Sean Payton
Encyclopedia
Patrick Sean Payton is the current head coach
of the New Orleans Saints
of the National Football League
. Payton was a quarterback at Naperville Central High School
and Eastern Illinois University
and played professionally in 1987 and 1988. He began his coaching career as offensive assistant for San Diego State University
football and had several assistant coaching positions in collegiate and NFL teams. From 2003 to 2005, Payton worked as quarterback coach of the Dallas Cowboys
NFL team; since 2006
, Payton has been the head coach of the New Orleans Saints.
Under Payton, the New Orleans Saints made the 2006 NFL playoffs after a 3–13 season
in 2005, and Payton won the AP
NFL Coach of the Year Award
because of this effort. Following the 2009 season
, the New Orleans Saints won the Super Bowl
championship.
and raised in Naperville, Illinois
by parents Thomas and Jeanne Payton. Payton's parents were originally from Scranton, Pennsylvania
; Thomas worked in the insurance industry. Sean Payton lived in Newtown Square, Pennsylvania during his grade school and middle school years (1970 to 1978). Sean attended Naperville Central High School
in Naperville, IL, starting
as quarterback his senior year before graduating in 1982. Winning a football scholarship, Payton had a successful career playing quarterback at Eastern Illinois University
, leading the Panthers to an 11–2 record and the quarter-finals of the Division I-AA Playoffs in 1986; while at EIU, he became a member of the Sigma Chi
Fraternity. Under coach Al Molde
, Payton's Eastern Illinois teams were known as "Eastern Airlines" due to their prolific passing attack that frequently topped 300 yards per game (and had 509 passing yards in one game, still a school record).
, Payton tried out for the Kansas City Chiefs
for one day. In 1987, he played quarterback for the Chicago Bruisers
and Pittsburgh Gladiators during the inaugural season of the Arena Football League, before his rights were sold for $1,000.00 to the Ottawa Rough Riders
of the CFL. He was also a member of the Chicago Bears
squad of strikebreaking replacement players (scabs), known as the "Spare Bears", during the 1987 NFL players strike
. In 3 games he completed 8 of 23 passes (34.8%), for 79 yards, 0 TDs, and 1 INT, for a QB Rating of 7.3. He was also sacked 7 times for 47 yards and had one rush attempt for 28 yards.
In 1988, he played for the Leicester Panthers
of the semi-professional UK Budweiser National League. Payton landed the starting quarterback role for the Panthers. Payton led the Panthers to a touchdown on the first possession. That same season saw the Panthers go to the Quarterfinals of the British League, eventually losing to the London Olympians
after Payton had returned early to the US to take up a coaching position.
Payton began his coaching career in 1988 as an offensive
assistant at San Diego State University
. He made a series of assistant coaching positions at Indiana State University
, Miami University
(quarterbacks coach), Illinois
, and again at San Diego State (running backs coach), before landing a job as the quarterbacks coach with the Philadelphia Eagles
in 1997.
From 1997 to 1998, Sean Payton was quarterbacks coach
for the Philadelphia Eagles
and worked with offensive coordinator Jon Gruden
and offensive line coach Bill Callahan. In 1998, Gruden and Callahan left for the Oakland Raiders
, and Eagles head coach Ray Rhodes
and Payton were fired. The Eagles' quarterbacks passed for 4,009 yards in 1997.
In 1999 Sean Payton was hired as the quarterback coach for the New York Giants
and was promoted to the role of offensive coordinator
in 2000. Under his guidance the Giants would go on to represent the NFC
in Super Bowl XXXV
. During this time he was known to lock himself in the stadium and sleep on the couches while studying plays on off-days.
At around 6:45 a.m. on September 11, 2001, the New York Giants' flight from Denver, where the Giants played the Denver Broncos
for the first Monday Night Football
game of 2001
, landed at the gate of Newark Liberty International Airport
next to United Airlines Flight 93
, the flight that was hijacked and eventually crashed in rural Pennsylvania
. Payton recalls this moment in his autobiography Home Team: Coaching the Saints and New Orleans Back to Life. During the 2002 season
, after several poor showings by the Giants' offense, Payton's role in play-calling was taken over by then head coach Jim Fassel
. Under Fassel the offense improved and propelled the team to a wild-card playoff berth. While Payton was still ostensibly in charge of the offense, his role in the team was clearly diminished and had he not been hired away by the Dallas Cowboys
, he likely would have been fired.
Payton joined Bill Parcells
and the Cowboys as assistant head coach and quarterbacks coach in 2003, where he helped coach Quincy Carter
, Vinny Testaverde
, and Drew Bledsoe
to 3,000-yard seasons.
In 2005, he was promoted by Parcells to assistant head coach/passing game coordinator.
Payton received his first head coaching job in 2006 with the New Orleans Saints
. The team had previously finished the 2005 season
with a 3–13 record, ranking as the second worst team in the league. However, Payton turned the struggling team around, and, with newly acquired Drew Brees
as quarterback, led them to their first playoff appearance in six years, all in the wake of Hurricane Katrina
. The team had one of the league’s most productive offenses, ranking first in passing, and fifth in points scored. The Saints won the NFC South
with a 10–6 record, and progressed to the NFC Championship Game
against the top-seeded Chicago Bears
. The Saints out-gained the Bears in offense, but lost the game by a score of 39–14. With 44 out of 50 votes from a panel of sports journalists and broadcasters, Payton won the AP
NFL Coach of the Year Award
in January 2007.
In the 2007 season
, the Saints tried to improve upon their 10–6 record from last season. They and the Pittsburgh Steelers
opened the NFL preseason, playing the Hall of Fame Game on August 5, 2007. The Saints were 3–2 in the pre-season. The Saints also had the honor of opening the season against the defending champion Indianapolis Colts
. The Saints finished the 2007 season 7–9.
In 2009 Payton aggressively coached the Saints to their most successful season, with a 13–3
regular season, and a 31–17 victory over the Indianapolis Colts
in Super Bowl XLIV
. This was the Saints first Super Bowl victory, and secured Payton as the most successful coach in franchise history.
In June 2010 Payton published a book (written with journalist Ellis Henican
) entitled Home Team: Coaching the Saints and New Orleans Back to Life. The book opened at number 8 on the non-fiction bestseller list of The New York Times
. Payton described the concept of Home Team: "I didn't want to write another winning-on-the-field book or about modern-day leadership...I wanted to write a book about the stories, ones that you sit around and tell your friends."
On October 16, 2011, while coaching against the Tampa Bay Buccaneers, Payton broke his tibia and tore his MCL
in a collision with tight end Jimmy Graham's helmet after Graham was tackled on the sideline.
Assistant coaches under Sean Payton who became NFL head coaches:
. Payton and his family live in Mandeville, Louisiana
Their newly-constructed home there was constructed with defective Chinese drywall
, and Payton eventually became a named plaintiff in a widely-reported class action
lawsuit against Knauf
Plasterboard Tianjin Co. Ltd., the drywall manufacturer. He recently purchased a home in the Dallas/Fort Worth suburb of Westlake, Texas
.
Head coach
A head coach, senior coach or manager is a professional at training and developing athletes. They typically hold a more public profile and are paid more than other coaches...
of the New Orleans Saints
New Orleans Saints
The New Orleans Saints are a professional American football team based in New Orleans, Louisiana. They are members of the South Division of the National Football Conference of the National Football League ....
of the National Football League
National Football League
The National Football League is the highest level of professional American football in the United States, and is considered the top professional American football league in the world. It was formed by eleven teams in 1920 as the American Professional Football Association, with the league changing...
. Payton was a quarterback at Naperville Central High School
Naperville Central High School
Naperville Central High School is a public four-year comprehensive school ranked in the top 3% of high schools nationally by US News and World Report, covering grades nine through twelve in Naperville, Illinois, a suburb southwest of Chicago in the United States...
and Eastern Illinois University
Eastern Illinois University
Eastern Illinois University is a state university located in Charleston, Illinois, United States. Established in 1895 as the Eastern Illinois State Normal School, a teacher's college offering a two-year degree, Eastern Illinois University gradually expanded into a comprehensive university with a...
and played professionally in 1987 and 1988. He began his coaching career as offensive assistant for San Diego State University
San Diego State University
San Diego State University , founded in 1897 as San Diego Normal School, is the largest and oldest higher education facility in the greater San Diego area , and is part of the California State University system...
football and had several assistant coaching positions in collegiate and NFL teams. From 2003 to 2005, Payton worked as quarterback coach of the Dallas Cowboys
Dallas Cowboys
The Dallas Cowboys are a professional American football franchise which plays in the Eastern Division of the National Football Conference of the National Football League . They are headquartered in Valley Ranch in Irving, Texas, a suburb of Dallas...
NFL team; since 2006
2006 New Orleans Saints season
The 2006 New Orleans Saints season began with the team trying to improve on their 3-13 record in 2005. All of the team's 2006 regular season home games were played in the Louisiana Superdome, which had been damaged all of the previous season by Hurricane Katrina...
, Payton has been the head coach of the New Orleans Saints.
Under Payton, the New Orleans Saints made the 2006 NFL playoffs after a 3–13 season
2005 New Orleans Saints season
The 2005 New Orleans Saints season began with the team trying to improve from their 8–8 record from 2004. The Saints played two preseason games in the Louisiana Superdome before being forced to evacuate New Orleans due to Hurricane Katrina...
in 2005, and Payton won the AP
Associated Press
The Associated Press is an American news agency. The AP is a cooperative owned by its contributing newspapers, radio and television stations in the United States, which both contribute stories to the AP and use material written by its staff journalists...
NFL Coach of the Year Award
NFL Coach of the Year Award
The National Football League Coach of the Year Award is presented annually by various news and sports organizations to the NFL head coach who has done the most outstanding job of working with the talent he has at his disposal. Currently, the most widely recognized award is presented by the...
because of this effort. Following the 2009 season
2009 New Orleans Saints season
The 2009 New Orleans Saints season is the franchise's 43rd season in the National Football League and the most successful in franchise history in which they won Super Bowl XLIV. The Saints recorded a franchise record 13 victories, an improvement on their 8–8 record and fourth place finish in the...
, the New Orleans Saints won the Super Bowl
Super Bowl XLIV
Super Bowl XLIV was an American football game between the American Football Conference champion Indianapolis Colts and the National Football Conference champion New Orleans Saints to decide the National Football League champion for the 2009 season. The Saints defeated the Colts by a score of...
championship.
Early life
Payton was born in San Mateo, CaliforniaSan Mateo, California
San Mateo is a city in San Mateo County, California, United States, in the San Francisco Bay Area. With a population of approximately 100,000 , it is one of the larger suburbs on the San Francisco Peninsula, located between Burlingame to the north, Foster City to the east, Belmont to the south,...
and raised in Naperville, Illinois
Naperville, Illinois
Naperville is a city in DuPage and Will Counties in Illinois in the United States, voted the second best place to live in the United States by Money Magazine in 2006. As of the 2010 census, the city had a total population of 141,853. It is the fifth largest city in the state, behind Chicago,...
by parents Thomas and Jeanne Payton. Payton's parents were originally from Scranton, Pennsylvania
Scranton, Pennsylvania
Scranton is a city in the northeastern part of Pennsylvania, United States. It is the county seat of Lackawanna County and the largest principal city in the Scranton/Wilkes-Barre metropolitan area. Scranton had a population of 76,089 in 2010, according to the U.S...
; Thomas worked in the insurance industry. Sean Payton lived in Newtown Square, Pennsylvania during his grade school and middle school years (1970 to 1978). Sean attended Naperville Central High School
Naperville Central High School
Naperville Central High School is a public four-year comprehensive school ranked in the top 3% of high schools nationally by US News and World Report, covering grades nine through twelve in Naperville, Illinois, a suburb southwest of Chicago in the United States...
in Naperville, IL, starting
Starting lineup
A starting lineup in sports is an official list of the set of players who will actively participate in the event when the game begins. The players in the starting lineup are commonly referred to as starters, whereas the others are substitutes or bench players.The starters are commonly the best...
as quarterback his senior year before graduating in 1982. Winning a football scholarship, Payton had a successful career playing quarterback at Eastern Illinois University
Eastern Illinois University
Eastern Illinois University is a state university located in Charleston, Illinois, United States. Established in 1895 as the Eastern Illinois State Normal School, a teacher's college offering a two-year degree, Eastern Illinois University gradually expanded into a comprehensive university with a...
, leading the Panthers to an 11–2 record and the quarter-finals of the Division I-AA Playoffs in 1986; while at EIU, he became a member of the Sigma Chi
Sigma Chi
Sigma Chi is the largest and one of the oldest college Greek-letter secret and social fraternities in North America with 244 active chapters and more than . Sigma Chi was founded on June 28, 1855 at Miami University in Oxford, Ohio when members split from Delta Kappa Epsilon...
Fraternity. Under coach Al Molde
Al Molde
Al Molde is a college athletics administrator and former American football coach in the United States. He is currently the Director of Athletics at Gustavus Adolphus College in St. Peter, Minnesota, having held this position since 1997...
, Payton's Eastern Illinois teams were known as "Eastern Airlines" due to their prolific passing attack that frequently topped 300 yards per game (and had 509 passing yards in one game, still a school record).
Playing career
Although he was not drafted in the 1987 NFL Draft1987 NFL Draft
The 1987 NFL Draft was the procedure by which National Football League teams selected amateur college football players. It is officially known as the NFL Annual Player Selection Meeting. The draft was held April 28–29, 1987...
, Payton tried out for the Kansas City Chiefs
Kansas City Chiefs
The Kansas City Chiefs are a professional American football team based in Kansas City, Missouri. They are a member of the Western Division of the American Football Conference in the National Football League . Originally named the Dallas Texans, the club was founded by Lamar Hunt in 1960 as a...
for one day. In 1987, he played quarterback for the Chicago Bruisers
Chicago Bruisers
The Chicago Bruisers were a charter member of the Arena Football League, playing in the four-team "demonstration season" of 1987. They played their home games in the former Rosemont Horizon, now the Allstate Arena, home of the Chicago Rush.-History:...
and Pittsburgh Gladiators during the inaugural season of the Arena Football League, before his rights were sold for $1,000.00 to the Ottawa Rough Riders
Ottawa Rough Riders
The Ottawa Rough Riders were a Canadian Football League team based in Ottawa, Ontario, founded in 1876. One of the oldest and longest lived professional sports teams in North America, the Rough Riders won the Grey Cup championship nine times. Their most dominant era was the 1960s and 1970s, a...
of the CFL. He was also a member of the Chicago Bears
Chicago Bears
The Chicago Bears are a professional American football team based in Chicago, Illinois. They are members of the North Division of the National Football Conference in the National Football League...
squad of strikebreaking replacement players (scabs), known as the "Spare Bears", during the 1987 NFL players strike
1987 NFL season
The 1987 NFL season was the 68th regular season of the National Football League. A 24-day players' strike reduced the 16-game season to 15. The games that were scheduled for the third week of the season were canceled, but the games for weeks 4–6 were played with replacement players...
. In 3 games he completed 8 of 23 passes (34.8%), for 79 yards, 0 TDs, and 1 INT, for a QB Rating of 7.3. He was also sacked 7 times for 47 yards and had one rush attempt for 28 yards.
In 1988, he played for the Leicester Panthers
Leicester Panthers
The Leicester Panthers were a British American Football team, formed in 1984 and disbanded in 1996 who played home games at Saffron Lane sports centre. In the time they played, they recorded only one losing season, and won the league final in 1996, the year they dissolved the team...
of the semi-professional UK Budweiser National League. Payton landed the starting quarterback role for the Panthers. Payton led the Panthers to a touchdown on the first possession. That same season saw the Panthers go to the Quarterfinals of the British League, eventually losing to the London Olympians
London Olympians
The London Olympians is a British amateur American football team, based in Crystal Palace, London. They are the United Kingdom's most successful amateur American football club...
after Payton had returned early to the US to take up a coaching position.
Early coaching career
Payton began his coaching career in 1988 as an offensive
Offense (sports)
In sports, offense or offence , also known as attack, is the action of attacking or engaging an opposing team with the objective of scoring points or goals...
assistant at San Diego State University
San Diego State University
San Diego State University , founded in 1897 as San Diego Normal School, is the largest and oldest higher education facility in the greater San Diego area , and is part of the California State University system...
. He made a series of assistant coaching positions at Indiana State University
Indiana State University
Indiana State University is a public university located in Terre Haute, Indiana, United States.The Princeton Review has named Indiana State as one of the "Best in the Midwest" seven years running, and the College of Education's Graduate Program was recently named as a 'Top 100' by U.S...
, Miami University
Miami University
Miami University is a coeducational public research university located in Oxford, Ohio, United States. Founded in 1809, it is the 10th oldest public university in the United States and the second oldest university in Ohio, founded four years after Ohio University. In its 2012 edition, U.S...
(quarterbacks coach), Illinois
University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign
The University of Illinois at Urbana–Champaign is a large public research-intensive university in the state of Illinois, United States. It is the flagship campus of the University of Illinois system...
, and again at San Diego State (running backs coach), before landing a job as the quarterbacks coach with the Philadelphia Eagles
Philadelphia Eagles
The Philadelphia Eagles are a professional American football team based in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. They are members of the East Division of the National Football Conference in the National Football League...
in 1997.
Philadelphia Eagles (Quarterbacks Coach)
From 1997 to 1998, Sean Payton was quarterbacks coach
Quarterbacks coach
A quarterbacks coach is a coach in charge of the quarterbacks in gridiron football. The quarterbacks coach typically operates under the offensive coordinator on a team's coaching staff....
for the Philadelphia Eagles
Philadelphia Eagles
The Philadelphia Eagles are a professional American football team based in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. They are members of the East Division of the National Football Conference in the National Football League...
and worked with offensive coordinator Jon Gruden
Jon Gruden
Jon David Gruden is an American football analyst and former head coach of the Tampa Bay Buccaneers for seven seasons and prior to that the Oakland Raiders for four seasons. In his first year as the head coach of Tampa Bay, the Buccaneers won Super Bowl XXXVII, defeating the Raiders whom he had...
and offensive line coach Bill Callahan. In 1998, Gruden and Callahan left for the Oakland Raiders
Oakland Raiders
The Oakland Raiders are a professional American football team based in Oakland, California. They currently play in the Western Division of the American Football Conference in the National Football League...
, and Eagles head coach Ray Rhodes
Ray Rhodes
Raymond Earl Rhodes is currently a defensive assistant for the Cleveland Browns. He is also the former American football head coach of the Philadelphia Eagles and the Green Bay Packers. He is the former assistant defensive backs coach of the Houston Texans...
and Payton were fired. The Eagles' quarterbacks passed for 4,009 yards in 1997.
New York Giants (Assistant Coach)
In 1999 Sean Payton was hired as the quarterback coach for the New York Giants
New York Giants
The New York Giants are a professional American football team based in East Rutherford, New Jersey, representing the New York City metropolitan area. The Giants are currently members of the Eastern Division of the National Football Conference in the National Football League...
and was promoted to the role of offensive coordinator
Offensive coordinator
An offensive coordinator is a member of the coaching staff of a gridiron football team who is in charge of the offense. Generally, along with his defensive counterpart, he represents the second level of command structure after the head coach...
in 2000. Under his guidance the Giants would go on to represent the NFC
National Football Conference
The National Football Conference is one of the two conferences of the National Football League . This conference and its counterpart, the American Football Conference , currently contain 16 teams each, making up the 32 teams of the NFL.-Current teams:Since 2002, the NFC has comprised 16 teams,...
in Super Bowl XXXV
Super Bowl XXXV
Super Bowl XXXV was played on January 28, 2001 at Raymond James Stadium in Tampa, Florida to decide the National Football League champion following the 2000 regular season. The American Football Conference champion Baltimore Ravens defeated the National Football Conference champion New York...
. During this time he was known to lock himself in the stadium and sleep on the couches while studying plays on off-days.
At around 6:45 a.m. on September 11, 2001, the New York Giants' flight from Denver, where the Giants played the Denver Broncos
Denver Broncos
The Denver Broncos are a professional American football team based in Denver, Colorado. They are currently members of the West Division of the American Football Conference in the National Football League...
for the first Monday Night Football
Monday Night Football
Monday Night Football is a live broadcast of the National Football League on ESPN. From to it aired on ABC. Monday Night Football was, along with Hallmark Hall of Fame, and the Walt Disney anthology television series, one of the longest running prime time commercial network television series...
game of 2001
2001 NFL season
The 2001 NFL season was the 82nd regular season of the National Football League.Following a pattern set in 1999, the first week of the season was permanently moved to the weekend following Labor Day...
, landed at the gate of Newark Liberty International Airport
Newark Liberty International Airport
Newark Liberty International Airport , first named Newark Metropolitan Airport and later Newark International Airport, is an international airport within the city limits of both Newark and Elizabeth, New Jersey, United States...
next to United Airlines Flight 93
United Airlines Flight 93
United Airlines Flight 93 was United Airlines' scheduled morning transcontinental flight across the United States from Newark International Airport in Newark, New Jersey, to San Francisco International Airport in California. On Tuesday, September 11, 2001, the Boeing 757–222 aircraft operating the...
, the flight that was hijacked and eventually crashed in rural Pennsylvania
Stonycreek Township, Somerset County, Pennsylvania
Stonycreek Township is a township in Somerset County, Pennsylvania, United States. The population was 2,221 at the 2000 census. It is part of the Johnstown, Pennsylvania Metropolitan Statistical Area.-History:...
. Payton recalls this moment in his autobiography Home Team: Coaching the Saints and New Orleans Back to Life. During the 2002 season
2002 NFL season
The 2002 NFL season was the 83rd regular season of the National Football League.The league went back to an even number of teams, expanding to 32 teams with the addition of the Houston Texans. The clubs were then realigned into eight divisions, four teams in each...
, after several poor showings by the Giants' offense, Payton's role in play-calling was taken over by then head coach Jim Fassel
Jim Fassel
-Professional:-Personal life:Before the 2003 NFL season, Fassel was reunited with a son, John Mathieson, whom he and his wife Kitty gave up for adoption in 1969. The couple was unmarried when he was born....
. Under Fassel the offense improved and propelled the team to a wild-card playoff berth. While Payton was still ostensibly in charge of the offense, his role in the team was clearly diminished and had he not been hired away by the Dallas Cowboys
Dallas Cowboys
The Dallas Cowboys are a professional American football franchise which plays in the Eastern Division of the National Football Conference of the National Football League . They are headquartered in Valley Ranch in Irving, Texas, a suburb of Dallas...
, he likely would have been fired.
Dallas Cowboys (Assistant Coach)
Payton joined Bill Parcells
Bill Parcells
Duane Charles "Bill" Parcells is a former American football head coach, most recently with the Dallas Cowboys from 2003 to 2006...
and the Cowboys as assistant head coach and quarterbacks coach in 2003, where he helped coach Quincy Carter
Quincy Carter
Lavonya Quintelle "Quincy" Carter is a former American football quarterback. He was drafted in the second round of the 2001 NFL Draft by the Dallas Cowboys...
, Vinny Testaverde
Vinny Testaverde
Vincent Frank Testaverde is a former NFL quarterback. Testaverde last played for the Carolina Panthers and had previously played for the Tampa Bay Buccaneers, Cleveland Browns, Baltimore Ravens, New York Jets, Dallas Cowboys and New England Patriots. Testaverde holds the NFL record for having...
, and Drew Bledsoe
Drew Bledsoe
Drew McQueen Bledsoe is a former football quarterback in the National Football League, best known as the starting quarterback for the New England Patriots from 1993-2001. During the 1990s, he was considered the face of the Patriots franchise...
to 3,000-yard seasons.
In 2005, he was promoted by Parcells to assistant head coach/passing game coordinator.
New Orleans Saints (Head Coach)
Payton received his first head coaching job in 2006 with the New Orleans Saints
New Orleans Saints
The New Orleans Saints are a professional American football team based in New Orleans, Louisiana. They are members of the South Division of the National Football Conference of the National Football League ....
. The team had previously finished the 2005 season
2005 NFL season
The 2005 NFL season was the 86th regular season of the National Football League.With the New England Patriots as the defending league champions, regular season play was held from September 8, 2005 to January 1, 2006...
with a 3–13 record, ranking as the second worst team in the league. However, Payton turned the struggling team around, and, with newly acquired Drew Brees
Drew Brees
Drew Christopher Brees is a quarterback for the New Orleans Saints of the National Football League. He was drafted by the San Diego Chargers in the second round of the 2001 NFL Draft. He played college football at Purdue....
as quarterback, led them to their first playoff appearance in six years, all in the wake of Hurricane Katrina
Hurricane Katrina
Hurricane Katrina of the 2005 Atlantic hurricane season was a powerful Atlantic hurricane. It is the costliest natural disaster, as well as one of the five deadliest hurricanes, in the history of the United States. Among recorded Atlantic hurricanes, it was the sixth strongest overall...
. The team had one of the league’s most productive offenses, ranking first in passing, and fifth in points scored. The Saints won the NFC South
NFC South
The NFC South is a division in the National Football Conference of the National Football League. It was created prior to the 2002 NFL season, when the league realigned divisions after expanding to 32 teams. The NFC South currently has four members: the Atlanta Falcons, Carolina Panthers, New...
with a 10–6 record, and progressed to the NFC Championship Game
NFC Championship Game
The National Football Conference Championship Game is one of the two semi-final playoff matches of the National Football League, the largest professional American football league in the United States. The game is played on the penultimate Sunday in January and determines the champion of the...
against the top-seeded Chicago Bears
Chicago Bears
The Chicago Bears are a professional American football team based in Chicago, Illinois. They are members of the North Division of the National Football Conference in the National Football League...
. The Saints out-gained the Bears in offense, but lost the game by a score of 39–14. With 44 out of 50 votes from a panel of sports journalists and broadcasters, Payton won the AP
Associated Press
The Associated Press is an American news agency. The AP is a cooperative owned by its contributing newspapers, radio and television stations in the United States, which both contribute stories to the AP and use material written by its staff journalists...
NFL Coach of the Year Award
NFL Coach of the Year Award
The National Football League Coach of the Year Award is presented annually by various news and sports organizations to the NFL head coach who has done the most outstanding job of working with the talent he has at his disposal. Currently, the most widely recognized award is presented by the...
in January 2007.
In the 2007 season
2007 New Orleans Saints season
-Game summary:The 2007 New Orleans Saints began their regular season in the annual Thursday night Kickoff game against the defending Super Bowl champion Indianapolis Colts. In the first quarter, New Orleans trailed early as Super Bowl XLI MVP Peyton Manning completed a 27-yard TD pass to WR Marvin...
, the Saints tried to improve upon their 10–6 record from last season. They and the Pittsburgh Steelers
Pittsburgh Steelers
The Pittsburgh Steelers are a professional football team based in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania. The team currently belongs to the North Division of the American Football Conference in the National Football League . Founded in , the Steelers are the oldest franchise in the AFC...
opened the NFL preseason, playing the Hall of Fame Game on August 5, 2007. The Saints were 3–2 in the pre-season. The Saints also had the honor of opening the season against the defending champion Indianapolis Colts
Indianapolis Colts
The Indianapolis Colts are a professional American football team based in Indianapolis. They are currently members of the South Division of the American Football Conference in the National Football League ....
. The Saints finished the 2007 season 7–9.
In 2009 Payton aggressively coached the Saints to their most successful season, with a 13–3
2009 New Orleans Saints season
The 2009 New Orleans Saints season is the franchise's 43rd season in the National Football League and the most successful in franchise history in which they won Super Bowl XLIV. The Saints recorded a franchise record 13 victories, an improvement on their 8–8 record and fourth place finish in the...
regular season, and a 31–17 victory over the Indianapolis Colts
Indianapolis Colts
The Indianapolis Colts are a professional American football team based in Indianapolis. They are currently members of the South Division of the American Football Conference in the National Football League ....
in Super Bowl XLIV
Super Bowl XLIV
Super Bowl XLIV was an American football game between the American Football Conference champion Indianapolis Colts and the National Football Conference champion New Orleans Saints to decide the National Football League champion for the 2009 season. The Saints defeated the Colts by a score of...
. This was the Saints first Super Bowl victory, and secured Payton as the most successful coach in franchise history.
In June 2010 Payton published a book (written with journalist Ellis Henican
Ellis Henican
Ellis Henican is a columnist at Newsday and AM New York as well as a political analyst on the Fox News Channel. He hosts a nationally syndicated weekend show on Talk Radio Network, is author of a New York Times Bestseller, and is the voice of "Stormy" on the hit Cartoon Network series Sealab...
) entitled Home Team: Coaching the Saints and New Orleans Back to Life. The book opened at number 8 on the non-fiction bestseller list of The New York Times
The New York Times
The New York Times is an American daily newspaper founded and continuously published in New York City since 1851. The New York Times has won 106 Pulitzer Prizes, the most of any news organization...
. Payton described the concept of Home Team: "I didn't want to write another winning-on-the-field book or about modern-day leadership...I wanted to write a book about the stories, ones that you sit around and tell your friends."
On October 16, 2011, while coaching against the Tampa Bay Buccaneers, Payton broke his tibia and tore his MCL
MCL
- Medicine :* Mantle cell lymphoma* Mast cell leukemia* Maximum comfortable levels of auditory stimuli* Medial collateral ligament* Medical Center Leeuwarden* Medical Center of Louisiana at New Orleans* Midclavicular line* Mucocutaneous leishmaniasis...
in a collision with tight end Jimmy Graham's helmet after Graham was tackled on the sideline.
Head coaching record
| Team | |Regular Season | NO 2006 New Orleans Saints season The 2006 New Orleans Saints season began with the team trying to improve on their 3-13 record in 2005. All of the team's 2006 regular season home games were played in the Louisiana Superdome, which had been damaged all of the previous season by Hurricane Katrina... |
2006 2006 NFL season The 2006 NFL season was the 87th regular season of the National Football League.Regular season play was held from September 7 to December 31, 2006... |
10 | 6 | 0 | .625 | 1st in NFC South | 1 | 1 | .500 | Lost to Chicago Bears Chicago Bears The Chicago Bears are a professional American football team based in Chicago, Illinois. They are members of the North Division of the National Football Conference in the National Football League... in NFC Championship Game. |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| NO 2007 New Orleans Saints season -Game summary:The 2007 New Orleans Saints began their regular season in the annual Thursday night Kickoff game against the defending Super Bowl champion Indianapolis Colts. In the first quarter, New Orleans trailed early as Super Bowl XLI MVP Peyton Manning completed a 27-yard TD pass to WR Marvin... |
2007 2007 NFL season The 2007 NFL season was the 88th regular season of the National Football League.Regular-season play was held from September 6 to December 30.... |
7 | 9 | 0 | .438 | 3rd in NFC South | - | - | - | - | ||
| NO 2008 New Orleans Saints season The 2008 New Orleans Saints season is the 42nd season for the team in the National Football League . The Saints entered the season in an attempt improve their 7-9 record from the 2007 season.-Pre-season:-Regular season:... |
2008 2008 NFL season The 2008 NFL season was the 89th regular season of the National Football League, themed with the slogan "Believe in Now."Super Bowl XLIII, the league's championship game, was at Raymond James Stadium in Tampa, Florida on February 1, 2009, with the Pittsburgh Steelers coming out victorious over the... |
8 | 8 | 0 | .500 | 4th in NFC South | - | - | - | - | ||
| NO 2009 New Orleans Saints season The 2009 New Orleans Saints season is the franchise's 43rd season in the National Football League and the most successful in franchise history in which they won Super Bowl XLIV. The Saints recorded a franchise record 13 victories, an improvement on their 8–8 record and fourth place finish in the... |
2009 2009 NFL season The 2009 NFL season was the 90th regular season of the National Football League.The preseason started with the Pro Football Hall of Fame Game on August 9, 2009, and the regular season began September 10. The season ended with Super Bowl XLIV, the league's championship game, on February 7, 2010 at... |
13 | 3 | 0 | .813 | 1st in NFC South | 3 | 0 | 1.000 | Super Bowl XLIV Super Bowl XLIV Super Bowl XLIV was an American football game between the American Football Conference champion Indianapolis Colts and the National Football Conference champion New Orleans Saints to decide the National Football League champion for the 2009 season. The Saints defeated the Colts by a score of... Champions |
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| NO 2010 New Orleans Saints season The 2010 New Orleans Saints season was the 44th season for the franchise in the National Football League and city of New Orleans, Louisiana, and was the 35th to host home games in the Louisiana Superdome. The Saints entered their season for the first time as defending Super Bowl and National... |
2010 2010 NFL season The 2010 NFL season was the 91st regular season of the National Football League.The regular season began with the NFL Kickoff game on NBC on Thursday, September 9, at the Louisiana Superdome as the New Orleans Saints, Super Bowl XLIV champions, defeated the Minnesota Vikings 14–9.Tom Brady,... |
11 | 5 | 0 | .688 | 2nd in NFC South | 0 | 1 | .000 | Lost to Seattle Seahawks Seattle Seahawks The Seattle Seahawks are a professional American football team based in Seattle, Washington. They are currently members of the Western Division of the National Football Conference in the National Football League . The team joined the NFL in 1976 as an expansion team... in NFC Wild-Card Game. |
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| NO 2011 New Orleans Saints season The 2011 New Orleans Saints season is the franchise's 45th season in the National Football League, the 36th to host home games at the Louisiana Superdome and the sixth under head coach Sean Payton.-2011 draft board:-Schedule:... |
2011 2011 NFL season The 2011 NFL season, the 92nd regular season of the National Football League, began on Thursday, September 8, 2011 with the Super Bowl XLV champion Green Bay Packers defeating the New Orleans Saints 42–34 at Lambeau Field and will end with Super Bowl XLVI, the league's championship game, on... |
8 | 3 | 0 | .727 | NFC South | - | - | .000 | - | ||
| NO Total | 57 | 34 | 0 | 4 | 2 | .667 | ||||||
| Total | 57 | 34 | 0 | 4 | 2 | .667 | ||||||
Coaching tree
NFL head coaches under whom Sean Payton has served:- Ray RhodesRay RhodesRaymond Earl Rhodes is currently a defensive assistant for the Cleveland Browns. He is also the former American football head coach of the Philadelphia Eagles and the Green Bay Packers. He is the former assistant defensive backs coach of the Houston Texans...
, Philadelphia EaglesPhiladelphia EaglesThe Philadelphia Eagles are a professional American football team based in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. They are members of the East Division of the National Football Conference in the National Football League...
(1997–1998) - Jim FasselJim Fassel-Professional:-Personal life:Before the 2003 NFL season, Fassel was reunited with a son, John Mathieson, whom he and his wife Kitty gave up for adoption in 1969. The couple was unmarried when he was born....
, New York GiantsNew York GiantsThe New York Giants are a professional American football team based in East Rutherford, New Jersey, representing the New York City metropolitan area. The Giants are currently members of the Eastern Division of the National Football Conference in the National Football League...
(1999–2002) - Bill ParcellsBill ParcellsDuane Charles "Bill" Parcells is a former American football head coach, most recently with the Dallas Cowboys from 2003 to 2006...
, Dallas CowboysDallas CowboysThe Dallas Cowboys are a professional American football franchise which plays in the Eastern Division of the National Football Conference of the National Football League . They are headquartered in Valley Ranch in Irving, Texas, a suburb of Dallas...
(2003–2005)
Assistant coaches under Sean Payton who became NFL head coaches:
- None
Personal life
Sean Payton is married to Beth Shuey and has two children, daughter Meghan (born 1996) and son Connor (born 1999). While coaching at Indiana State, Payton met Shuey, a graduate of the university. Payton is an Irish CatholicIrish Catholic
Irish Catholic is a term used to describe people who are both Roman Catholic and Irish .Note: the term is not used to describe a variant of Catholicism. More particularly, it is not a separate creed or sect in the sense that "Anglo-Catholic", "Old Catholic", "Eastern Orthodox Catholic" might be...
. Payton and his family live in Mandeville, Louisiana
Mandeville, Louisiana
Mandeville is a city in St. Tammany Parish, Louisiana, United States. The population was 12,421 in 2008. Mandeville is located on the North Shore of Lake Pontchartrain, south of Interstate 12. It is across the lake from the city of New Orleans and its southshore suburbs...
Their newly-constructed home there was constructed with defective Chinese drywall
2009 Chinese drywall controversy
The 2009 Chinese drywall controversy is a health and safety issue involving defective drywall manufactured in China and imported by the United States starting in 2001. Laboratory tests of samples for volatile chemicals have identified emissions of the sulfurous gases carbon disulfide, carbonyl...
, and Payton eventually became a named plaintiff in a widely-reported class action
Class action
In law, a class action, a class suit, or a representative action is a form of lawsuit in which a large group of people collectively bring a claim to court and/or in which a class of defendants is being sued...
lawsuit against Knauf
Knauf
Knauf is an international, family-owned company based in Iphofen, Germany well known for drywall gypsum boards, originally founded in 1932. The company is a producer of building materials and construction systems comprising construction materials for drywall construction, plasterboard, cement...
Plasterboard Tianjin Co. Ltd., the drywall manufacturer. He recently purchased a home in the Dallas/Fort Worth suburb of Westlake, Texas
Westlake, Texas
Westlake is a town in Denton and Tarrant Counties in the U.S. state of Texas. The population is 702 as of the 2010 United States Census.The area known as Westlake was originally settled in 1847 by Charles and Matilda Medlin with about 20 other families. In the mid-twentieth century, now-Westlake...
.