New Orleans was once a town so ashamed of the Saints that fans showed up with paper bags over their heads so people wouldn?t recognize them.
In just a few months, however, first-year head coach Sean Payton has helped transform the lovable losers into this year?s America?s Team. The team, 5-1 and on top of the competitive NFC South, is playing inspired football in front of home crowds at the Superdome and helping the Hurricane Katrina-ravaged city to rebuild its confidence. There will not be any paper bags on display when the Saints host the Ravens (4-2) Sunday.
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“We have tried to focus on the football part of it, knowing that outside of the building … [all the charity work] is important, whether it is rebuilding a home during the offseason or getting an NFL youth center,” Payton said. “But specifically football, the first thing we can do is begin to play better and give people here a reason to get excited for the weekends.”
Before becoming a head coach, Payton was one of the game?s bright, young, offensive minds, learning under Bill Parcells in Dallas for three years. He was the assistant head coach and in charge of play-calling, helping three different quarterbacks to 3,000-yard seasons.
When Payton was hired in January, he walked into one of the most difficult jobs in the NFL. The franchise had made the playoffs just four times and was in flux. Owner Tom Benson had publicly flirted with permanently moving the team to San Antonio, where the Saints had played some home games last season while the Superdome was being repaired from Katrina damage.
The team had a quarterback with a penchant for mistakes in Aaron Brooks, a talented running back, Deuce McAllister and receiver, Joe Horn. But the Saints were not winning games. Everything changed in the spring.
The team parted ways with Brooks and made a major splash in the free agent market by signing quarterback Drew Brees. Then it selected Heisman Trophy winner Reggie Bush with the second overall pick in the 2006 NFL draft.
“As coaches, offensively, we will be flexible enough to change, tinker with, or put in a new wrinkle if the player certainly is going to benefit,” Payton said.
The Ravens, even while preparing for their opponent, realizewhat the Saints and Payton now mean for New Orleans.
“Going back,” Ravens head coach Brian Billick said, “it?ll be great to see them energized and to see that the city is getting back on its feet.”
