With Sean Payton's recent announcement that he will be stepping away from coaching, a lot of Saints players are sending him well wishes on Twitter.

The tributes began to pour in almost instantly after Sean Payton surprised the football world with his decision to step down from his position as head coach of the New Orleans Saints.

While Coach Payton said he wasn't sure what his next move would be, he didn't rule out coaching again and he seems VERY eager to maybe get into television—something he believes he would be good at and has mentioned it several times this week.

Sean Payton has always maintained the same demeanor—fair, but very stern and passionate when it comes to his attitude. While he clearly loves the men who play for him, there has never been any doubt when it comes to expectations, both on and off the field.

We've also seen our fair share of "Petty Sean" as Payton usually wastes no opportunity to take jabs at his adversaries. For example, this week alone we've seen him take playful shots at the Bucs, Falcons, and even Eli Apple.

But what I've seen Sean do more this week than ever before is show an overtly heartfelt side of himself that has been seen on very rare occasions throughout his years as an NFL coach.

Remember those tributes we talked about earlier? Well, apparently, Sean Payton has been publicly replying to them with personal, heartfelt messages that are sincere enough to make any true Saints fan tear up.

You can probably keep checking back on Payton's official Twitter for more personal responses as the tributes continue to pour in, but anyone who has followed the Saints for any decent amount of time can definitely appreciate the personal connection between this coach and his players.

Just based on these tweets, two things are clear: First, Sean Payton saw talent in players who were otherwise glossed over and usually turned them into superstars. Second, he wasn't a coach of players, he was a leader of men.

Wild Card Round - Minnesota Vikings v New Orleans Saints
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Men who respected him, and were ready and willing to go to battle with him no matter the score or the opponent at hand.

Also, if those tweets weren't enough to get you misty-eyed, good luck getting through this heartwarming collection of video messages directly from the Saints players to their beloved Coach Sean Payton.

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