Devastated (1 Viewer)

[stooge]

l just cannot see how the Denver job is any better than what he had here

Who said it was? Maybe he needed a year off. Maybe he needed a new challenge. It’s not personal.

 

[sainthood]

Sean got married. Brees retired. Sean was trying to get to Miami with Brady. It was time. The man did not owe the Saints a thing. He gave this franchise and fan base more than any coach ever has and he can do as he wishes. I don't care the reason. I respect how respectful he has been of the Saints front office throughout this process and it never got ugly publicly. We got something and just need to man up and rebuild this thing and find a quarterback and a leader for our offense. Dennis Allen is not an offensive leader. Pete Carmichael is an assistant not a coordinator. For some mysterious reason Winston never got his starting spot back. Many of us are befuddled, fed up, frustrated, and flat out miss Sean Payton to fill the gap of that frustration because we assume Sean would have done a much better job of answering these offensive question on the Saints. He's gone. We regroup. We are in a terrible division and can live the illusion in a weak NFC. We need some luck with the QB and to clean up the salary cap. This is not a quick fix. We had our run and got one SB and many highs. Enjoy that. My childhood was Mora and Ditka, and I remember jumping my head into my celing fan when Aikeem dropped the ball. It was our first playoff victory and I cried in joy. That is where we've been. We are not coming out of the Ditka muck. So carry on soldiers of sainthood. Our owner wants to keep the team in NO. Our stadium is decent. But it's time to rebuild and persevere.

 

[MarylandWHODAT]

I am in the process of digesting it and making peace with it. Yes, a golden era died in New Orleans yesterday as any shred of hope of Payton returning ended. We are in the mourning phase right now. Dennis Allen and company need to lose the whole false idea of continuing the Payton culture because it is gone and in Denver now. The Saints have to build a new identity, a new culture and a new everything i.e. intro music, routines, practices, etc. Something to shed the old and usher in a new. Granted, that new with Dennis Allen looks extremely bleak. So, I am coming to terms with the fact that, arguably, we have seen the best the New Orleans Saints had to offer us and it will never happen again. And I am thankful I was able to witness and partake in it.

Now for you conspiracy theorists, the NFL is currently writing the script for four years from now: Sean Payton and the Denver Broncos take on the New Orleans Saints in Super Bowl LXI as the old coach takes on his old team at SoFi Stadium.

 

[saint_drago]

I'm thrilled with removing this distraction. He quit on the organization and yet we received compensation that should be 2 very good players if drafted appropriately.

Seriously, what did SP accomplish without a future HOF QB? Really nothing!

Sure, it can stated that it went hand in hand; i.e., SP made Brees great and Brees made SP a very good coach. SP is going to struggle in a division with Mahomes and Herbert.

All is not lost...We'll be just fine.

This. All is not lost. With or without Sean Payton this team wasn't going to be a championship contender any time soon. SP knew that so he bailed. He didn't want to rebuild the Saints for the second time. Really for the third time because there was a soft reboot around 2017 after going 7-9 in four of the previous five seasons. It took one of the greatest drafts of all time to get that thing turned around.

People forget about those 7-9 and 8-8 seasons. Sean Payton had 9 years above .500 and 5 years at or below .500 with Drew Brees, the most prolific passer in the history of the sport. Consider this, in the 18 years that Bill Belichick had Tom Brady for a full season he had exactly one year without double digit wins and that was in 2002 when they only reached 9 wins. Aside from that one year with 9 wins the Patriots averaged 12 wins a year.

 

[sfidc3]

Good things don't last forever, I'm the first in line that hoped he would come back to the Saints but he spent 16 years here....and I'm thankful for all of them. Will always have great memories of CSP Saints....

When I was a kid throughout the 70's - early 80's the Saints were pretty terrible....My sons grew up with the CSP Saints for the most part and saw some of the best Saints teams in history, for that I'm very thankful.....

I wish him well as long as we aren't playing the Broncos....

 

[Mad Max2]

it’s just surprising that it is setting in right now. I think most people recognized that Payton was gone immediately at his retirement. Many thought he’d comeback but very few thought it’d be to the Saints. So most Saints fans are in the acceptance phase of grief at this point…the OP looks like he/she was completely blindsided. It’s not a criticism of the OP…clearly he/she was holding onto hope. But that’s why people are a bit confused

Good summary and I would add it is very much like going through a breakup and you know the relationship is over, then months later you find out they are dating someone else and it hurts. Even though you know it is over, it hurts to know they are now with someone else. Secondly, this wouldn't feel nearly as bad if there was any sense of optimism for this team. This season was a huge disappointment and we are now in cap hell. The roster will be less talented next year. Kind of like LSU fans with Saban. Now we get to watch Denver turn it around over night while we get to look forward to year after next.

 

[los226]

Maybe CSP WAS the friction and the organization got tired of putting up with it. Vicodingate, bountygate he got suspended for, flirting with other teams without permission, putting up with shirt calls against our club because of his friction with Goodell and they finally said enough is enough. If they fire him we get squat. They forced him to “retire” to save face and protect his value so we could get something for him.

Idk… It seems like they didn’t want him to leave in the first place. Gayle and Loomis said that they told him to take a week away to think about it before he ultimately made his decision. They even offered to let him take the 2022 season off and come back for 2023.

I’m thinking that it’s as we all suspected from the get go. Payton wasn’t planning to stay much longer past Brees. Brees told people close to him that he was most likely retiring after the 2019 season. That was the first offseason that Payton tried to get traded and leave the organization. Brees came back for 2020 and Payton coached one more season after Brees retired.

 

[MV2]

Man some of yall are emotional.

 

[strandedsaint]

I'll be honest, a piece of me died today. I don't understand why Sean Payton would leave the New Orleans Saints. Sean meant more to the New Orleans Saints than Bill Parcells ever meant to any organization. This is our Bill Walsh walking out the door to coach another team. There must have been some serious friction at the top levels of the organization. My guess is Payton got left out of ownership talks for the Saints or he knew something was something where he would no longer grow with that company. In my opinion, Gayle and Mickey made a MAJOR mistake by letting Payton go for two 2nd rounders. I am sure that entire locker room was hopeful that somehow or someway Sean would come back. Now he's gone, and this era of the New Orleans Saints is officially over. I'm all about change but this was a mistake. Look at Mike Tomlin, and these other franchises, they'd never get played the way Sean just did to the Saints.

Dennis Allen is not the answer. What a terrible mistake.

I too am greatly disappointed. I had some inside news from a family member inside the circle that as of christmas day he was coming back. They love DA but not as HC, so this may not be over yet. I think that Mickey and Gayle maybe as shocked as we are right now.

 

[natedog]

I'm indifferent, the guy was paid handsomely to do what he loves as a profession. He guided us as fans to a SB win, thanks ! . .. but I think I would have been more hurt had Brees went to another team. A Coach leaving, meh, he's just a figurehead. And he left the year before last. . . I glad we received comp and we have a future with some solid players and now a 1st round pick to work with, anything can happen that gets us right back in the playoff hunt.

 

[onanygivensunday]

I wish him well as long as we aren't playing the Broncos....

And that, my good friends, will happen in 2024, when the NFCS and the AFCW play one another.

 

[SaintsMan209]

I listened to this song on the way to work today and it helped: