A week ago, Drew Brees brought out a kind of emotion from Sean Payton that was rarely seen on his face. Payton is widely regarded as an aggressive NFL coach who stays highly animated during games, frequently seen shouting at referees, passionately correcting his own players. But watching the Denver Broncos HC emotional on the video call, it also drew a similar reaction from Brees.

“What’s funny because I was going to fly to Sean and surprise him,” Brees said in an interview with Fox. “And so Brittany and Skylene were talking and trying to coordinate it, and then all of a sudden he was with Mickey Loomis and Greg Bensel and a bunch of Saints guys. I’m just playing golf, and I was FaceTiming them just to say what’s up. And I was like, this is the moment because they’re all together. And it would totally catch him off guard, which is hard to do with Sean, right?

“So I sprung it on him. And everybody sees the fiery, competitive Sean, you know. But it was pretty awesome to see just that emotion. And, man, I’m crying on the other side. You couldn’t see it through the phone. But, yeah, it was an emotional moment. You know, he’s meant a ton to me.”

The emotions were high because Brees was asking his former HC to present him for the Pro Football Hall of Fame.

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Sean Payton started his NFL head coaching career at the New Orleans Saints in 2006, Drew Brees joined the franchise as a five-season veteran in the same year. The partnership lasted for 15 seasons at the Saints and is now deemed one of the standout coach-quarterback relationships in NFL history.

Together they won 142 games, trailing only Tom Brady and Bill Belichick for the most wins (249) by a quarterback-coach duo in NFL history. Not just that, Brees and Payton also delivered New Orleans their first and only Lombardi (Super Bowl XLIV) in franchise history.

These particular feats in the NFL and for the New Orleans Saints have led to Drew Brees being elected to the Pro Football Hall of Fame Class of 2026 in his first year of eligibility. But somewhere down the line, Brees is well aware of Payton’s contribution to his standout career, and hence he requested his former HC to be his presenter for his HOF induction.

“I’m honest to God, I can’t believe you just did that,” an emotional Sean Payton’s response to Drew Brees’ invitation. “Yeah, absolutely man. Listen, we’ve done enough of this all of the sudden. It’s awesome.”

The Pro Football Hall of Fame ceremony will go down live at the Tom Benson Hall of Fame Stadium in Canton, Ohio, on Saturday, August 8, 2026. Along with Brees, former NFL stars Larry Fitzgerald, Luke Kuechly, Adam Vinatieri, and Roger Craig will also receive their honors.