Unique coaching style makes Saints' Payton a success

MIAMI -- His players say New Orleans Saints coach Sean Payton is nuts on the sideline.

How nuts?

Drew Brees and the Saints offense excel under Sean Payton. (US Presswire)

"He cuts guys every game," said one player. "He'll curse them out and tell them he'll cut them on Monday."

Grunts, not stars, you mean?

"No, everybody," the player said.

It rarely ends up that way, but that sideline threat can get a player's attention. Payton's aggression is part of what makes him such a good coach. He isn't afraid of anything. He isn't afraid of failure, which is why he can be such a daring play-caller for the Saints' explosive offense.

But that aggression can sometimes boil over on game days, pent-up frustration that pops the top off like an overloaded pot of popcorn on your hot stove.

Saints defensive end Bobby McCray had two major late-hit penalties in the victory over the Minnesota Vikings in the NFC Championship Game. After the second one, Payton let him have it.

"He was pretty amped up after I got my penalties," McCray said. "I didn't get in any words in. You kind of just listen."

And the F-bombs?

"I quit counting them and just kind of went to the bench," McCray said.

It's amazing that a coach who can be such a loose cannon during games can be so structured in what he does leading up them. Payton is as detail-oriented a coach as there is in the game.

He believes in a structure and the Saints adhere to it, a big part of why they are playing in Super Bowl XLIV on Sunday against the Indianapolis Colts. His belief in structure was part of the reason why he opted to have the Saints practice here on Monday when they arrived, rather than back home at the facility before they flew to South Florida, which is what most teams do.

That same structure is seen in his offense, which is where Payton truly excels. If there is a better play-caller in football, I would like to see him.

Quarterback Drew Brees gets a lot of credit for the Saints offense, and rightfully so, but he truly benefits by calling the plays diagrammed and sent in by Payton.

Most of the time -- the victory over the Vikings was an exception -- Payton plays with the throttle open, one of the few coaches who isn't afraid to be challenged by his pass-first offense.

"That offense is really helped by the coordinator," Jets cornerback Darrelle Revis said. "Whoever that is."

It's Peter Carmichael in title, but it's really Payton.

"My hat's off to him then," Revis said.

It's hard to argue with the success. The Saints were one of only two teams that finished ranked in the top 10 in both rushing and passing this season. But make no mistake about it: This is a passing team.

"Sean has a great offensive mind and he has the tendency to put us all in great situations and to take advantage of our strengths," receiver Marques Colston said. "It is all in the game plan and you are always excited because you know you are going to have a chance to be successful."

Throwing the football is the Payton way. He doesn't have disdain for the run like some would make you think. He's just smart enough to know that you win by throwing in the modern NFL. That is why Brees has averaged 4,500 passing yards and 30 touchdowns the past four seasons under Payton.

It's the reason his team is one game from winning a title for the first time. But to have success throwing the ball, you have to be precise. You have to make sure all the little things are taken care of -- or else.

"He's very detailed," general manager Mickey Loomis said. "I've said this before: One of the things that you have access to is these interview tapes that the league makes. They do it with a number of assistant coaches around the league. They do it with the rookies, as well. It's a half-hour interview. He was telling a story about when he first got into coaching. He was talking about the breakfast that he had eight years ago, and he knew exactly what he had for breakfast.

"If he could remember exactly what he had for breakfast eight years before, then I knew he was detailed because I can't remember what I had for breakfast yesterday. That was impressive."

Payton's coaching career began when his playing career ended. After playing at Eastern Illinois, he spent time playing in England, yes, England, and was a replacement player for the Chicago Bears during the 1987 NFL players strike.

Yes, he was a scab.

Some will say that should be held against him. I say it's a sign of his desire to be a part of the league, a sign he will do whatever it takes, just like he does now as a coach.

You do what you have to do.

"That first year out, I was up in Canada, back here in Chicago and then over in England," Payton said. "Ultimately, when you're only spending about 20 to 21 days per stop, then you're quickly thinking about what you're going to do next. I think that first year out of college, I knew I wanted to coach, and I certainly was grateful for the experience of the tryouts and the workouts. It was clear that I was going to have to get into this profession in a different area."

Payton the quarterback wasn't going to make it. Payton the coach certainly has.

Payton uses a lot of motivational tricks to inspire his players as part of an act. Some are hokey, some funny and some flat-out nasty. The baseball bats he handed out this season for what he called the "bat games" went over well with his players. Some others maybe not so much. That stuff is way overrated, but Payton for some reason is big on it.

Where he has his team now, it's hard to argue.

"He does do a lot of that and we do respond to it," tackle Jon Stinchcomb said. "There are all kinds he uses. They do seem to work."

But it's his fiery style that seems to get his team's attention the most -- especially on the sideline during games.

"You get out of his way," McCray said. "He's going to let you know what you're doing wrong, that's for sure. It's always fix it, or he'll fix it for you."

Or maybe he'll threaten you with being cut -- even if you're a starter, as strange as that may seem.