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Does Sean Payton have another ambush up his coaching sleeve? The man who famously unleashed the second-half onside kick in Super Bowl XLIV appears to be planning another surprise attack.



Michael DeMocker/The Times-Picayune
A golf cart stops to watch during training camp in Oxnard, California on Tuesday.
This time, though, the unsuspecting victims could be the Dallas Cowboys, not the Indianapolis Colts. And instead of a possession, Payton would like to steal the prized site where the Cowboys have held training camp for five of the past 11 years.
The Battle of Oxnard is about to be waged.
Nothing has been officially announced but rest assured a plan is in the works. If Payton has his way, the New Orleans Saints will hold training camp in Oxnard again in some form or fashion very soon, perhaps as early as next season.
"Coach Payton told me his goal is to have a longer term agreement with Oxnard to come here," said Michael Henderson, general services manager for the city of Oxnard and the point man for negotiations on such matters. "I said, 'We are certainly interested in that, too.'"
The Cowboys, though, might have something to say about that -- as might the state of Louisiana.
The Cowboys have a long history of conducting training camp in the Oxnard area. They trained in nearby Thousand Oaks for decades and have held camp in Oxnard off and on for the better part of the past decade. Their last stint in southern California was 2008. Since then, they've trained in San Antonio, but their contract has expired and Cowboys owner Jerry Jones told ESPN Dallas on Tuesday that he'd like to continue splitting camp between Texas and California in the future.
"We've always kept a dialogue with Oxnard," Jones said Tuesday. "That's the best thing to say there. ... I don't have a timetable, and there's no timetable. We'll just continue to talk with San Antonio and Oxnard, as well. That's where it is."
Henderson said he has not heard from the Cowboys since the Saints' interest in the city became public. He said residents in the area have long been loyal to "America's Team" but have quickly become enamored with the Saints.
Henderson knows a thing or two about Louisiana. He's a Baton Rouge native and has deep family ties to New Orleans.
"From our side, I think our city council would be more than happy to have the Saints here," Henderson said.
Could a Battle of Oxnard between the rival organizations be looming?

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Crusader

If it pisses the Cowboys off its a good thing!

strato

Championship!

homerj07

They do need out of the heat & California is one of the few places you get that

st thomas

that looks like place i'd like to visit. its not that far from los angeles. anyone been there saintfan u checking up on our boys out there. san fan is a long way from there to?

xan

I guess the coaching staff doesn't like the public attention or attendance that accrues while training in Louisiana.

However, it does get players acclimated to road game situations. At least half he season is spent on the road.

skymike

I think Mississippi deserves some love, for their hospitality in Jackson.
We trained at Milsaps and had a pretty darn good year.

QBREES9

I was going to say the same thing Skymike. Go back to Milsaps. They did have a good year that year, didn't they.

skymike

And I dont know what training camp in Metairie is like, (weird, because I go to New Orleans all the time) but at Milsaps it was a fans dream. It was like, for lack of a better term, a petting zoo for fans.

I dont mean that in a bad way at all. I mean, you were there, right on top of them, just back away enough to not interfere. And they're our
boys, so we're not going to mess up their practice anyway. But you are
right there, where you can tell em you love em. And if I were running my
guts out in the heat, I wouldnt mind someone shouting encouraging words
to me.

It must have been something for the players to be in Mississippi, and discover that a whole bunch of people (and remember, we hadnt won jack crap yet, in fact we were coming off of 3-13 the 1st year) in another state show up and love em to death. (Sure, you and I know MS has always been Saints country, but these are younguns right out of college.)

And then afterward, they're all up against the rope signing autographs, taking pictures, and chatting with fans. I'm not much of an autograph
dog, but hell yeah, I'm gonna get close to my boys when I get a chance like that. We saw PT up close before anyone knew who he was. I think
he was as excited to be there, as we were to be up close to him.

So yeah, Milsaps was a fans petting zoo. It was like being a kid on a
farm for us, and seemed to make TC a little less hell for the players.

Much love to Mississippi Saints Fans.

Saint_LB

I just hope they don't get too use to it...especially the Bensons.

Could you imagine what he could sell this franchise to LA for? It would be over a billion, IMO.

I know that's not gonna happen...just thinkin' out loud.