A Heartfelt Goodbye to Sean Payton After 16 Years

Today is a dark day for New Orleans Saints fans and the Gulf Coast. A day that had to come eventually but no one wanted. Sean Payton has stepped down after 16 of the best years in Saints franchise history.

Emotionally I am sad but there is not an ounce of anger in my body. Back in 2006, Sean Payton was hired when the Saints were hanging on by a thread in 2006. Hurricane Katrina had just destroyed New Orleans and there were rumors the Saints were moving to San Antonio. The organization only had one playoff win total in franchise history.

In one offseason, the Saints added Sean Payton and Drew Brees then drafted Reggie Bush, Jahri Evans and Marques Colston. They went from 3-13 in 2005 without a home to the NFC Championship.

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I am flooded with lifelong memories thinking about the last 16 years. I drove up to Chicago with three friends and froze my ass off in the snow in 2006 NFC Title Game when the Bears beat the Saints. I moved to New Orleans in 2009 and went to a whopping 8 games the year the Saints won the Super Bowl. 

The memory that stands out the most is being in the SuperDome for the 2009 NFC Title Game when Brett Favre threw the interception back across the middle at the end of regulation when the Vikings were almost in Field Goal range. The Saints won the coin toss in Overtime and won the NFC on a Garrett Hartley 43 yard field goal.

I have been extremely blessed in my life to attend many great sporting events but I have NEVER seen emotion like what I saw in the SuperDome that day. Hugs and tears everywhere as the Saints got to the Super Bowl after Hurricane Katrina almost wiped New Orleans out. You could not write a better movie script. I will never forget it.

Eleven days later, I got 5th in $550 WSOP poker tourney in Tunica, Mississippi for $8000 and immediately booked a flight from Memphis to Miami on Sunday morning for the Colts/Saints Super Bowl. Money comes and goes in life and there was no way I could miss the Black and Gold Super Bowl. I bought a $1200 ticket on the front row of the upper deck.

I witnessed the famous "Ambush" onside kick to start the 2nd half by Thomas Moorstead and Tracy Porter's Pick 6 of Peyton Manning to seal the game in the 4th that rocked the entire world. I had a moment right after the game I will never forget where I swore to never complain again about sports after witnessing the Saints win the Super Bowl. This was later greatly tested in 2017 by the Minneapolis Miracle and in 2018 when I was in the Dome for the infamous no call that cost the Saints a second Super Bowl trip.

I witnessed the famous "Ambush" onside kick to start the 2nd half by Thomas Moorstead and Tracy Porter's Pick 6 of Peyton Manning to seal the game in the 4th that rocked the entire world. I had a moment right after the game I will never forget where I swore to never complain again about sports after witnessing the Saints win the Super Bowl. This was later greatly tested in 2017 by the Minneapolis Miracle and in 2018 when I was in the Dome for the infamous no call that cost the Saints a second Super Bowl trip.

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While the Saints did not get back to another Super Bowl, they still went 49-15 from 2017-20 while the Brees/Payton combo shattered the NFL record book. The Saints went from a laughingstock known for fans with bags over their heads to a Super Bowl Champion and one of the most winning organizations in the league. 

For that, I am forever grateful.