SmashMouth

When Black Monday arrived this week in the NFL, there was an expectation of familiar postseason sequels. The spate of team-breaking dramas was projected to break down like this: the coach and the general manager wouldn't make it work, media camps would've highlighted the team's divide further with a volley of sniping leaks and finally, ownership would've called a news conference to explain why someone had to be set adrift.


We've seen this plot before, and it doesn't always stimulate success. Look no further than the San Francisco 49ers, who went to the mattresses on Jim Harbaugh at the end of the 2014 season, retained general manager Trent Baalke and rewarded assistant coach Jim Tomsula with the head job and a $14 million deal. One year (and five wins) later, Tomsula is fired, the onetime franchise quarterback (Colin Kaepernick) is potentially on his way out the door and team owner Jed York is essentially standing in the middle of it all, admitting his own culpability.

You can bet the New Orleans Saints and Indianapolis Colts took note. And you can certainly bet that what happened in San Francisco made owners like the Saints' Tom Benson and Colts' Jim Irsay motivated to make their current situations work. As one league source put it just minutes before Payton's news conference to announce he'll remain with the team: "The Saints are doing the smart thing. They know it's hard to find really good coaches. When you've got one, you figure it out."

San Francisco didn't and paid a price. That has become food for thought for relationships elsewhere.

The Saints and Colts didn't travel the easy route. Sometimes it's harder to take a situation that's imperfect (see: Payton and general manager Mickey Loomis with the Saints) or downright uncomfortable (see: coach Chuck Pagano and general manager Ryan Grigson with the Colts) and not blow it up.

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