Adam Gase was a 34-year-old quarterbacks coach, a relative unknown outside the NFL coaching fraternity. Peyton Manning was a 36-year-old legend, starting over in a new city with a surgically repaired neck after the injury nearly ended his career. The year was 2012, the team was the Denver Broncos. They forged a professional relationship, which became a historically successful partnership, which turned into a friendship -- one that has defined Gase's coaching career.
"It was unbelievable, the connection they had," said former Broncos wide receiver Eric Decker, who witnessed the first two years of Gase-Manning in Denver.