westbankdaze

Reading the latest article on WWL regarding Kromer's new interim position, there were several references to Sean Payton being a "ruthless general" on the sidelines. Contrast this with an earlier statement from Jerry Jones a couple of years ago that Payton was "sort of silly" so he never really felt that Payton could be the head coach of the cowboys. .

It's interesting to me that players feel comfortable to let their hair down now and laugh at times when it seems Payton did not allow this. I have always tried to understand what JJ thought was so silly about Payton. I get this caricature in my mind of someone who takes himself too seriously and that the giant banner hanging in the training facility is somewhat mocking of the head coach.

I was curious if anyone has any insight on Payton or different opinion.

Crusader

Well with the Cowboys he was an assistant and now he is the head coach. You have to act a little different when you are the top dog.

halloween 65

I THINK HE IS THE KIND OF COACH THAT CAN TAKE US TO THE PROMISE LAND TIME AND TIME AGAIN.

papz

Wasn't Jones "sort of" courting Payton years ago?

Jones and Payton knows each other on a personal level. If indeed he labeled Payton "sort of silly", I think it's judging his personality off the field. Because "sort of silly" and "never felt he could be the head coach of the Cowboys" makes zero to little sense.

Seer1

JJ thinks anyone who turns down one of his offers is silly.

SloMotion

I think Payton is the kind of coach who is able to convey the proper priorities to his players, ie "there's a time to play and there's a time to work", without alienating them and without having to brow-beat them ... he's able to find a good balance between being the player's friend and being a total hard-ass H/C so the players want to play for him.

Lastly, since his suspension, we've seen him playing the drums on stage and partying with college girls in the Caribbean, may seem silly to some, but what else is he supposed to do? Sit home & brood? Hell no! When life hands you lemons, make lemonade, dammit! He's showing his team you handle a loss or a setback in the NFL the same way.

What kind of coach is Payton? He's a General, he's a winner, he's a 'leader of men', he inspires his players to greatness ... and he's got just enough 'crazy' in him to let you know he's not all hard work & discipline either, .

lee909

Not sure i would listen to Jerry Jones assesment on coaches or players seeing as they have won,what is it now 1 playoff game since the mid 90`s

Tobias-Reiper

Best offense ever in the history of NFL.
2 NFCCG games.
1 Superbowl won.

That a lot of silly right there, JJ

Euphoria

If you heard stories out of camps you could see that he has a silly/humor side to him sure. Do your job and have fun with it.

SaintsBro

Well, in person he has a sense of humor that is very deadpan, with a lot of irony, and his sense of humor can be kind of biting, sarcastic or mocking in its tone. But he is really an extremely funny guy.

His humor is often very subtle and goes over people's heads. For example, his response about the allegations of a whistle coming from the Saints sideline last year (against the Titans I think it was?). Someone accused the Saints of blowing a whistle on the sidelines during plays; and Sean Payton earnestly deadpans his way through answering the question with the reporters, explaining the Whistle Monster to them...shows them a picture, gives the history of Whistle Monster, very deadpan, and it was absolutely hilarious. And he also made the person who asked the question or made the allegation look really stupid. The golfing with Parcells was comedy gold -- it was totally making fun of the whole situation with Goodell and with the owner's meeting, right there in Florida, and the Parcells-to-Saints non-story upstaged whatever message or story line the league wanted to put out there about the meetings.

He also uses a lot of motivational and inspirational tactics and techniques -- the baseball bats, the new slogans for each year, the motivational speakers he brings in to address the team. Some of this comes from the corporate world and business, outside of football, some of it from other places, and some of it is actually very "out there," a la Phil Jackson and his zen stuff. And I could see how somebody who wasn't into it, might think that stuff was "silly." But it works.