The New Orleans Saints and suspended coach Sean Payton will indeed be together again next season as the bounty scandal fades into history and the bid to win a second Super Bowl resumes.

Payton has agreed in principle to a multiyear contract extension, according to two people familiar with the deal.

The people told The Associated Press about the deal Friday night on condition of anonymity because it hasn't been signed and final details regarding the length of the contract and financial compensation are still being worked out.

Payton was due to begin his seventh season as the Saints' head coach in 2012 before being suspended for the whole season by NFL Commissioner Roger Goodell in connection with the NFL's bounty investigation.

The new agreement, which was first reported by Fox Sports, also must be approved by the NFL.

Payton is the only coach in Saints history to win a Super Bowl, a title earned at the end of the 2009 season. But his legacy was tarnished by the NFL's bounty probe.

- Associated Press