Saints Sean Payton opens up about why he left the Saints (merged) (2 Viewers)

[Bourbon]

It’s an unpopular opinion, but Gayle is a weak owner and we’ve been dragged ever since Tom was not in control.

As much as I hate it, they might as well move the team. We’ll never even sniff another Super Bowl.

 

[Que Que 6]

Taking shots at Gayle. Basically saying she doesn’t have the teeth of the Denver owner. Also, saying the city of New Orleans is not one the NFL wants to see be successful. If that’s all true, then wow, we as Saints fans are truly wasting our time. I thought Payton brought respect to the Saints but the undertone here is that he got tired, gave up, and went over to the wealthy owner.

I thought that we all knew this the day he left. But this place was teeming with left-at-the-altar brides/grooms.

 

[Saint Jack]

It’s an unpopular opinion, but Gayle is a weak owner and we’ve been dragged ever since Tom was not in control.

As much as I hate it, they might as well move the team. We’ll never even sniff another Super Bowl.

They just renovated the Dome along with a naming rights agreement with Caesars for two decades.
The team ain’t leaving.

 

[Randy Jones]

I think KC is larger market than NO. KC has about twice the population.

Smallest market is Green Bay 320K, Buffalo 884K, Jacksonville and Pittsburgh at 970K, NO at 1.26 mil, Nashville at 1.3 mil and Cleveland and Cincinnati at 1.7 mill. All other teams metro area are 2 million+. They'll always want the BigEasy for pro football because its such a great destination city for the SB.

 

[Randy Jones]

It’s an unpopular opinion, but Gayle is a weak owner and we’ve been dragged ever since Tom was not in control.

As much as I hate it, they might as well move the team. We’ll never even sniff another Super Bowl.

You are not convincing in regarding to Mrs Benson. If you have some priviledged insight into her character, please share.

 

[Saint Jack]

Smallest market is Green Bay 320K, Buffalo 884K, Jacksonville and Pittsburgh at 970K, NO at 1.26 mil, Nashville at 1.3 mil and Cleveland and Cincinnati at 1.7 mill. All other teams metro area are 2 million+. They'll always want the BigEasy for pro football because its such a great destination city for the SB.

This goes into my overall point and why I can’t go with the entire “The League hates NOLA/small market” theory.
This isn’t the NBA. Market size doesn’t matter.
If this was the NBA, Adam Silver would be pulling every trick to get Reid and Mahomes out of flyover country.
It’s shown that TV ratings are not effected when a small market team is in the playoffs compared to the NBA.
In the NBA, there is a definite drop when the Pelicans, Grizzles, and Kings are playing compared to the Lakers.

 

[Randy Jones]

This goes into my overall point and why I can’t go with the entire “The League hates NOLA/small market” theory.
This isn’t the NBA. Market size doesn’t matter.
If this was the NBA, Adam Silver would be pulling every trick to get Reid and Mahomes out of flyover country.
It’s shown that TV ratings are not effected when a small market team is in the playoffs compared to the NBA.
In the NBA, there is a definite drop when the Pelicans, Grizzles, and Kings are playing compared to the Lakers.

Indeed, New Orleans metro population is still only at 93% of pre Katrina, but it has been steadily recovering.

 

[dutar76]

Nobody cares

Yes. NFL has a bulletproof built in damage control.... the other 31 teams' fans. Just like in politics. Overwhelming ridicule for the person or idea you want to erase.

 

[HouseCall]

It’s an unpopular opinion, but Gayle is a weak owner and we’ve been dragged ever since Tom was not in control.

As much as I hate it, they might as well move the team. We’ll never even sniff another Super Bowl.

Let’s talk weak -

Tom Benson moved as swiftly as he could in 2005 to secure a tentative deal with San Antonio in an effort to relocate the team in the IMMEDIATE aftermath of Hurricane Katrina.

It was not until then-commissioner Paul Tagliabue stepped in and prevented what would have been an absolutely gutting “business decision”.

Let’s jump the clock ahead to 2012.

Tom Benson essentially sat on his hands while current commissioner Roger Goodell scapegoated his franchise in an effort to take heat off of the league for their woeful treatment of head injuries and long term health problems for ex-players.

Tom sat and let Gooddell make a mockery of his franchise - all because he couldn’t risk upsetting that golden goose that was dropping millions of dollars in his pocket every year in revenue shares.

Tom Benson, for many years was grooming his granddaughter to be the heir/ owner of the franchise. Rita Benson wasn’t fit to own a Jiffy Lube - much less an NFL team. Tom’s succession plan was to leave the team to someone who had zero ties to Louisiana and had countless business dealings in San Antonio and other parts of Texas.

It was Gayle who protected the franchise from Tom’s poor decision. It was Gayle who took a much larger role in the franchise in an effort to protect Tom’s eroding legacy and to protect the fans and the franchise from Rita as Tom’s health faded.

Tom kept the Saints from leaving in 1985 - and for that he will always be an important figure in Saints history - but I will never forget him putting business over humanity in 2005. I forgive - but I refuse to forget.

Gayle has been everything you could ever want in an owner these far. I think the response of former and current players to her and the Saints franchise as a whole speaks volumes about her.

 

[DSnfla]

Pretty much the same thing he said when he gave his final presser here. He knew that he was going to coach again somewhere. But he also knew that he couldn't just ask for a year or two off and then come back to reclaim his job here. If he couldn't muster up the energy & excitement to coach here, then it's best that he is gone and starting over with a new team. It's all about desire. Whether player or coach, if the desire isn't there, it's time to move on.

If I remember it was reported that he was offered a yr off and said no

 

[RJ in Lafayette]

I have read many of the replies on this long thread, and it is difficult to respond without reading the article, which I have not done.

My first response is why would Payton be so foolish to make the comments that appear in the article (and his other comments about the Jets' offensive coordinator who was Denver's head coach last year). The only answer is arrogance.

This is what I think:

1. The NFL was right to penalize the Saints for Bountygate, but because of the ongoing class-action head-injury lawsuit, the league inflated and misrepresented what the Saints did and imposed an absurdly harsh penalty. I want to say that before Bountygate occurred, the NFL warned the Saints and other teams about bounties, and the Saints ignored the warning, which, if true, would explain in part the league's strong response. But with the ongoing class action litigation, the Bountygate allegations presented the league both with public-relations and legal challenges and with an ideal scapegoat.

2. I do not believe in conspiracies as the reason for bad officiating against the Saints. It would be impossible to keep such conspiracies quiet. And as I have said on other occasions, the disclosure of a league conspiracy to rig officiating against a particular team would be devastating to the NFL's business model and the valuation of the 32 NFL franchises. The statistical data that the Saints were so heavily penalized for so many years must be taken seriously. The only explanation I can offer is that Payton's actions and comments regarding officials angered some officials and affected their calls.

3. The NFL did put Payton on the league's competition committee, and Payton resigned. I understand the old Lyndon Johnson adage about you would rather have someone inside the tent urinating outside it than someone outside the tent urinating in it. But my point is that as a member of the committee, Payton could have raised some issues he wanted raised, if he had done so with tact and diplomacy.

4. I was at the 2018 NFL championship game. The no-call was horrendous. The the career of the official who decided not to call a penalty should have been adversely affected in some way. But overall, the game was superbly officiated, my memory is that there were few penalties against the Saints, and there was a close pass interference penalty called against the Rams in overtime, which would not have been called had there been a grand conspiracy against the Saints.

And regarding that game, the Saints would have won had they stopped the Rams in the last two minutes, they would have won had they scored a touchdown in overtime, and they could have won had they stopped the Rams in overtime after the Brees interception.

5. Gayle Benson is not a powerful owner in the league like Jerry Jones and Bob Kraft. But she seems a team player, and I would think she is better liked in league circles than her late husband, who had very rough edges. In short, I do not think the league is trying to take advantage of her.

 

[Saint Jack]

Smallest market is Green Bay 320K, Buffalo 884K, Jacksonville and Pittsburgh at 970K, NO at 1.26 mil, Nashville at 1.3 mil and Cleveland and Cincinnati at 1.7 mill. All other teams metro area are 2 million+. They'll always want the BigEasy for pro football because its such a great destination city for the SB.

Also, the Saints are one of those franchises that have a home fanbase that spreads multiple cities. From Louisiana to probably the middle of Alabama.
You add all that up, it’s a good size market.

 

[mccombmike]

It’s an unpopular opinion, but Gayle is a weak owner and we’ve been dragged ever since Tom was not in control.

As much as I hate it, they might as well move the team. We’ll never even sniff another Super Bowl.

Super Bowl wins are great, but that isn’t the end-all. If it were, 75% of Major League Baseball teams would be gone.

I want to see another SB win, but I’m happy when the Saints are good. That’s the fun of sports. Good football and an occasional deep playoff run is good enough for me.

 

[SigFreudianSlip]

Made me chuckle. The Loomis quote.

 

[Bill]

I have read many of the replies on this long thread, and it is difficult to respond without reading the article, which I have not done.

My first response is why would Payton be so foolish to make the comments that appear in the article (and his other comments about the Jets' offensive coordinator who was Denver's head coach last year). The only answer is arrogance.

This is what I think:

1. The NFL was right to penalize the Saints for Bountygate, but because of the ongoing class-action head-injury lawsuit, the league inflated and misrepresented what the Saints did and imposed an absurdly harsh penalty. I want to say that before Bountygate occurred, the NFL warned the Saints and other teams about bounties, and the Saints ignored the warning, which, if true, would explain in part the league's strong response. But with the ongoing class action litigation, the Bountygate allegations presented the league both with public-relations and legal challenges and with an ideal scapegoat.

2. I do not believe in conspiracies as the reason for bad officiating against the Saints. It would be impossible to keep such conspiracies quiet. And as I have said on other occasions, the disclosure of a league conspiracy to rig officiating against a particular team would be devastating to the NFL's business model and the valuation of the 32 NFL franchises. The statistical data that the Saints were so heavily penalized for so many years must be taken seriously. The only explanation I can offer is that Payton's actions and comments regarding officials angered some officials and affected their calls.

3. The NFL did put Payton on the league's competition committee, and Payton resigned. I understand the old Lyndon Johnson adage about you would rather have someone inside the tent urinating outside it than someone outside the tent urinating in it. But my point is that as a member of the committee, Payton could have raised some issues he wanted raised, if he had done so with tact and diplomacy.

4. I was at the 2018 NFL championship game. The no-call was horrendous. The the career of the official who decided not to call a penalty should have been adversely affected in some way. But overall, the game was superbly officiated, my memory is that there were few penalties against the Saints, and there was a close pass interference penalty called against the Rams in overtime, which would not have been called had there been a grand conspiracy against the Saints.

And regarding that game, the Saints would have won had they stopped the Rams in the last two minutes, they would have won had they scored a touchdown in overtime, and they could have won had they stopped the Rams in overtime after the Brees interception.

5. Gayle Benson is not a powerful owner in the league like Jerry Jones and Bob Kraft. But she seems a team player, and I would think she is better liked in league circles than her late husband, who had very rough edges. In short, I do not think the league is trying to take advantage of her.

You make far too much sense for the conspiracy mongers around here.
Gary Cavaletto officiated his last NFL game less than two years after missing that infraction.