updated 6:40 p.m. ET Jan. 10, 2005

SAN DIEGO - Drew Brees wants a little loyalty and commitment from the San Diego Chargers.

“I think the organization knows how I feel. I think I’ve made that known that I want to be here and I want a long-term contract,” the Pro Bowl quarterback said Monday after the Chargers held their final team meeting.

“So really now, it kind of falls in their court. It’s up to them to decide what they want to do.”

The Chargers made a stunning playoff exit Saturday night, losing 20-17 in overtime to the New York Jets in a home wild-card game.

Brees has reached the end of his four-year contract. Many people think the Chargers will put the “franchise” tag on him and give him a $9 million contract. Then, they can either trade him or let him compete for the starting job with Philip Rivers, who they got in a draft-day trade to be their quarterback of the future.

The Chargers, who won the AFC West at 12-4, are expected to have $21 million available under the salary cap.

The Chargers aren’t in a hurry to decide Brees’ fate.

“I won’t talk about our football business,” general manager A.J. Smith said Monday. “I haven’t a clue right now. Three weeks from now, we’ll huddle up and go over our players and options.”

Smith did say that the team planned to discuss the coaching staff’s future first. Marty Schottenheimer has one year left on his deal and the team has been negotiating an extension with his agent.

Of the assistants, only defensive coordinator Wade Phillips and defensive backs coach Brian Stewart are under contract for next year.

Schottenheimer, whose postseason record dropped to 5-12, was given several chances Monday to give Brees a vote of confidence during his final news conference, but chose not to.

“I don’t really want to get into that at this point,” Schottenheimer said. “We’ll sit down and we’ll talk about all of the variables that influence decisions like that. When you’re expecting to continue on in the postseason and it ends abruptly, I think it’s best that you not try to make any major decisions at that point.”

Brees was voted the Comeback Player of the Year after throwing 27 touchdown passes and just seven interceptions in the regular season. He threw for 319 yards and two TDs against the Jets, and was intercepted once.

He would just like to hear the Chargers say that he remains their starting quarterback.

“The important thing to me is the loyalty and commitment factor, you know, just saying, ‘Hey, this is going to be our guy’ and that sort of thing.”

The franchise basically threw him under the bus at the end of last season after he threw 15 interceptions and just 11 TD passes.

“I know it’s been kind of a funny ride,” Brees said. “I get drafted here and I’m the quarterback of the future. Philip Rivers gets drafted last year and he’s the quarterback of the future. Who’s the quarterback of the future?”

Rivers, obtained in a draft-day trade with the New York Giants, held out for half of training camp, allowing Brees to keep his job.

Rivers played just twice this year, once in mop-up duty and then in the regular-season finale when Brees and several other starters were rested for the playoffs. He completed 5 of 8 passes for 33 yards and one touchdown.

Brees will make the Chargers’ decision difficult.

“That was kind of the goal,” he said. “All along I believed that I was going to end up being the player that I always strived to be and believed that I was going to be. I still don’t feel I’ve really scratched the surface. I still feel there’s a lot more I can accomplish, that we can accomplish as a team.

“My goal when I first came to San Diego was to be a Charger for my whole career,” he said. “That’s a dream. Not many people get to live out that dream. To be able to do that would be something special. I wanted that to happen. That did not change last year when they drafted Philip. All along it’s just been about winning games. The more games you win, the more they want to keep you around. That’s the only way you’ve got to look at.”

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