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Gruden has reason to feel proud

Posted Feb 7, 2010 by Ira Kaufman

Updated Feb 7, 2010 at 11:07 PM

By IRA KAUFMAN
FORT LAUDERDALE—The New Orleans Saints basically adopted Jon Gruden this season.

And vice versa.

Gruden picked the Saints to reach the Super Bowl before the regular season even began and New Orleans made him look prophetic by earning the NFC’s No. 1 seed. After New Orleans trounced Arizona in the divisional playoff round, Coach Sean Payton presented Gruden with a game ball in the Saints locker room.

That was Payton’s way of thanking the former coach of the Bucs for giving the Saints a pep talk during Gruden’s visit in training camp. Payton said Gruden’s remarks proved inspirational and helped the Saints get off to a 13-0 start.

Gruden and Payton have formed a close bond over the years, although they were rival coaches in the NFC South for three seasons, splitting six meetings between the Bucs and Saints.

Gruden was offensive coordinator of the Eagles in 1997 when he hired Payton as quarterbacks coach. It was the first pro coaching job for Payton, who has developed into the league’s premier play-caller.

Sunday night’s 31-17 Super Bowl victory against favored Indianapolis offered further evidence that Payton has no peers when it comes to exploiting weaknesses and creating favorable matchups for his offense.

Gruden was in South Florida all week, offering analysis for ESPN. He picked the Saints to upset the Colts on Sunday morning and then he watched with pride as Sean Payton and Drew Brees made it happen.