Sean Payton: "Functional Work Environment" led to the New Orleans Saints' Success since 2006
Tom Benson and Mickey Loomis made two decisions - hiring Sean Payton as head coach and signing free-agent quarterback Drew Brees. Since 2006, these men have built the once beleaguered New Orleans Saints into a highly functional and winning NFL franchise.
New Orleans Saints HC Sean Payton, EVP/GM Mickey Loomis, QB Drew Brees
It's a new year and a new decade, but the same organization. The New Orleans Saints.
Longevity. A word rarely used, because it's rare in the NFL. It's a superlative few clubs, executives, coaches, and players have obtained. For fans, pundits, and outsiders, it's often taken for granted.
The New Orleans Saints have experienced continuity at several critical levels spanning from the 2000s, 2010s, and 2020s. Longevity at this level is hard to find in most professional sports leagues. Yet, the Saints have been fortunate and blessed to have the assurance of ownership, executive management, coaching, and players whose careers span over three different decades.
THE KEY PLAYERS
Changes are on the horizon in New Orleans. Three important figures were with the team since 2006 and have contributed to the New Orleans Saints organization's success. The men are Mickey Loomis (EVP/GM), Sean Payton (Head Coach), and future Hall of Famer Drew Brees (Quarterback). Other contributors like Punter Thomas Morstead and safety Malcolm Jenkins were rookie members of the New Orleans Super Bowl 44 winning team in 2009.
Credit: Michael C. Herbert and New Orleans Saints
Building a winning team and consistent presence at the top of any professional sport begins with people who understand its culture and desire to win. New Orleans has maintained a winning atmosphere that has yielded division championships, conference title, and one Super Bowl crown.
Journalist Jeff Duncan authored the book "Payton and Brees." He chronicled how they built the greatest offense in the National Football League over 15 seasons. Brees' signing in New Orleans was severely underrated. I recall how distractors were calling Brees and his repaired shoulder as "hot garbage" and a mistake. Nevertheless, the franchise's fortunes changed on March 14, 2006, when Payton, Loomis, and Benson convinced him to sign the 6-year, $60M contract after being spurned by the Miami Dolphins and their physicians. On Sunday in Carolina, Drew Brees' career with the many records, honors, and accolades could dress for his final regular-season game in a New Orleans Saints uniform. A closing chapter of a storied career from an outstanding quarterback.
Loomis, Payton (less Bountygate suspension year in 2011), and Brees have been members of a winning 149-90 regular-season record since 2006. As head coach, Sean Payton is 142-81 in the regular season and 8-7 in playoffs games with 3 visits to the NFC Conference title game and one Super Bowl Championship in 2010.
SAINTS HEAD COACH SEAN PAYTON; Credit: USA Today Sports
A FUNCTIONAL ENVIRONMENT AND LONGEVITY
Sean Payton responded to my observation about his head coaching career in three different decades.
"Listen, when you say three decades, it makes me feel old. I never take for granted." He momentarily paused, and the wheels were turning. "We've had, I think, a real functional working environment. And, that starts with Mrs. Benson, our ownership, and Mickey [Loomis], Dennis Lauscha [President], assistant coaches, and then to the players we're acquiring. You know, in a league where there is a lot of dysfunction. It's hard enough in our league to win. It becomes harder if all of the elements aren't in concert. And, I never take that for granted. It doesn't seem that long, it seems like seven or eight years, but obviously, it's longer than that."
The franchise had the opportunity of falling after the passing of previous owner Tom Benson's death. Oddly enough, Mr. Benson passed on March 15, 2018, 12 years and a day after signing Brees. His decision to transfer power to his wife Gayle Benson has proven to be a smart move. Mrs. Benson has led the New Orleans Saints and Pelicans clubs well and has become a trailblazer. She has championed minority hirings at executive levels inside her franchises and developed the Gayle Benson Community Assistance Fund to serve Louisiana's citizens' needs.
Mickey Loomis and Dennis Lauscha's offices have carefully and craftily built a once-struggling franchise into an expected perennial winner each season. However, it has not been without its trials and tribulations. There have been dramatic playoff failures, and consecutive 7-9 losing records come to mind, but overall, the longevity of Loomis, Payton, and Brees has been the real success.
As the 2020-21 regular season concludes, and the probability of Brees riding off into the sunset, the stakes of winning Super Bowl 55 could not be any higher. New Orleans could see a minor overhaul or two if the Saints should win or fall once more.
Will these pillars of the New Orleans Saints' success be in concert to win another Super Bowl championship in February?
We shall see.
