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As San Diego Union-Tribune columnist Nick Canepa put it Wednesday: "Looking out from shore, it appears the reluctant marriage between Chargers general manager A.J. Smith and head coach Marty Schottenheimer is this close to the rocks -- and the surf's up.

"There's trouble in what not long ago was perceived as a replenishing paradise."

Canepa is right. When an NFL head coach goes public saying he's concerned that not everyone in his organization is moving in the same direction, it's serious.

And in an article published last Sunday, Union-Tribune staff writer Jim Trotter advised readers that's precisely the case in San Diego.

Trotter went on to note that while seemingly everyone else was offering an opinion on the Drew Brees situation the past few weeks, Schottenheimer was relatively quiet. That changed last Saturday.

As Trotter put it, "Choosing his words carefully, and pausing at times to weigh their potential impact," Schottenheimer said he wants Brees back and believes the Chargers will be even stronger with him.

The coach also acknowledged his icy relationship with Smith and told Trotter he was uncertain if everyone in the organization is pulling in the same direction.

"I think it's important that there always be communication between the coach and the general manager," he said during a break at the annual NFL scouting combine. "I've sought to see that realized, but, quite frankly, there hasn't been as much communication as I would like.

"I think we all understand that ours is a very difficult, competitive enterprise, and in my opinion it's important that everybody is aimed in the same direction."

Is that the case with the Chargers?

"We'll have to maybe wait and see," he said.

As Trotter suggested, the statements were eye-opening because Schottenheimer normally is guarded when speaking about the team or the organization. His usual mode of operation is to accentuate the positive, ignore the negative -- at least in public.

The conversation with Trotter marked the first time Schottenheimer has candidly discussed his working relationship with Smith.

"In my opinion, the important thing for all of us -- for our football team -- is that we all have a common purpose and understanding of what we want to do, and then have a plan that can be implemented to achieve it," he said. "As I said earlier, those decisions that I am a part of, or responsible for, will always be driven by one thing: What's in the best interest of the San Diego Chargers?

"To me, that's winning."

Smith seemed to take the comments -- made by a coach he didn't hire -- in stride.

"It tells a story," the GM told Canepa. "Eventually, if someone's around long enough, a pattern develops -- either good or bad. And people cast judgments. So [Schottenheimer] had an interview and said some things that are being scrutinized in the media.

"He's a teammate. Lots of people don't like lots of people."

True. But this is coach and GM, and good GMs -- rightfully so -- usually win out. Especially when they appear to have the full support of ownership. Smith appears to have that; Schottenheimer doesn't.

Trotter went on to remind readers that back in January, one week after the Chargers finished 9-7 and failed to make the playoffs, club president Dean Spanos expressed his disappointment but said: "I feel very confident going into next year. I know we're going to win. ... I don't think anyone in the organization expects anything less than to win next year -- the playoffs and to succeed in the playoffs."

If that statement was aimed at Schottenheimer, who has two years and nearly $8 million remaining on his contract, it's not wonder he's bothered at the notion of entering the season without Brees, a former Pro Bowler who is 21-11 as a starter the past two seasons.

Normally teams don't allow 27-year-old, Pro Bowl-caliber quarterbacks to test the market without protection, but the Chargers elected to do so because of what Smith calls "medical concerns" about Brees' throwing shoulder, which was surgically repaired after he tore his labrum in the season finale.

"We have medical concerns," Smith said. "If you want to zero in on that type of question that you're asking, I suggest that you contact Drew Brees and Tom Condon (Brees' agent). Possibly they can lay it out. I'd rather not participate than to say there are medical concerns that we're monitoring right now continually."

According to North County Times staffer Jay Paris, that comment stunned Brees, who is in Birmingham, Ala. rehabbing from 9 a.m. to 4 p.m. daily.

"There has not been a setback of any kind," he said, sternly. "In fact, it seems like every bit of information that comes out of the organization talking about my progress or surgery has been incorrect."

Which is a major reason the former Purdue standout is ready to ply his trade elsewhere. That and the belief his contract desires are quite reasonable.

"I'm not trying to break the bank," Brees said on Wednesday. "I just want what is fair."

The Chargers' lone six-year proposal included a first-year guarantee substantially less than the $9.7 million Brees would have earned if designated a franchise or transition player. The final five years of the pact were filled with escalators and incentive clauses, something Brees could live with.

It was the 2006 compensation that caused Brees' back to arch.

"It was just not where I felt it should be," he said. "It wasn't fair."

Throw in Smith's willingness to cast doubt on his health, and you have a recipe for departure.

"Talk to anybody that knows, which is my doctor, Dr. [James] Andrews, or my physical therapist that is here doing my stuff. They will tell you exactly where I am, and that is way ahead of the game. The surgery went exceptionally well, and my body has responded very well.

"If the surgery wasn't done properly, would I be four weeks ahead of schedule? I don't think so. I would be having problems right now."

"I've been rehabbing my butt off, and I'll be throwing by the beginning of May. I will have been throwing for almost three months when training camp opens. The doctors think everything is just fine, and everyone knows that I will be just fine. Rumors are being spread to discredit me or the people working with me to scare other people off. But it doesn't matter; I know what I can do.

"I invite anyone to come see me work. All those rumors are just false."

In fact, as NFL Network insider Adam Schefter reported Thursday night, has indeed been given a doctor's note, trying to prove he will be healthy for the coming season.

With the start of free agency now pushed back three days, Brees can began shopping his services at 12:01 a.m. eastern time on March 6, and Andrews, issued a statement that declared his patient ahead of schedule in his recovery.

"At this point, he is eight-plus weeks post-op and is ahead of schedule relative to his healing process and recovery," said Andrews, who performed rotator cuff surgery on Brees on Jan. 5. "He has divided his time here in Birmingham, working under our shoulder rehab specialist Kevin Wilk, along with rehabbing in San Diego.

"Our plan is to start him on an interval football throwing program at the four-month interval, which will allow him to participate in some drills during an anticipated May mini-camp."

As I noted in last month, Wilk -- one of the top specialists in his field -- has been impressed with Brees.

"There are guys that get hurt and wait for (the recovery) to happen," Wilk said early in February. "He's making it happen."

So, with Brees on the road to recovery, teams are expected to enter a bidding war for his services. The two teams expected to most woo Brees are the Miami Dolphins and Detroit Lions, each team with significant quarterback issues Brees could solve.

But as Schefter added: "At this point, it now seems clear Brees will not return to San Diego. Look for him to be in Miami or Detroit, unless another sleeper team enters the bidding."

And there are other teams likely to be in the market for veteran help at quarterback, with Oakland, Baltimore, the New York Jets, Dallas and perhaps even Green Bay interested in a veteran QB.

While Brees seems resigned to moving on, the fact that San Diego could be playoff-bound this season makes it more difficult than it might otherwise be. So do the phone calls from teammates asking about his status.

"All of them are just pretty shocked and trying to understand it," Brees told Paris. "We have a great opportunity, but it seems like that opportunity is kind of slowly being pushed away."

With so much invested, that pains Brees worse than his throwing shoulder.

"I've been part of something here that not everybody gets to be a part of: Of not going to the playoffs in (eight) years and going, and now having a legitimate shot at the title," he said. "Of going through the bad times -- I've been almost at the lowest of the low -- and just fighting your way through that. And you feel like you can see that light at the end of the tunnel. But hey, maybe that light is somewhere else."

If Brees departs, Philip Rivers -- with zero NFL starts on his resume -- gets tossed the keys to the revved offense. How does Brees think the student driver will do?

"I like Philip," he said. "I think Philip is going be a very good player because he works hard and is an intelligent guy. Unfortunately, we both feel like we're starters in this league and both of us just happen to be on the same team.

"But obviously, I feel like the Chargers are my team, and it would be a shame if I would be gone.

"But hey, life goes on."

Even if Schottenheimer isn't on board with him, Trotter notes that Smith seems more than willing to go on sans Brees.

Rivers has no career starts and just 30 career pass attempts, but Smith believes he has tremendous potential, which is the primary reason the Chargers traded for him two years ago at the NFL draft. A popular rumor making the rounds at the combine is that Smith favors Rivers and is using the "medical concerns" excuse as means to get the youngster on the field.

"I wouldn't care if it's Philip Rivers or Drew Brees leading us to a championship and holding a Super Bowl trophy over his head," Smith said last weekend. "I wouldn't care if A.J. Feeley was called upon and led us to a championship and held that Super Bowl trophy over his head. Whoever it is doesn't matter to me, as long as it's a Charger and the Chargers are winning. Philip is not my guy; the three of them are. That's why we want all three on the roster. I don't have a favorite."

Schottenheimer also said he wants all three to return, adding that Brees would be the starter if healthy.

"In my opinion, we're better off if Drew Brees is here," he said. "We've all come to realize that it takes more than one quality quarterback in this league to be successful. If he's able to recover from this injury -- and I'm optimistic about that -- I think it gives us an advantage."

Schottenheimer refused to speculate whether the Chargers -- who with a little tweaking have the potential to make a deep run in the playoffs -- would take a step back with Rivers behind center.

"I don't know that you can say that," he said. "I would think that history would indicate that (you would struggle some), but every situation is different. That would be pure speculation on my part.

"What I do know is, we've certainly gone through a process in the development of Drew to get him to where he is, and it's very difficult to condense that time frame."

But by all accounts, it looks like that is the unenviable task Schottenheimer will face without Brees -- and with Rivers -- this season.