ENGLEWOOD, Colo. — For all the unprecedented on-field success Sean Payton brought to the New Orleans Saints’ franchise, when asked about his legacy there he kept bringing up the emotional bond his team built with the city and region following the aftermath of Hurricane Katrina.
In the first 39 years of the Saints, there were but seven winning seasons and only one playoff win. Payton arrived in 2006, six months after Katrina breached the levees system and flooded the city and region.
The Superdome was damaged to the point the Saints had to essentially play all 16 games on the road in 2005, as with their first four preseason games and two regular season games in 2006.
When Payton needed a break from coaching after the 2021 season, he had amassed 10 winning seasons in his 15 years of coaching, 9 playoff wins and a Super Bowl title. After a year off, Payton became the Broncos’ head coach in 2023 and the schedule makers worked it out so he would return with his new team to New Orleans this Thursday night.
9NEWS caught up with Payton for a segment on the Broncos Huddle, which will be shown Wednesday at 6:30 p.m.
What do you think your legacy should be with New Orleans?
Payton: “The thing that was uniquely different I can say pretty much sure none of us who were involved in that first year, none of us could have envisioned the other part of it and how emotional and how attached the fan base became. I don’t think there was anything that could have prepared any of us for the uniqueness of what took place from a group of players, coaches, administrators, owners. There would be 1,000 people at the airport when we’d come home from a regular-season win. It just was different from anything you can ever envision.
“The year prior I was in Dallas (as the Cowboys’ offensive coordinator), Katrina hit in August of ‘05. I was hired (as Saints head coach) I guess in February of ‘06. A lot was still closed. There were questions – health care, schools, there were so many things that were bigger than our game.”
I remember watching your first game back at the Superdome in 2006. It was primetime Monday night. (Steve Gleason blocked the punt and it was recovered for a touchdown after the first series to get the Saints’ started. The place went berserk.)
Payton: “That preseason there were four preseason games and we had to play them all on the road -- one in Shreveport, one in Jackson (Mississippi) and our two away ones. The one in Mississippi, the one in Shreveport were our home games. And then opened on the road at Cleveland and the next week at Green Bay.
“And then the Superdome was ready and we had a night game against Atlanta. Again, you couldn’t prepare for what that was going to be like. It was one of those moments where you really had to be there but that attachment grew with the city and the team and so I was proud to be a part of it.”
Your favorite breakfast, lunch and dinner place in New Orleans?
Payton: “Oh my gosh. There’s too many. Here are some of the things you may not know. We all, at least I did, thought Mardi Gras was one day. It’s really set on the Catholic (Lent) calendar, it’s much longer than a day. You think the Mardi Gras parades roll through Bourbon Street, they don’t. Most of them roll down Uptown to the city.
“There’s so many great restaurants. Now I’m a picking eater so sometimes that (spicy Cajun) was challenging, especially if the chef brought out something he wanted you to try. I’m like, gosh.
“Look the people, the food, the culture … early on there were challenges because of the schools, because of the medical facilities, everyone was recovering. And it took a while. It took quite a while. And then each year you became a little bit more attached and so there couldn’t be just one thing.”
