Looking for a new head coach?
 

I hold my head coaches to a high standard...
Make the team better and
never post a losing record...

Sean Payton has failed in both areas to me.
Sure it might be a tough statement to make, but I offer this as my reasoning.
Vince Lombardi never posted a losing record as a HC and after losing his first championship game...
Rattled off 9 wins .
He stated, "we will never lose this game again" and didn't.

Now Lombardi is a legend, and hard to compare to.
But that is what I want from my team's head coach...
And Payton this season (7-9) failed...

Sorry guys,
We are now looking for a new head coach.

Re: Looking for a new head coach?
 

Pulling the trigger kinda quick aren't you? How about waiting the traditional 3 years before calling for the coaches head?

I mean, lets face it. The guy got us to the NFC Championship game last year. That's got to count for a whole boat load of doubt.

Re: Looking for a new head coach?
 

Sean Payton does not deserve the credit for the Saints success last year. He deserves the credit for coming up short. The team should have been there atleast 3 days before the championship to acclimate. It isn't a hard one to figure out. The fans and the team made last year memorable. Sean Payton cost us the championship and a chance at the Super Bowl.

I would ask anyone who backs Payton to review the games we lost this season. Look at his questionable timeouts and challenges along with some of the loopy play calls at important moments. They will see that he needs supervision. He's an offensive coordinator, not a head coach.

I like him as a person, but he's a book worm. A head coach has to have "the feel". You can't teach or learn that. You have it or you don't.

Re: Looking for a new head coach?
 

the only current head coach's on Lombardi's level right now would be Belichick and Dungy, so lets fire the other 30 coaches?

Re: Looking for a new head coach?
 

Are you kidding me, getting rid of Payton IMO would be crazy, give the guy better players and he'll win games, it just wasn't a good year for him..

Re: Looking for a new head coach?
 

Call me crazy or whatever. When you don't understand as a head coach that consistency as a team comes from playing fundamental football then you're lost, the team is lost, we are all lost.

You don't challenge a touchdown and change tempo on a possibility when you drive 80 yards and have the defense on it's heals. You don't risk the tempo and momentum the players have earned. You don't call timeout when its the 3rd quarter, it's a close game, and you don't like the way their defense looks. And you don't call a flea-flicker when you've got the advantage late in the game. YOU SHOW UP FOR A JANUARY GAME IN CHICAGO ATLEAST 3 DAYS BEFORE KICKOFF TO ACCLIMATE TO THE CONDITIONS. ESPECIALLY FOR THE NFC CHAMPIONSHIP!

Let's be realistic. He has not made the right decisions. Unless you like Jason David.

Re: Looking for a new head coach?
 

I think this is the year to make or break Payton. He doesn't right the ship this coming season with a great off season. Then and only then I'd say can him. You have to let him learn from his mistakes. You don't fire Cowher.

Re: Looking for a new head coach?
 

Way too early to talk about a new coach, but I do get what Frankee is saying. But, I don't think in this era teams can expect to always have winning seasons. The NFL is just too evenly matched these days. Still, with that said, Sean Payton needs to have a big season next year or he very well may be looking for another job.

Re: Looking for a new head coach?
 

I am telling you guys that the types of mistakes that Sean Payton made this year aren't the type of mistakes you can fix in the off season. He doesn't have "the feel". You can't teach or learn that. If you call timeouts in the 3rd quarter when the game is close you are second guessing your team's abilities and putting them at a disadvantage later in the game. Sean has done that consistently this year. I can never expect him to understand football the way I do for the one, most blatent miscalculation possible, at the biggest moment in Black & Gold History. HE SHOWED UP IN CHICAGO THE DAY BEFORE THE NFC CHAMPIONSHIP!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! What evidence do you people need? Sean Payton is an offensive coordinator! How many challenges has he won this year? How many challenges cost us momentum? Watch the games we lost. He cost us a lot more than he gained us. He needs to be supervised!

Re: Looking for a new head coach?
 

WHAT FOOTBALL COACH IN THEIR RIGHT MIND WOULD SAY THAT THEY WANTED THE NFC CHAMPIONSHIP GAME TO BE TREATED JUST LIKE ANY OTHER GAME?

Is that a competitive attitude or was that his wife's advice?

I don't mean to take cheap shots at the Payton family. I think they are wonderful people and they have done a lot of work for the city and the team. I tell my own family when they are screwing up. We need Sean Payton as an offensive coordinator. Sean can't have the final say in how are timeouts or challenges are spent. He needs to have his play calling under veto especially late in the games. The bottom line is we need better decisions on the field during a game. A head coach at this level cannot make this many dumb mistakes all year long and get away with it. Especially under the guise of an excuse like, "I was trying to get a spark". With the talent that we have, that kind of excuse makes me sick....blahhhhh

Re: Looking for a new head coach?
 

Last year Sean was coach of the year, everyone thought he was sent to N.O by God and now that he had a bad (only his second year) season some want him fired. (Doesn't make sense to me)
I just don't get it.

I guess the Bears fans want L. Smith fired too being he made it to the SB last year but didn't make the playoffs this season, I guess he needs to be fired also.
Other teams who might want their coach's fired, Denver, Carolina, Cincinnati, Houston, Minnesota, I could have missed a team but I'm sure the teams listed here will be firing their coaches. NOT

Re: Looking for a new head coach?
 

What head coach has ever walked into a club and turned it around in the first year? I would say that maybe they can turn it around within one year, but you wouldn't see the results for 2-4 years. Sean Payton walked into NO with all the talent there. Why don't the players get the credit for getting deep in the playoffs last year? Why does the rookie head coach deserve it? So now that we know what our team is capable of we let Sean screw it up? That's b.s. Sean is an incredible offensive coordinator, not a head coach. We can all be mad about it or deny it. The truth always reveals itself. I'm sad for the organization because I believe the truth was revealed at the end of our playoff run and this entire season. WATCH THE LOSSES! The truth is always there, but we usually see what we want or hope. I hope Benson isn't as hopeful or blind as 99% of Saint fans. Maybe our optimism is what has been keeping us out of the Super Bowl for our entire lives!

Re: Looking for a new head coach?
 

Wow.....7-9, and certain fans are already looking to fire one of the great young minds in football. Why dont we just slow down here, and maybe just see what happens at the end of next year.

I hate to say it, but Thomas could be the replacement for Duce on the team.
Bush will be back, and I hope that he will spend more with LT in the off season or Westbrook and pick up a few things from two "small backs" in the league that scare the hell out of most def in the NFL.

We are a team on the rise, and we stumbled a little this year after losing 4 games right off the bat. Henderson lack of improvement this year really hurt, and lets not forget that losing the motor of the offense in week 3 really hurt as well.

Re: Looking for a new head coach?
 

He is a great young mind. I don't want us to lose him. He has proved himself as an offensive coordinator. He has proved himself to not be a head coach.

CAN ANYONE GIVE ONE LOGICAL EXPLANATION FOR SHOWING UP FOR THE NFC CHAMPIONSHIP THE DAY BEFORE THE GAME IN CHICAGO? IS THAT A GREAT MIND AT WORK? WHAT THE ?>l:!#$%$!!!!!!!!!!

Re: Looking for a new head coach?
 

We've got the best opportunity the Saints have ever had. We should not be trying to develop a coach!

Re: Looking for a new head coach?
 

Great post SoulStar. it's positive, something we need to hear right now..
Thanks,
LTF

Re: Looking for a new head coach?
 

Lets see he was a coordinator for going on how many years 10-12 years? He's been a head coach for two! Once again, you just need to slow down...and see how things play out next year.

You have to learn to look at the bright side of things. For example the NFC South:

The Bucs:
QB is old, and the Def is old....they are going to have to hit a rebuilding point sooner than later.

The Panthers:
See the buc's.....and they are getting really close to rebuilding.

The Falcons:
The front office, problems....no QB, no clear vision on offense and def. It will be a good three or four years before they are back on track.

The saints are close to something speical right now in the NFC. Its a young team, with a great mind for a head coach. Our time will come, but dont be so quick to jump the gun.

Re: Looking for a new head coach?
 

Wow Euphoria has nothing on you. You've officially made it to the bottom of the totem pole in my book.

Re: Looking for a new head coach?
 

euph...i totally concur :D

Re: Looking for a new head coach?
 

12-31-2007 06:27 PM
abutler Re: Looking for a new head coach?

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CAN ANYONE GIVE ONE LOGICAL EXPLANATION FOR SHOWING UP FOR THE NFC CHAMPIONSHIP THE DAY BEFORE THE GAME IN CHICAGO? IS THAT A GREAT MIND AT WORK? WHAT THE ?>l:!#$%$!!!!!!!!!!
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I geuss you're bright football mind forgot that the reasons we lost the NFC Championship game (btw, remember the Saints were predicted to win no more than 6 games last year) were terrible o-line blocking, no run game, bad defense, and Drew's passes constantly being batted in the air.

WHAT FAN IN THEIR RIGHT MIND WOULD WANT TO FIRE A HEAD COACH A YEAR REMOVED FROM LEADING HIS TEAM IN HIS ROOKIE YEAR TO THE NFC CHAMPIONSHIP GAME WHEN THAT TEAM WENT 3-13 THE YEAR BEFORE HE TOOK OVER!?

Show some common sense and patience, people. Please.

Re: Looking for a new head coach?
 

With this thinking the Pats coach should have been fired at the end of last year. For failing to reach the SB last year.

Re: Looking for a new head coach?
 

Yes the only coaches who shouldn't be fired are Dungy and Belichik.
I want the best... sorry you all settle for less.
Don't make me lower my standards. No coach who is worth their weight should ever lose 9 games in a season with the talent we have. period.

Re: Looking for a new head coach?
 

I've had my hand in some SP bashing, especially on this site. That said, the man deserves another year, atleast.

I still want him as our coach, no matter how much bad things I've said about him. I think he's great - just someone needs to slap his hands and tell him "No!" when he gets too excited.

Re: Looking for a new head coach?
 

Agreed oldies. This is the same bunch that was signing his praise last year. can you say fickled?

Re: Looking for a new head coach?
 

Yes FICKLED. After next season then sure FIRE away.

Re: Looking for a new head coach?
 

I understand that we all believe we have an opportunity here. Can we remember that we have never had this opportunity before? Are we betting that we will have this kind of team in the future?
You must not be from here to bring up 3-13 the year before last. Katrina hit, remember?

What we have right now is an NFL dream offense. We need alot of help on defense. We saw 0 improvement from our defense from last year. We were exploited big time this year. Everyone knew our weakness. Why didn't we see improvement? Who dropped the ball?
Let's all be realists and not just optimists. I don't like getting people upset. I love the Saints and will always stomp and scream when I'm at Dome. Especially when the opposition is in the huddle.
Nobody has yet to explain why our coach showed up Saturday night for a Sunday Championship in Chicago. I don't think its explainable. It was the truth of our coach's lack of judgement revealed. And we're all seeing what we want...what we hope..still after another year of bad play calls, timeouts, and a self destructive search for some spark.
I love the Saints and believe in our team. We have a long history of mediocre coaches. Sean had his run, blew it, and did not improve the next year. We went backwards. I'm sorry but I've seen enough. That's just me.
I'll keep singing the songs supporting our team no matter what. I've been going through this for 20 years.

Re: Looking for a new head coach?
 

What talent??? I keep hearing people say this and I still don't see the talent that would carry us that far.

QB check
RB 1 Deuce Check
WR 1 Colston Check
PR/KR 1 Bush ok.
CB 1 MM

No on else is capable of leading the league in ANYTHING. So Where is the talent?
Most teams have 2-3 at other positions and at more positions. We got by and are getting by with what we got.

Re: Looking for a new head coach?
 

I have a friend who says he's a big LSU fan, when we lost to Kentucky he said that Miles should be fired and Flenn was a joke, later when he found out that we were going to play in the BCS Championship game he now wants to throw an LSU party at his house, I told him I have other plans.:p
Go Figure..

Re: Looking for a new head coach?
 

watch we get another coach, then he screws up worse... how would you act:rolleyes:

Re: Looking for a new head coach?
 

Gee Wiz in this quick fix I need to have it now society, we need to take a step back and wait. Have some patience. Can we not build instead of knock everything down

I believe in Coach Payton. Wait till 2008 you'll see.

Re: Looking for a new head coach?
 

Gee Wiz in this quick fix I need to have it now society, we need to take a step back and wait. Have some patience. Can we not build instead of knock everything down.

Roman wasn't build in a day, either were the PATRIOTS.

I believe in Coach Payton. Wait till 2008 you'll see.

Re: Looking for a new head coach?
 

When I see Sean starting to gut our team like Haz did then I will agree. But as long as he is moving forward with the team I have his back. This team despite it record is better than last years. I hate to be redundant. Offense is deeper and the defense has improved. despite all the injuries. We have learned that our WR are not as deep as we thought. So the Meachem pick makes more sense. RB is deeper than we thought and keeping PT was the right move. So all the moves did work but some are clear as day. Sean in his sophomore season has learned a lot. I doubt Drew will be going for the passing record again next year. Colston will have help at WR. Our secondary will be addressed and YOUNG WILL NOT BE THE LONE YOUNG CB ON THE ROSTER. So on and so on. I have faith in things changing again and once again all in the right direction. FORWARD

Re: Looking for a new head coach?
 

No way you fire payton now! he is a young coach! He is still learning, and the team is still learning how to win. did he make mistakes Yes, but the whole team made mistakes. This was a tough year, I expect many changes to be made and the roster to look vastly different next year! They now know that just because you make the nfc championship game one year that the playoffs aren't guaranteed the next! Its time to grind this offseason. Payton will learn! I feel the biggest mistake of last season was the draft! That is where the biggest improvement needs to come!

Re: Looking for a new head coach?
 

Life is about striving to improve. I like to be patient. I'm a Saints fan. I have seen bad basics from Sean Payton and that scares me. He is at too high a level in coaching to screw up the basics. Clock Management. How to use timeouts. Understanding Momentum. Knowing the climate of your championship! Give me a break!

Re: Looking for a new head coach?
 

Dude, you need to give that thing a freakin' rest. Every time you mention that, the more ridiculous it makes you sound because that is not why we lost that game. Get over it.

Re: Looking for a new head coach?
 

Now the supporting cast may need some adjustment. I am looking for a change in the secondary coaching to happen for sure.

Re: Looking for a new head coach?
 

young coaches,like young players make mistakes.yes,coaching errors cost several games.remember,coaching also won several games.lack of execution also lost several games.you have to let them develop.also,dwas he given the money to go after " PRIME TIME " players? we have one of the biggest cap spaces this year.let's see if it is used properly

Re: Looking for a new head coach?
 

Heavens and Stars! Fire Sean Payton? Please. He's not going anywhere. It remains to be seen if Payton is loyal to a fault like Haz was, and that might be his undoing here eventually, but he'll be here next year and probably the year after regardless of what happens next year. Deal with that. Embrace it. It's reality.

Re: Looking for a new head coach?
 

Payton has his faults. See my signature.

The biggest problem is the defense. If Payton wants to be a successful HC in this league, he has to understand that a solid defense is the foundation that you build elite teams upon. I just got off the phone with my brother, who incidentally will not be satisfied with any defense less than the 1991 Saints Dome Patrol, and pointed out 4 goals that the Saints defense needs to accomplish moving forward:

1. Stop the run (actually pretty good at that this past season)

2. Consistently shut down 3rd down (awful)

3. Do not give up the big play (really awful)

4. Generate turnovers (awful)

This is going to require all of Payton's attention and I fear that he may not be willing to give this area of the team the attention that it needs in order to be successful.

This is my issue with him as HC. He needs to coach the entire team, not just the offense.

SFIAH

Re: Looking for a new head coach?
 

Which matters not a single lick. Championships in the NFL are won on the defensive side of the ball. In the past 25 years the SB champion has been out of the top 10 in scoring defense exactly 2 times, the 1983 Raiders and the 2006 Colts. And the 2006 Colts played championship caliber defense during the playoff run and have continued into this season finishing with the #1 scoring defense in the NFL. In fact just looking over the stats 10 of 11 of the top scoring defenses this season are in the playoffs.

I was at the NFC championship game last January. The weather wasn't the problem. The problem was twofold: suspect defense and a lack of determination to run the ball against the Bears. As proven just last week, you can't win when you throw the ball 60 times a game.

BTW I would like to point out that without Payton, we don't have that special offense that you are crowing about. He's an essential component (along with Brees, Colston, and Bush) to making the thing go.

What's missing is that Jim Johnson, Monte Kiffen type assistant HC for defense that has complete control of the defense and the personnel and scheme to make it work.

Gibbs has had two years to make this defense work. It hasn't. I'd personally be calling Rex Ryan up on the phone trying to get him down here if it were me.

The problem is thinking that if you fire Payton, that magically someone who will take you to the promised land will appear in his place.

Sean Payton is the only coach in Saints history to lead them to the NFC championship game. He's shown me that he's willing to learn. Though I was disappointed with taking 4 cracks running the ball at Philly at the goal line and failing, at least he filling manned up and ran the ball. He's publically stated that the reverse at the end of the TB game was a mistake and that he wouldn't repeat it. His offense has run the ball more consistently and efficiently in the latter stages of the season.

All this points to me is that the guy is capable of adapting. That's a crucial element in being a successful HC in this league.

Let's forget about firing Payton and work on the real problem: How can we make this Saints defense capable enough to crack the top 10 in scoring? That's all. That's the only fix this team needs.

So get to work! :D

SFIAH