by Jeff Duncan
“I’m glad he’s on my team,” Payton said to Marrone.
One of Bill Parcells’ coaching edicts was to find coaches and players who loved the game. Payton knew right then he’d found the right pilot to lead his football team, a grinder who shared his passion for the game. Payton, after all, was the guy who regularly slept in his office, someone who could watch film for hours trying to find a crack in the opposing defense’s armor. In Brees, he had found his football soulmate.
That 2006 afternoon was one of the first signs that the Payton-Brees marriage would be a special one. Brees and Payton didn’t know each other before joining forces in New Orleans. They had no idea if they would mesh or succeed when they cast their lot with each other back in 2006. But they were starting to figure out that, at least in terms of football, they were a perfect pairing.
“There’s definitely a synergy between them,” said Luke McCown, who served as Brees’ backup in New Orleans for three seasons from 2013 to 2015. “There’s just a like-mindedness that is uncommon. Drew thinks more like a coach than any player I’ve ever seen, and Sean sees the game through a quarterback’s eyes more than any coach I’ve ever played for. It’s just the perfect storm.”
Fifteen years apart in age, the similarities between the two men are striking. Both are highly intelligent and highly competitive. Both own aggressive mindsets and an unwavering confidence in themselves. And both possess what Saints quarterback coach Joe Lombardi refers to as rare mental stamina, the ability to process loads of information over an extended period of time. When most coaches and players reach a peak of mental exhaustion, Brees and Payton are just getting started.
“Personality-wise, I think they’re both big-time grinders,” former Saints right tackle Zach Strief said. “Sean is legendary for meeting until 2:15 am, and Drew’s the same way. Now he’s more regimented in his approach, but Drew’s at the facility two and a half hours before you do anything as a team, and he’s there four hours after everyone has left. They both kind of have that grinding mentality and I think it gives them a platform in that relationship. Because Drew spends so much time preparing, they’re on the same information level, and it allows them to both have a say and it be justified and reasonable. Having those two guys looking at every game the same way has allowed them to grow tighter. They both feel like every week there’s this plan that we have built together that’s going to win.”
In that regard, Marrone compared Payton and Brees to flight directors at a NASA Mission Control Center because of their leadership skills, authoritative knowledge of the offense, and inherent ability to command a room.
“They both know every single thing that’s going on,” Marrone said. “They can coach, correct, do everything. I mean they can speak to coaches, they can speak to each other, they can speak to the team. They’re great communicators and great leaders. It’s unique to have both your head coach and quarterback have all of these qualities in common. It’s very difficult to replicate that.”
It’s also difficult to find a pair as competitive as Payton and Brees. Both are famous around the Saints facility for turning everything into a competition. Brees and Payton routinely go at each other during the post-practice quarterback challenges waged daily between the Saints quarterbacks and offensive coaches. They have also taken their competitions outside the building to the golf course and baseball field.
“I’ve been around a lot of people now, and I don’t know if I’ve ever been around anyone as competitive as Drew Brees,” Marrone said. “Sean’s the same way. If I said, hey, I bet you I can take this penny and pitch it to this wall and get it closer to you. I’ll bet you $5. They’re ready to go. I mean at the drop of the hat, anytime, anywhere. They’re all in. It’s unbelievable.”
Yet, as competitive as they both are, Brees and Payton said they have never really experienced a major argument in their 14 years together. If Payton and Brees ever had a major falling-out, Saints coaches and players said they weren’t aware of it. Their disagreements have been reserved for play calls and in-game situations.
“There were moments during games where Sean would say, ‘All right, Drew, pick it up, body language,’” said former Saints backup quarterback Mark Brunell, recalling communications over his headset. “He would coach Drew and be firm with Drew, and Drew never got pissed off or disrespectful. He understood the pecking order there, who was an authority, who was the head coach and who was the player.
“I was impressed with Drew’s ability to handle that and understand that as good as he is, he still needs to be coached. And I was also impressed with Sean understanding, ‘Hey, listen, I’m the guy around here. I’m the head coach, and if I feel my star quarterback, my future Hall-of-Fame quarterback needs to get his ass yelled at a little bit, then I’m going to do it.’”
Payton’s background as a quarterback allows him to understand Brees on another level than most coaches. And Brees, being the grandson of a former coach and World War II veteran, has an abiding respect for organizational chain of command. He appreciates the coach-player dynamic and is a willing student of the game.
“There’s a mutual respect there,” Brees said. “Sean having played the quarterback position, there’s a perspective there. He knows what it was like to be in those shoes, and he respects that. And he understands that so much of playing the quarterback position is confidence, and so he is constantly doing things to bolster your confidence.”
That’s not to say Payton won’t jump Brees during a game if he makes a mistake. Just like any other player on the roster, Brees will feel Payton’s wrath if he throws a silly interception or takes an ill-timed delay of game. But Brees said Payton has never yelled at him as vigorously as his first NFL coach, Marty Schottenheimer, did in San Diego.
“If I miss a throw or make the wrong read, I’ll look to the sideline and he’ll shake his call sheet and he’ll give me that face, like saying, ‘What are you doing?!’” Brees joked about Payton. “And listen, plenty of times [during games], the clock’s ticking down, and I’m wanting the play and it’s not coming in, and he’s getting it right back from me. But there’s a respect between us.”
Over the years, Payton and Brees have brought out the best in one another. In Payton, Brees found a coach who instilled even more confidence in him than he already had, a football savant who saw and coached the game through a quarterback’s eyes. In Brees, Payton found a quarterback with the perfect combination of intelligence, athleticism, and talent to operate to his offense at the highest level of efficiency.
Brees was a good player in San Diego. He won 30 of 58 games as a starter and made the Pro Bowl in 2004. But under the tutelage of Payton, he blossomed into one of the game’s elite players, a perennial Pro Bowler and MVP candidate.
Too, Payton was a respected coordinator for the Giants and Cowboys. His offenses regularly ranked among the league’s top 5 through 15 in total offense and passing yards. But no one was calling him the league’s next great offensive mind until he joined forces with Brees.
“He’s very intelligent, and from a leadership standpoint and all the other things that go into playing that position, that’s something he’s very comfortable with, and something he’s done successfully for a long time,” Payton said. “He’s played extremely well for us and been such a staple in everything we’ve done. He’s a big reason why we’ve achieved what we have so far.”
For Saints players and coaches, especially those who have been with other teams, the relationship between Brees and Payton is special. They marvel at their like-minded, almost telepathic connection during games. They’ve worked together so long they can often finish each other’s thoughts during film study. Over the years, their minds seemingly have melded into one.
“That relationship may be as good as I’ve ever seen,” Carmichael said. “They’re two similar people. They believe in themselves. They love challenges; that’s what drives them. They have an inner drive to
win. Both of their brains are always working, you know, looking to attack, attack, attack. They’re very similar in that aspect.”
In a league where the average playing career lasts 3.5 years, Brees and Payton have operated and produced at an elite level for nearly a decade and a half. While other teams cycle through head coaches and quarterbacks every few seasons, the Saints have enjoyed the same quarterback-coach battery for 14 years and counting. Add in Carmichael, who’s been with the duo the entire time, and mainstays Lombardi and receivers coach Curtis Johnson, and you have the most stable situation of any offense in the league. No other team comes close to matching that level of continuity.
“They’re joined at the hip,” Saints tight ends coach Dan Campbell said. “They’ve been together so long they know how each other thinks. There is a trust issue. Coach has a ton of trust in Drew. He knows Drew thinks the exact same way he does. He understands the situations of the game. That’s why there’s been this rapport between these two and this great working relationship. They’re unique human beings. He’s a phenomenal coach, and he’s a phenomenal player. They’re the best at what they do. And you just don’t find those guys every day. They come around every 20 years maybe. To have both of those guys here at the same time is phenomenal.”
Payton and Brees are alike in many ways, but the one overriding personality trait they share is confidence. Each has an unshakeable confidence in himself. Regardless of how dire the situation, they both believe they can overcome the odds.
Former Saints linebacker Scott Fujita once called Brees “annoyingly optimistic.” Payton, too, is often at his best in times of crisis. When the Saints are mired in a losing streak, he turns into the team’s biggest optimist. He thrives on chaos, and his steely-eyed confidence trickles down to his players and fellow coaches during adverse times.
“There could be a news report that says there’s a meteor that’s coming for the Saints facility that’s going to knock out a 10-mile-wide radius, and everyone in the area is going to be dead, and he would be like, ‘This is perfect. This is just what we want,’” Lombardi joked. “He’s got a way, regardless of how tough things are going, to remain upbeat.”
This confidence manifests itself on game days. Payton and Brees’ aggressive mindsets feed off each other. Both are willing to take calculated risks. Their tenure together has been highlighted by countless instances of bold decision-making.
With the Saints trailing Miami 24–3 in their Week 7 game in 2009, Brees convinced Payton to go for the touchdown on fourth-and-goal at the 1-yard line with five seconds left in the second quarter. Brees’ sneak for a touchdown helped fuel an epic 46–34 comeback victory.
Payton’s famous “Ambush” onside kick call to start the second half of Super Bowl XLIV will be remembered as one of the great play calls in Super Bowl history.
This aggressive mindset doesn’t always work out. In the final minutes of the 2018 NFC Championship Game, with the Saints driving for the go-ahead score inside the Rams’ red zone, Payton famously told Brees on the sideline that he did not want to settle for a field goal, eschewing conventional wisdom and going for a touchdown instead.
“I don’t want to take 55 seconds off the clock and just kick a field goal,” Payton said during a timeout at the two-minute warning, with the score tied at 20. “We’re going to be smart, but we’re going to try to score a touchdown.”
Brees enthusiastically agreed. “Yeah, absolutely!” he said. “Absolutely!”
But Brees’ uncharacteristic misfire on a routine slant pass to Michael Thomas stopped the clock and allowed the Rams to save a timeout they would later use to help set up a game-tying field goal in a game the Rams eventually won in overtime.
The loss in the 2019 NFC Championship Game was one of the most heartbreaking setbacks of the Payton-Brees era, but the aggressive mindset Payton and Brees displayed down the stretch is what has propelled the duo to such great heights in their careers. More often than not, their aggressiveness is rewarded.
“They are both kind of gunslingers,” Strief said. “They’re both so aggressive in the way that they see how to attack a defense. And so because of that there is no conservative sounding board off of them. You see them stand on the sidelines during a game and talk, and it takes a lot for one of them to be like, ‘No, we better not go for it.’ That’s both of their mentalities. A lot of the stuff that they want to do makes sense to each other because they’re both highly aggressive and both highly confident that that aggression will pay off and not come at a price.”
Another similarity: both thrive under pressure. The more intense the moment, the better Payton and Brees perform. Both embrace the spotlight. Neither wilts in the moment.
“They both are extremely bright and [have] extremely strong work ethics,” Joe Brady said. “But at the end of the day, they are two competitive guys, and I think that that is what makes them dynamic. When it’s game day and the lights are shining, that’s when Sean Payton and Drew Brees are at their best.”
As alike as they are on the field, Payton and Brees would be the first to tell you they own different personalities and lifestyles off it.
Friends describe Brees as quiet, conservative, and reserved away from the Saints facility. While he can be just as driven and focused in his business and community interests, his laid-back Texas personality is more prevalent away from the football field. He spends most of his free time with his family: wife Brittany and the couple’s four children, daughter Rylen and sons Baylen, Bowen, and Callen. A big night out for Brees is a visit to the local trampoline park with the kids.
A devout Christian, Brees was raised in a Protestant church and professes to live by two fundamental Christian maxims: “Love the Lord with all your heart, mind, and soul. And love your neighbor as yourself.” He spends part of his private time each morning reading Bible scripture.
Payton, meanwhile, is much more of a free spirit. Brees describes him as “outgoing and rowdy” away from the office. And while Payton has mellowed considerably from his freewheeling post–Super Bowl days, he still knows how to have a good time when the situation calls for it.
Payton has a touch of OCD symptoms. He is prone to tangents and regularly dips smokeless tobacco. For several years, he religiously wore the same visor on the sideline and chomped sticks of Wrigley’s Juicy Fruit gum during games. More than one reporter who has visited him in his office has watched him go down a 20-minute rabbit hole while trying to find a play on his laptop computer.
“Sean will tell the same story to you over and over,” said marketing agent Mike Ornstein, a longtime friend of Payton’s, who has worked with and for the team in various capacities during Payton’s tenure. “Pete [Carmichael] and Joe [Lombardi] do a good job of playing along. They laugh every time like they’ve never heard it before.”
Payton and Brees are different people with different personalities and lifestyles. They express themselves in different ways and go about their business differently. But after 14 years and countless hours of collaboration, they are one and the same when it comes to football.
“I can’t think of another great quarterback that has had a relationship with the head coach that goes beyond just a work relationship,” said Brunell. “There’s a legitimate, sincere, real friendship there, just a deep mutual affection for one another. When you have two guys like that, typically there is one trying to up the other. They’re not interested in that. They both realize that I’m not Drew Brees without Sean Payton and I’m not Sean Payton without Drew Brees.”
7. The Sean Payton Offense
The philosophical origins of the Saints offense can be traced to Bill Walsh, Jon Gruden, and the West Coast system. But, physically, the offense was born during a meeting of the offensive staff on February 6, 2006.
On the day after Super Bowl XL, the recently hired Payton brought a copy of the Cowboys playbook he used the previous three years in Dallas and a copy of th
e Giants playbook he used in New York and told offensive assistant coach Pete Carmichael to make 10 copies of each. The books were dispersed to each coach at the table, and the coaches opened to Page 1 and went to work. Plays were either kept or discarded, depending upon Payton’s plan.
The playbook was still being built a month later when Brees was signed in free agency. Payton asked Carmichael, who worked with Brees the previous two seasons in San Diego, to integrate some of Brees’ favorite plays into the offense.
“Sean had a vision of where he wanted this offense to start, and we pulled plays from each playbook,” Carmichael said of the Giants and Cowboys. “Then, when we signed Drew, Sean wanted to know some of the concepts and plays that he really loved, and we incorporated those into the offense. Then, when Drew got here, we listened to his input and that’s how the playbook progressed.”
Most modern NFL passing offenses can be traced to one of two classic systems—Walsh’s West Coast offense or the Coryell system originated by Don Coryell, who coached at San Diego State in the 1960s and later with the San Diego Chargers. Traditionally, the West Coast system featured a horizontal passing attack, relying primarily on short, timing-based passes to the backs, tight ends, and receivers. The Coryell offense was more of a downfield passing game, attacking with deep and intermediate throws to the receivers.
Initially, Payton incorporated different parts of each system into his offense. Most of the passing concepts come from the West Coast system he learned during his tenure with Gruden in Philadelphia. A lot of the Saints’ initial running game was adopted from Parcells’ offense in Dallas. The pass protections came from the Giants and Cowboys.
Many differences exist between the Walsh and Coryell systems, but the most obvious is terminology. Walsh used code words to identify plays and numbers for protections. Coryell used numbers for plays and words for protections.
Just about every college and NFL team uses a passing tree numbered 1 to 9 to identify basic individual pass patterns. The different pass routes in the Coryell system are assigned digits 1 through 9.
