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So Brees pretty much knew what was coming next. After the second snuggle, right on cue, tackle Zach Strief leaned over, smiled and fake-grumbled, "Hey, that's two more times than I've been hugged in eight years here."

But really, the coach and the QB were just making up for lost time. Reunited after a disastrous season apart while Payton served a season-long suspension, the game's most dynamic duo have the Saints back to setting historic standards for offensive execution and production.

"The history of professional football is one long connection between coaches and quarterbacks, and these two are in almost perfect continuity," says ESPN analyst Jon Gruden, a friend of Payton's since they coached together with the 1997 Eagles. "When I think of Vince Lombardi, I think of Bart Starr. When I think of Chuck Noll, I think of Terry Bradshaw. When I think of Tom Landry, I think of Roger Staubach. And now, when I think of Sean Payton, I think of Drew Brees. They are better together. And what they've been able to do this season? It's pretty special."





Drew Brees and Sean Payton put the New Orleans Saints in the NFL's elite -- ESPN The Magazine - ESPN

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