Sean Payton--The Person

As I watched a football story series on NFL Network this morning featuring former Dallas Cowboys coach Tom Landry, I couldn't help but notice of how much it reminded me of Sean Payton. If some of you don't know, Tom Landry was one of the most successful coaches in Dallas Cowboy and NFL history posting 20 consecutive winning seasons. So many people and the media and even some players who played for Landry say how much of a machine he was that used a system no matter what players or coaches were in house. That would lead some to say he was cold hearted and made business decisions with only business in mind. He would cut players or fire coaches with a straight face and tell them how he felt no matter who they were. He never liked the America's team persona, and didnt like the "hey look at us" attitude that some players had. This unwholesome person so many made him to be was not who he actually was. In ways he was the cold hearted and straight faced coach who stuck to his system no matter what, but he also was the person who cried standing at the podium after cutting LB Chris Hutchinson stating "today we let go a great football player and a great friend". He allowed Roger Staubach to retire earlier than he should have and felt the "disgusting gut feeling" as he put it when he refused to go away from his system when Roger threatened to retire if he wasn't given the play calling duties, but still Landry would not go away from his successful system.

While watching this documentary Sean Payton and his time with the Saints kept popping into my head. He is not always the straight faced, beat around the bush to the media coach we see; he is a person just like anyone else. He is a father, a husband at one point, a boyfriend, and a friend to many. I read the Q&A on the draft and FA from NOLA.Com with Payton, and it proved my comparison to Tom Landry even more. This is a man who has made mistakes in his life and football career, but he will do whatever it takes to overcome those mistakes and win football games. He seems reluctant to cut high character guys like Vilma and Smith who have been here with him since 2006. He knows eventually they will not be with the Saints and that it could possibly be this season, but he seems to not want to picture them in anything but black and gold. He will stick to his system of controlling his team, drafting the most talented player on the board, and playing mistake free football. Even in the times of 2007 and 2008 when fans and the media called for his head and wanted him fired, he made a difficult decision to fire Gary Gibbs who is a close friend. I know in the coming days and in the coming months I will keep in mind that the decisions he and Loomis make on personell and what not are being made by people. I trust in their decisions as coaches and GM, but more so as people. WHO DAT!