re: For the LSU fans who are also Saints fans...

If you really want an honest answer, the Saints have won 43% of their games in their history and Payton has won 62% of his games with the Saints. They had one playoff win before him - he is 6-4 in the playoffs. His teams account for 50% of their playoff appearances (5 out of 10). He has 3 of their 5 divisional championships. He has their only two NFC Championship appearances. He has won their only NFC Championship and their only Super Bowl Championship. The Saints were 3-13 the year before he took over. He went 10-6 in his first year, won the division and took the Saints to their first ever NFC Championship following Katrina. The Saints were perennial losers before Payton and hadn't been to the playoffs in the previous 5 years before he took over.

The NFL is much more cyclical and there are no easy wins. Belichick is one of the very few coaches that have won big consistently in the NFL. But he first did a stint with the Browns where he had 4 of 5 losing seasons. His first New England team was bad too. Payton's losing seasons have not been bad at all. 7-9 is not terrible for the pros. It's not what you want, but it could be worse.

With that said, if Payton's team loses again next year, people will be calling for his head.

As for Brees, does anybody think we have a better QB sitting on the bench? I don't think so. Some people think that with LSU. Also, a number of the Saints losses were on the defense this year. Brees blew it a number of times at the end of games as well. But people take for granted how accurate he is most of the time.