matter-of-fact kind of guy. He’d tell you how it was. Some people didn’t appreciate that, but he told the truth and was honest.”

Saints coach Sean Payton also had fond memories of Upshaw:

“The thing about some of these leaders in our sport, Gene certainly being one of them, the ones that we miss – the Wellington Maras (former owner of the new York Giants), the Gene Upshaws – are the ones that truly put the league ahead of players, ownership, coaches. It was always what was best for the league. I think he did a great job in his role and will be sorely missed by our league. He was a special person, a Hall of Fame guy. He was always good to me.”