Yup. I was just thinking this same thing last night after reading the pages and pages of howling for McMahon's head over on SR.

But there is some value in having someone around you, who knew you way back "before you were famous". ... I am sure that McMahon can probably give Payton unvarnished advice and private feedback on lots of things, that other coaches maybe wouldn't or couldn't say.

Different arena, but John Lennon of the Beatles had a guy named Pete Shotton who was his school buddy, who remained on the Beatles "payroll" all the way until the late '70s. He was not the greatest roadie or guitar tuner or coffee fetcher ever, but he could give advice and tell Lennon or Paul McCartney when he was making a big mistake or was full of s---t, or if that new song they were writing sucked. And that's important in a job like Payton's.

Lastly, jeanpierre probably remembers this....in '09 just before the Super Bowl run, our special teams looked really dismal for a stretch. There was the missed field goal in OT in the Bucs game, and some other stuff...I think the Bucs returned a punt, penalties, they looked bad in the Cowboys game, I don't remember what.

And Sean Payton said on that Monday or Tuesday, that he was going to PERSONALLY intervene and fix the special teams. (I remember this quote vividly because I was home from work sick that week, and watched the presser on a laptop with headphones. He said he would PERSONALLY look into it.)

So you know Payton went into the film room with McMahon and burned the midnight oil, he drew some stuff up with the X's and O's, went over it all with him, gave it his personal focused attention...the end result was Reggie went crazy the next week on punt returns in the Cardinals game, Pierre Thomas returned the opening kickoff in overtime against Minnesota to set up the great field position for the field goal drive, Hartley was money all through the NFC Championship game and Super Bowl, then you had Ambush.....

...so I am sure that once Payton gives McMahon some help and focus, it will light a fire there. The part of the season where Payton gets mad at McMahon is always the best part.