Sep 14th 2008 5:35PM by Tom Mantzouranis (author feed)
Filed under: Saints, NFC South
You couldn’t tell by the pitiful performance the Saints put up against the Redskins today, but this is actually a well-coached team. And the Saints put their faith in their leader earlier today when they announced the extension of Sean Payton’s contract for another three years, through 2012.
Payton’s in the third year of a four-year deal, and the Saints tacked on the extra years with an apparent raise, though the dollar amount of the contract hasn’t been announced.
It’s not surprising that the Saints extended Payton. Though his overall record (18-16 with a 1-1 playoff mark) doesn’t seem incredibly impressive, Payton has changed the culture in New Orleans and given the team a new attitude after 40 mostly stagnant years. He took hem to the NFC Championship game in 2006, the farthest the franchise had ever gone, and won Coach of the Year in the same season. He’s also made them an elite offense and is building a promising core on defense, factoring heavily in all personnel moves. Not to be understated, he’s also served as an excellent ambassador and public figure in post-Katrina New Orleans.
Besides that, the Saints are very coach-friendly, looking to give their leaders the benefit of the doubt. They’ve been looking for a guy they can keep for the long haul like Mike Shanahan in Denver and Bill Cowher in Pittsburgh, but struck out on Mike Ditka and Jim Haslett. They’re very confident they’ve got that guy now in Payton. Of course, fortunes change on a dime in the NFL, and another couple of sub-.500 seasons can change things drastically.
