page_title: Sean Payton
section_title: New Orleans Saints
hierarchical_section_title: Sean Payton / Coaching career / New Orleans Saints
caption_attribution_description: English: New Orleans Saints Coach Sean Payton after team's Super Bowl win, 7 Feb. 2010
context_page_description: Patrick Sean Payton is an American football coach and former player who is the current head coach of the New Orleans Saints of the National Football League. Payton was a quarterback at Naperville Central High School and Eastern Illinois University and played professionally in 1987 and 1988. He began his coaching career as offensive assistant for San Diego State University and had several assistant coaching positions on college and NFL teams before being named as the tenth full-time coach in Saints history in 2006. Payton has always been known for his offensive prowess, having scored more points and gained more yards than any other team in a coach's first 100 games in NFL history. Payton has the second-longest NFL tenure among active head coaches, behind New England Patriots head coach Bill Belichick, who has coached the Patriots since the 2000 season.
  Under Payton's leadership, the Saints made the 2006 NFL playoffs after a disappointing 3–13 season in 2005 and advanced to their first NFC Championship appearance in franchise history. Because of this effort, Payton won the AP NFL Coach of the Year Award.
context_section_description: Payton received his first head coaching job in 2006 with the New Orleans Saints. In the wake of Hurricane Katrina, in the 2005 season the Saints had finished with a 3–13 record, ranking as the second worst team in the league. However, Payton turned the struggling team around, and, with newly acquired free agent quarterback Drew Brees, led them to their first playoff appearance in 6 years. The team had one of the league's most productive offenses, ranking first in passing,  and fifth in points scored. The Saints won the NFC South with a 10–6 record, had a first round playoff bye and notched only the second playoff win in franchise history, giving them a berth in the NFC Championship Game against the top-seeded Chicago Bears. The Saints out-gained the Bears in total yards of offense, but lost the game by the lopsided score of 39–14. Receiving 44 out of 50 votes from a panel of sports journalists and broadcasters, Payton won the AP NFL Coach of the Year Award in January 2007.
  In the 2007 season, the Saints tried to improve upon their 10–6 record from the previous season. They and the Pittsburgh Steelers opened the NFL preseason, playing the Hall of Fame Game on August 5, 2007. The Saints were 3–2 in the pre-season. The Saints also had the honor of opening the season against the defending champion Indianapolis Colts. The Saints finished the 2007 season 7–9.
  In 2009, Payton aggressively coached the Saints to their most successful season, with a 13–3 regular season, and a 31–17 victory over the Indianapolis Colts in Super Bowl XLIV.
  In June 2010, Payton published a book (written with journalist Ellis Henican) entitled Home Team: Coaching the Saints and New Orleans Back to Life.  The book opened at number 8 on the non-fiction bestseller list of The New York Times. Payton described the concept of Home Team: "I didn't want to write another winning-on-the-field book or about modern-day leadership...I wanted to write a book about the stories, ones that you sit around and tell your friends."
  On October 16, 2011, while coaching against the Tampa Bay Buccaneers, Payton broke his tibia and tore his MCL in a collision with tight end Jimmy Graham's helmet after Graham was tackled on the sideline. Unable to stand on the sidelines, Payton coached from the booth during rehabilitation. In a memorable moment the week after, Payton was spotted eating a hot dog in a relaxed state while the Saints blew out the Indianapolis Colts 62–7.
  Payton has agreed to a new multi-year contract extension as head coach of the Saints beginning in 2013. On January 6, 2016, he announced that he would stay with the Saints despite interest from other teams that had led to speculation that he would be traded.
  Payton agreed to a new 5-year contract extension as head coach of the Saints on March 23, 2016.
  On Christmas Eve 2016, Payton notched his 94th victory as Saints head coach, passing Jim E. Mora as the winningest coach in franchise history.
  Payton and the Saints would endure some eventful seasons over the next three years. 
  The 2017 season would see the Saints achieve their first winning season since 2013 with an 11–5 record. In the Wild Card round of the postseason, New Orleans defeated the division rival Carolina Panthers 31–26 to advance to the Divisional round against the second-seeded Minnesota Vikings. Against the Vikings, after falling behind 17–0, the Saints were able to crawl back and hold a 24–23 advantage in the final minute of the fourth quarter. On the last play of the game, Vikings quarterback Case Keenum threw a 27-yard pass to wide receiver Stefon Diggs, who evaded Saints safety Marcus Williams and ran to the end zone to complete a 61-yard touchdown pass as time expired to award Minnesota a 29–24 victory. This game was the first in NFL playoff history to end in a touchdown as time expired. The play would later be known as the Minneapolis Miracle.
  In the 2018 season, the Saints attained the top-seed in the NFC after finishing with a 13–3 record. Upon eliminating the defending Super Bowl champion Philadelphia Eagles 20–14 in the Divisional round, th
caption: Payton with the Lombardi Trophy after the Saints victory in Super Bowl XLIV
exif: {}