Category: sean payton

Sean Payton shares the field with controversial referee in first Broncos playoff game

Sean Payton will share the field with a controversial referee in his first Broncos playoff game. It’s not the first time he’s seen Bill Vinovich since the NOLA No-Call:

The NFL announced its head referees for this weekend’s wild-card round of playoff games, and one choice stands out from the rest. It’ll be Bill Vinovich refereeing Sean Payton’s first playoff game with the Denver Broncos, who are visiting the Buffalo Bills on Sunday, Jan. 12 for a Noon CT/1 p.m. ET kickoff.

Vinovich, of course, was head referee for the 2019 NFC championship game — an officiating crew that infamously blew the biggest call of the season. Vinovich has refereed the Super Bowl since then, but he hasn’t returned to New Orleans given the very public outcry about his mistake. He’ll be working another playoff game this Sunday with Payton simmering on the sideline.

It isn’t the first time they’ve crossed paths, either. Vinovich was the head referee for Payton’s first game as Broncos head coach, fouling Denver for an illegal touch on a surprise onside kick (sound familiar?). The Broncos lost that game 17-16.

His crew is known for keeping their flags in their pockets. Only John Hussey’s group threw fewer penalty markers this season (201) than Vinovich’s crew (207). Payton’s Broncos have drawn 108 fouls (19th) for 941 yards (10th-most), while benefiting from just 81 penalties on their opponents (5th-fewest) for 670 yards (6th-fewest).

In comparison, the Bills have been fouled 112 times (12th-most) for a loss of 833 yards (13th-fewest), and they’ve benefited from 110 calls (4th-most) for 998 yards (5th-best) on their opponents. But as we’ve seen before, sometimes it’s the flags that aren’t thrown which make the biggest impact.

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Sean Payton could make the playoffs for 1st time since Saints divorce

The Saints and Sean Payton are still looking to make the playoffs for the first time post-Drew Brees. Payton is much closer to achieving this feat:

It’s been three years since Sean Payton was the New Orleans Saints head coach. Payton retired for a year then came back after a year hiatus to coach the Denver Broncos. The former Saints head coach is already experiencing more success than his former team.

In his second year with the Broncos, Payton has his new team in the playoff race. If Denver is able to get a win against the Kansas City Chiefs, who may be playing their backups, this week, they will punch their ticket to the postseason.

New Orleans hasn’t achieved this feat in the three seasons since Payton’s departure.

To make this season even more impressive, Payton is doing it with a rookie quarterback. There were many critical about Payton’s decision to draft Bo Nix, but it has paid off for Denver.

The Saints are going through another breakup while their ex is flourishing. That can be a tough pill to swallow, especially when they’re doing things they didn’t do with you, like getting a rookie quarterback for the future.

Nevertheless, the Saints and Sean Payton are looking to make the playoffs for the first time post-Drew Brees. Coach is just one win away.

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Darren Rizzi has a big opportunity to buck one of Dennis Allen’s worst trends

Darren Rizzi has a big opportunity to buck one of Dennis Allen’s worst trends. His predecessor lost four times after shutting out an opponent in the first half:

New Orleans Saints interim head coach Darren Rizzi has a chance to buck an alarming trend that started under Dennis Allen, after holding the Los Angeles Rams scoreless in the first half.

Saints fan and professional statistician Jeff Asher shared an interesting stat; Allen-led New Orleans teams had lost four games after not allowing the opponents to score in the first half. Sean Payton never once lost one of those games.

And the only other time the Rams had been shut out under Sean McVay was the infamous Super Bowl LIII against the New England Patriots. Los Angeles will be entering unknown territory here.

The Saints were only able to muster six points themselves, so the game could still go either way. It’s another important test for Rizzi, and a big opportunity for him to buck one of the most troubling trends of his predecessor’s tenure.

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Sean Payton moved to Denver and still owns the NFC South

Sean Payton swept the NFC South, proving nothing’s changed but his address. Unfortunately, his dominance now includes the Saints:

The Atlanta Falcons were painfully reminded of something that has been true for nearly 20 years. Sean Payton has partial ownership in the Atlanta Falcons. Maybe they hoped things changed since Payton was no longer leading the New Orleans Saints.

However, when the Falcons visited the Denver Broncos, Payton showed the new emblem on the hat doesn’t lessen his dominance over the Falcons. Payton improved his record to 22-9 against the Falcons with a dominating 38-6 victory.

Atlanta wasn’t the only team to get this reminder. Payton swept the NFC South this year and showed them why they all felt relieved by his temporary retirement. This included Payton’s first career victory over the Saints.

The games haven’t been too close either. The Carolina Panthers kept it the closest, and they lost by 14 points. At the end of that game, Payton flat out said Carolina isn’t a good team. Maybe that was the jolt Carolina needed because they haven’t lost a game since those comments.

During his 16-year run with New Orleans, Payton had a winning record against every team in the division. As the coach of the Denver Broncos, he’s undefeated against his former division.

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Mickey Loomis has a terrible record without Drew Brees and Sean Payton

Mickey Loomis wanted everyone to know who was really responsible for the Saints’ success after Sean Payton left. Now, there’s no question about it:

Mickey Loomis wanted everyone to know who was really responsible for the New Orleans Saints’ success after Drew Brees retired and Sean Payton stepped away to pursue other jobs. Now, after Loomis picked Dennis Allen and the team ran into the ground, there’s no question about it. Payton soundly beating his successor in prime time only illustrates that point.

Before hiring Allen, the teams Loomis built without Payton had a record of 28-36 (a winning percentage of .438). Now, after Allen’s 18-25 run, Loomis has a record of 46-61 (.430) when Payton wasn’t coaching his team. That doesn’t count the 2012 season in which both Payton and Loomis were suspended, but that year’s 7-9 finish wouldn’t really help his case, either (putting Loomis at 53-70 without Payton, or .431).

Maybe things would have gone differently had Loomis hired someone who didn’t already have an 8-28 record as a head coach to replace the winningest coach in team history. Maybe this team’s foundation was just weaker than he thought. Either way, what matters now is whether the Saints can dig themselves out of this hole. And whether Loomis is the right man to oversee that job.

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Sean Payton sought out Spencer Rattler after Saints-Broncos game

Sean Payton was impressed by Spencer Rattler’s effort in a loss. He shared words of encouragement with the rookie QB after Thursday night’s game:


Sean Payton is no stranger to the growing pains one goes through with rookie quarterbacks.

He’s in the midst of helping one currently in transition in Bo Nix, who has had some ups and downs in not only his first season in the NFL, but also his first year as an NFL starter.

New Orleans Saints rookie quarterback Spencer Rattler is also going through a bit of that himself, thrown to the wolves as a starter unexpectedly with veteran Derek Carr currently sidelined due to injury.

Payton made a point of going up to Rattler after the game, praising him for some of the poise he showed, despite the Saints coming out with far from the outcome they wanted in a 33-10 loss.

“You’ve got some moxie, man,” Payton said to Rattler.

Rattler was up against the odds with a poor offensive line performance and the loss of two of his top wideouts, Chris Olave (concussion) and Rashid Shaheed (knee).

He finished the game 25-of-35 passing for 172 yards, also with five carries for 34 yards. The former South Carolina quarterback didn’t get his team to the end zone and could hardly remain upright as he was sacked some six times.

There was some confusion on if Rattler was benched toward the end of the game when Jake Haener entered at quarterback, but it was later clarified the decision was made to save Rattler after he suffered from a “hip pointer” injury.

That’s probably a good call by the Saints with the way the injury bug has been just one of a wave of problems contributing to New Orleans’ fall from grace.

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Sean Payton on win over Saints: ‘This was the last team I hadn’t beaten’

Denver Broncos head coach Sean Payton enjoyed crossing the Saints off his list of opponents: ‘This was the last team I hadn’t beaten’


Thursday night’s 33-10 loss to the Denver Broncos was nothing short of embarrassing for the New Orleans Saints — and it extended beyond just their subpar performance on the field. But that didn’t stop their old head coach Sean Payton from basking in it.

They were outscored by their former kicker, Wil Lutz, alone as he tallied 12 points in his own right to the Saints’ 10 points as a team. Going into the game, Payton downplayed his presence as just one of many former Saints on the opposing sideline. But afterwards he enjoyed a victory lap and rare appearance at the postgame show set.

New Orleans also recorded back-to-back home losses by 20 points or more for the first time in decades and fell to their ex-head coach’s new team on the same night that legendary former quarterback Drew Brees was inducted into the Saints Hall of Fame.

Payton was obviously pleased with the results as the Broncos came out on the right side of what was a more lopsided loss than even the final score may tell the story of, as the Saints trailed 33-3 up until the final two minutes of the contest.

“This was the last team I hadn’t beaten,” Payton said after the game, which some had referred to as a “revenge game” for him.

Payton served as the Saints head coach from 2006 to 2021, marking one of the best eras the team has ever seen. Payton and Brees made quite the pair for a team that was a force to be reckoned with while they were at the helm, as then Saints won seven division titles and a Super Bowl in their time there.

It’s safe to say that at least for now, with a long road of fixing ahead, those days are long gone.

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Sean Payton’s return is all the Saints are talking about

NFL insider Josina Anderson reports Sean Payton’s return is all that’s being discussed in New Orleans. It likely isn’t anticipation of catching up, either:

Don’t let people tell you Sean Payton returning is just another game for him or the New Orleans Saints. That may be the message publicly, but Josina Anderson reported a league source told her Sean Payton’s return is “all they been talking about down here.”

Anderson inquired if the Saints were ready for him to return. The response was an emphatic, “oh yeah.” It’s doubtful they’re excited for a chance to catch up. It was reported earlier this week by Nola.com’s Jeff Duncan, some people didn’t want Drew Brees’ induction to be on the same day as Payton’s return.

There appears to be love lost for the Saints’ former head coach. Anderson’s report furthers this belief.

With Brees being in the building, everything will look very cozy. You’ll see pictures of Payton with players, Gayle Benson and maybe Mickey Loomis.

If you believe the reports, though, there is an underlying tension at least from the Saints’ side. That comes from the front office.

This game means more for everyone involved. There was also a report that New Orleans rejected Payton’s attempt to return to the team after his year away from coaching. If true, Payton wouldn’t forget or forgive that. Both sides step into this game with a point to prove.

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Sean Payton says Broncos scouted Saints QB pre-draft, ‘the whole nine yards’

Sean Payton says the Broncos thoroughly scouted Saints QB Spencer Rattler before the 2024 draft with meetings and a private workout: ‘The whole nine yards’

Spencer Rattler will have a big fan on the opposing sideline when his New Orleans Saints kick off with the Denver Broncos on Thursday night. Sean Payton said the Broncos thoroughly scouted the rookie quarterback ahead of  this year’s NFL draft, and he was impressed by what the South Carolina product showed him.

Payton and the Broncos college scouting department invested just as much time in evaluating Rattler as they did the other quarterbacks in the draft class, including their new starter Bo Nix.

“We spent a lot of time with him. I’d say there was five. Pro day and then we had a private workout. We were all in Phoenix, the Scottsdale area, where he’s from,” Payton recalled Tuesday. “Steak dinner, the whole nine yards. Tested in the morning (and watched him) throw. He did really well.”

So Payton wasn’t exactly blown away when the Saints immediately chose to  start Rattler after Derek Carr’s injury last week. He’s seen the young quarterback tackle everything college football could throw at him, and he knows the Broncos defense will need to work hard to pressure Rattler in his second career start.

Payton continued: “It’s not surprising to see (him do well). There is, again, I’m going to use an analogy. There’s a calmness when he plays. He too has been through the adversity early on. Coming out of high school, to Oklahoma and then transferring. There is a confidence when he’s on the field. You see that in the preseason and last week. It’s not too big for him, and he has a live arm. We were really impressed.”

At the same time, that exposure could have given Payton and his coaches some insight on how to, well, rattle Rattler. They didn’t draft him when they had the chance, but that’s probably more due to having taken Nix in the first round while lacking enough picks to address higher-priority needs. But if Rattler impresses on Thursday night and hands Payton’s team a loss? It sounds like the former Saints coach would be first in line to shake his hand.

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Sean Payton doesn’t expect a warm welcome back to New Orleans

Sean Payton doesn’t expect a warm welcome back to New Orleans. He understands Saints fans won’t have ‘a lot of flowers and fuzzies for yours truly’

Sean Payton is no stranger to rivalry games. The longtime New Orleans Saints head coach endeared himself to the Who Dat Nation by embracing the pettiness and vitriol and egging on opposing fans, and sometimes running up the score. But he’s their former coach now. It’s a Denver Broncos blue and orange visor sitting on his head these days, not black and gold, after Payton decided he needed a year off from coaching and a change of scenery.

When Payton returns the Caesars Superdome on Thursday he’ll be checking into the visitors locker room for the first time. It’ll be the opposite sideline from which he’s patrolling and barking at referees, too, and he doesn’t expect many words of support to be thrown at his back from the stands.

“It will be unique,” Payton said Monday, via the Athletic’s Nick Kosmider. “Those around us know how challenging a short week is compared to a full week. Certainly, there will be emotions going back there, but that comes up quite a bit in our league with players.”

The Saints are struggling right now after slipping into a four-game losing streak, but Payton has his own problems to deal with. His Broncos missed the playoffs last year and currently sit at 3-3. Rookie quarterback Bo Nix has thrown as many interceptions as touchdowns (5). Denver’s offense has the second-worst conversion rate on third downs (25%) in pro football despite trying the sixth-most attempts (80).

And the Saints are encouraging a festive, if  not hostile, atmosphere. They’re packing the house by celebrating Drew Brees’ enshrinement at the team Hall of Fame. They’ve declared a blackout and will give away rally towels. They want it to be loud and chaotic when Nix is trying to relay Payton’s long play calls and  read the field as he drops back to pass.

“I understand it,” Payton continued, “I don’t think there will be a lot of flowers and fuzzies for yours truly, and I get it.”

We’ll see if it makes a difference. There probably aren’t two opposing coaches who know each other’s playbook more thoroughly than Payton and Dennis Allen, having practiced against each other for years in New Orleans. Allen’s back is against the wall after another 2-4 start and Payton’s vision for the Broncos has come under fire after failing to meet expectations.

Both sides are going to be desperate for a win in prime time, if for no other reason than to prove they don’t need each other. Kickoff is set for 7:15 p.m. CT on Thursday, Oct. 17. The game will be broadcast on Amazon Prime Video.

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