OUR FANHOUSE TOOLBAR INTEGRATES THE LATEST SPORTS NEWS INTO YOUR WEB BROWSER AND INSTALLS IN SECONDS.
YOU CAN DOWNLOAD THE TOOLBAR HERE.

FanHouse Seanpayton

Latest Seanpayton Stories

NFL Coaches Fight Club, Round 2: Rex Ryan vs. Sean Payton

Sean Payton Rex Ryan
NFL Coaches Fight Club: the Tournament. Because we have nothing better to do than predict what might happen if head coaches started punching each other in the face.


NFL Coaches Fight Club: Round 1 Recap

NFL Coaches Fight Club: the Tournament. Because we have nothing better to do than predict what might happen if head coaches started punching each other in the face.

As Round 1 of our single-elimination fight tournament involving NFL coaches nears its end, let us recap the action we've seen so far. To view the entire bracket or learn what we're talking about, kindly click on the links below.


NFL Coaches Fight Club: Todd Haley (4) vs. Sean Payton (5)


NFL Coaches Fight Club: the Tournament. Because we have nothing better to do than predict what might happen if head coaches started punching each other in the face.


NFL Coaches Fight Club: The Tournament


NFL Coaches Fight Club: the Tournament. Because we have nothing better to do than predict what might happen if head coaches started punching each other in the face.


Consider this hypothetical: what if two coaches met in a dark alley and threw down in a no-holds-barred brawl? Who would emerge victorious?

First, some background: back when I was in high school, when my friends and I were pretty creative in finding ways to avoid actually paying attention in class, we'd create brackets (think NCAA Tournament) where we'd pit our teachers against each other**. Whoever we thought would win in a fight advanced to the next round. It always ended with our offensive line coach against our wrestling coach in the finals and a huge argument as to who would come out on top.

Anyway, last week, the Back Porch staff somehow ended up discussing whether Rex Ryan or Tom Cable would win in a old school playground scrap. I passed along the above information, and shortly after that, an idea was born -- NFL Coaches Fight Club: the Tournament.

Offensive-Minded Saints Hoping to Crank Up the 'D'

New Orleans Saints defenseMETAIRIE, La. -- There's one thing you immediately notice about how the Saints conduct practice here: It's fast. Running backs dash all over the place. Wide receivers scoot past people.

Then you notice the defense.

Let Reggie Bush get within inches of a hole in the line of scrimmage, and five defenders will try and strip him of the ball. Let Pierre Thomas turn the corner, and when he's stopped for a two-yard gain, the entire defense charges in and pushes him back.

It's part of a change in attitude led by new defensive coordinator Gregg Williams.

New Orleans Saints: Gregg the Hero

Because the NFL season never ends, we present our 2009 Offseason Roadmaps for front offices to navigate through the summer.

Gregg Williams hasn't informed a free agent decision for New Orleans yet, hasn't hand-picked the inevitable defensive playmaker the Saints choose with their 14th-overall selection this year, hasn't installed a single scheme in a minicamp. Yet Williams' reputation has preceded him to the Crescent City, and his hiring as defensive coordinator is already considered one of the most important moves in team history.

After almost two decades of guaranteed defensive putridity, the last three of which have revolved around Gary Gibbs' lack of talent identification and bland scheming, the idea of Williams and his history of intelligent, hard-working, active, complex defenses coming to the Superdome is music to the ears. It also might finally push the Saints over the top.

That Arizona Fleaflicker Play Has a Name: 'The Philly Special'

Ryan already broke down how the now famous Arizona Cardinal modified fleaflicker that resulted in a 62 yard Larry Fitzgerald touchdown has a history in Ken Wisenhunt's playbook, dating to the Steelers in 2005.

But it turns out, via the esteemed Larry Brown, that there's a little more history behind it as well, particularly with the Philadelphia Eagles. So much so, in fact, that the specific play is actually known as "The Philly Special" because it seeks to take direct advantage of Jim Johnson's aggressive blitz packages.

Sean Payton Literally Paid $250k of Gregg Williams' Salary

Sacrificing a paycheck in order to bring another high profile player to a team is one of the truly selfless things that an athlete can do. Really, the willingness to make only a few million dollars instead of many millions of dollars is an act that often goes unnoticed. But you almost never hear of it from a coaching perspective.

However, giving up part of his salary for the betterment of his coaching staff is exactly what Sean Payton recently did, according to Jay Glazer (via LBS), offering up a quarter million bucks of his salary towards Gregg Williams' first year paycheck, just in order to land the defensive coordinator.

Ed Orgeron Returns to College Football, Gets Big Check, Old Boss Miffed

Former Ole Miss head coach Ed Orgeron, most recently a defensive line coach with the New Orleans Saints, has accepted a position on Lane Kiffin's staff at Tennessee. He had mulled competing offers from LSU and Tennessee, both with big money dangled in front of him.

The LSU offer was reportedly worth $500k, while Tennessee reeled him in with that shiny $850k offer.

Being that his former employ was in the NFL, Ed Werder style gossip soon followed.
Apparently, some within the organization felt Orgeron was more focused on his coaching future than his current job, and Payton grew tired of Orgeron juggling phone calls from LSU and Tennessee.

The source also suggested that [Saints' coach Sean] Payton was not very pleased with the progress of the defensive line under Orgeron even before the LSU-Tennessee tug-of-war began, and he is looking forward to the opportunity to bring in a veteran defensive line coach with NFL experience.

Meeeeowwwwwwww. This isn't all that surprising, we are talking about the gossipy NFL here where if somebody isn't ticked at something they might as well stop breathing.

Marino Watch, Week 16: Kurt Warner Bows Out, Drew Brees Bears Down

(Getty Images)

The 2008 NFL season is inching closer to its end, while each passing week sees Drew Brees and Kurt Warner inch closer to Dan Marino's single-season record of 5,084 passing yards, set in 1984. We chronicle their quest in this new feature, Marino Watch. Think of it as McGwire/Sosa, without 'roids.

What They Did in Week 16

Drew Brees (at Detroit): 30-for-40 for 351 yards and two touchdowns
Kurt Warner (at New England): 6-for-18 for 30 yards

Where They Stand

Drew Brees: 4,683 yards (401 yards away)
Kurt Warner: 4,320 yards (764 yards away)

Featured Writers

Featured Voices