On Thursday night, Sean Payton became one of eight NFL head coaches to beat all 32 teams. As a former long-time coach of the New Orleans Saintsthat was a team he would never beat while he was there.

About three years after retiring from the Saints, Payton is now the head coach of a Denver Broncos Squad that moved to 4-3 on the season after a dominant 33-10 win at New Orleans. The Broncos made Payton proud during his homecoming at the Caesars Superdome.

With a victory over all 32 teams, Payton joins an elite fraternity of NFL coaches who have accomplished this feat, including Mike Shanahan, Bill Belichick, Tony Dungy, John Fox, Mike Holmgren, Bill Parcells and Andy Reid. Three of those coaches, including Payton, coached the Broncos.

After the game, Payton was presented with the game ball. Broncos rookie quarterback Bo Nix shared what that moment was like.

“It was great. “The Saints mean a lot to him,” Nix said after the game. “He was there for a while (and had) amazing success. “It's hard to go back to a place that you've called home for so long and fought for and now you're playing against. It was special. It was a great moment. I’m happy for him.”

It's hard to call Broncos-Saints a revenge game because it feels like there's no real animosity between Payton and his former team. Now Saints fans might disagree, but it seemed like his reception at the Superdome went as well as one could hope given the circumstances.

“I thought it was great,” Payton said of his reception at the Superdome. “You don't forget the faces, the smiles or the dialect. They were great.”

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One day Payton will retire from coaching. Depending on what he accomplishes in Denver, there's a chance he could have a shot at the Pro Football Hall of Fame because of his continued success in New Orleans, winning a Super Bowl and the offensive ingenuity he brought to the NFL has. Maybe he'll end up in Canton.

Payton will definitely find himself in the Saints Hall of Fame and Ring of Honor one day. To this organization he is family and vice versa.

Nevertheless, these are the demands of the NFL. There was a game on the line. Pride was on the line and Payton prevailed against a severely weakened Saints squad.

But Payton did it and the Broncos are 4-3 with a 10-day break between games. Let's call it a little farewell. As cool as it was to see so many familiar faces at his old stomping grounds, Payton is probably relieved that the game against the Saints is no longer on his schedule.

“It was kind of emotional,” Payton said.

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