NEW ORLEANS — Sean Payton pops up from behind his office desk at the New Orleans Saints headquarters to retrieve a book from his coffee table. It's a gift from his quarterback, Drew Brees, titled 212: The Extra Degree. The inscription underscores the bond between the coach and his quarterback.
Brees gave Payton the book when training camp began last summer to thank the coach for convincing him to come in March 2006 to this Hurricane Katrina-ravaged city and become on-field leader of a lost franchise. The Saints went 63-97 from 1996 to 2005.
His thank-you reads in part: You are the reason that I am here and I appreciate that every day. … I want to win a championship for you.
"That (inscription) re-energizes what you do as a coach and teacher," Payton says. "At 211 degrees, water is just scalding hot. But at 212, it boils. It's the significance of one extra degree. Everything about Drew's preparation is about that extra degree."