Sean Payton gives huge praise to one part of the Saints' organization
The New Orleans Saints and fans will miss Sean Payton, for the most part. He brought the franchise out of a dark place when the city needed it most. He helped the community in so many ways and was a staple of the city. He brought a championship to the town and made the Saints […]
The New Orleans Saints and fans will miss Sean Payton, for the most part. He brought the franchise out of a dark place when the city needed it most. He helped the community in so many ways and was a staple of the city.
He brought a championship to the town and made the Saints known as an organization that wins, a lot. And, while it is very sad to say for most people, he is now gone.
But, he did leave the Saints with some good on the way out, getting them a first-round pick this season, and a future pick. He didn't leave them empty-handed. Not only that, but he shared some compliments and praise for the Saints during his introductory presser.
He mentioned his former job, a ton actually, but one thing that really stood out to me was the one thing he said about the people that worked above him.
"I said it pretty clearly, ownership was important to me," Payton said on Monday. "I had been exposed to a great ownership group in New Orleans and I think it's appropriate for me to thank Mrs. Benson. Obviously her late husband, Tom Benson was the owner when I first arrived there, and then the general manager, Mickey Loomis, so what I knew for 16 years was functional.
"It wasn't easy, but it was functional and it was supportive and it was respectful and it was teamwork at its best. And that was Mickey Loomis, who I didn't know at the time, who later became a very close friend. And then Mr. Benson and Mrs. Benson, that triangle to me were most important in this process. And obviously that the players, the city, all of those things factor in. I think the second most important thing to me was the passion is football important here, and it obviously is."
Payton giving a shout-out to the ownership shows a few things. For one, it helps the Saints for the future, if they were to ever search for a head coach or other candidates again, which we are hoping they will sometime soon.
It also helps them know that they did everything they could to help Payton succeed in New Orleans. This franchise is now one that people respect, at least they respect it a whole lot more than people did in the 90s and even before that.
Most Saints fans wish Payton nothing but good luck going forward.
Featured Image Via Andrew Wevers-USA TODAY Sports
