Was the Saints' Front Office (e.g., Loomis) Fleeced on the Sean Payton Trade?
They thought
they thought they were the reason why we had won for all of those years. Sean was forced out. So would it be surprising that they undervalued him in a trade ? No that would not be surprising
Was he forced out? How do we know that? Seemed just as likely he could see the cupboard was bare and fortunes about to change and it was time to go. He was under contract..
Payton is a great OC/QB coach. As a head coach he has the right demeanor to command the room and provide the “leadership” element that motivates the organization. Exactly the thing Dennis Allen does not have.
As a HC and defacto football GM though, Payton was far from perfect. With responsibility across all 3 phases he made a lot of poor decisions over the years that undermined overall team success, apart from his work with the offense.
Bad personnel decisions. Bad management of staff and hires, mainly on the defensive side, with relationships with DCs. Defenses were unbelievably awful until Allen stabilized things in 2017 and that was a key reason this team didn’t win more with Brees in his prime.
Payton will be remembered for his offensive achievements with Brees but it should be remembered that at the same time he fielded these potent offenses he managed to have a run of defenses that were pretty close to the absolute worst ever seen on an NFL field.
No mean achievement.
So, Payton’s arrogance did undermine him and offset his talent with the offense. You have to back up and grade him on overall team outcomes, and with that lens he did a lot less than he should have with Brees.
That said, if he mellows and you pair him with a good DC to run that part of the game, and you keep him on track with personnel you can be sure he’s going to get the most out of your offense.