Sean Payton Patrick Sean Payton ( born December 29 , 1963 ) is an American Football head coach for 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 in collegiate and NFL teams before being named as the 10th full - time coach in Saints history in 2006 . Under Payton , the New Orleans Saints made the 2006 NFL playoffs after a 3 – 13 season in 2005 , and Payton won the AP NFL Coach of the Year Award because of this effort . Following the 2009 season , the New Orleans Saints won the Super Bowl championship . March 21 , 2012 , Payton was suspended for the entire 2012 NFL season , originally set to take effect April 1 , 2012 , as a result of his alleged involvement in the New Orleans Saints bounty scandal , under which " bounties " were allegedly paid for contact that would " knock out " targeted players on opposing teams . Payton has denied that any program encouraging Saints players to injure opposing players ever existed , even though the NFL claims their evidence proves otherwise . Assistant coach Joe Vitt stated " We had a pay to perform program , just like many NFL teams do , but there was never a bounty program , we didn ' t ever encourage a pay - to - injure program . That ' s just not true . We never crossed the line . " Payton filed an appeal of his suspension with the league the Friday before it was set to take effect . On April 9 , NFL Commissioner Roger Goodell ( the same individual who handed down the suspension ) denied his appeal ; his suspension began on April 16 . Goodell reinstated Payton on January 22 , 2013 . Payton is under contract with the Saints at least until the end of the 2012 season . A previously agreed extension of his contract through 2015 was voided by the NFL , leaving his status after 2012 unclear , although Payton has said that he intends to return to the Saints . He will return as the Saints head coach for the 2013 season under a multi - year contract . Early life . Payton was born in San Mateo , California and raised in Naperville , Illinois by parents Thomas and Jeanne Payton . Payton ' s parents were originally from Scranton , Pennsylvania ; Thomas worked in the insurance industry . Sean Payton lived in Newtown Square , Pennsylvania during his grade school and middle school years ( 1970 to 1978 ) . Sean attended Naperville Central High School in Naperville , IL , starting as quarterback his senior year before graduating in 1982 . Winning a football scholarship , Payton had a successful career playing quarterback at Eastern Illinois University , leading the Panthers to an 11 – 2 record and the quarter - finals of the Division I - AA Playoffs in 1986 ; while at EIU , he became a member of the Sigma Chi Fraternity . Under coach Al Molde , Payton ' s Eastern Illinois teams were known as " Eastern Airlines " due to their prolific passing attack that frequently topped 300 yards per game ( and had 509 passing yards in one game , still a school record ) . Playing career . Although he was not drafted in the 1987 NFL Draft , Payton tried out for the Kansas City Chiefs for one day . In 1987 , he played quarterback for the Chicago Bruisers and Pittsburgh Gladiators during the inaugural season of the Arena Football League , before his rights were sold for $ 1 , 000 . 00 to the Ottawa Rough Riders of the CFL . He was also a member of the Chicago Bears squad of strikebreaking replacement players , known as the " Spare Bears " , during the 1987 NFL players strike . In 3 games he completed 8 of 23 passes ( 34 . 8 % ) , for 79 yards , 0 TDs , and 1 INT , a passer rating of 27 . 3 . He was also sacked 7 times for 47 yards and had one rush attempt for 28 yards . Coincidentally , his one interception came against the New Orleans Saints , the team he would later go on to coach to a Super Bowl . In 1988 , he played for the Leicester Panthers of the semi - professional UK Budweiser National League . Payton landed the starting quarterback role for the Panthers . Payton led the Panthers to a touchdown on their first possession . That same season saw the Panthers go to the Quarterfinals of the British League , eventually losing to the London Olympians after Payton had returned early to the US to take up a coaching position . Coaching career . Early coaching career . Payton began his coaching career in 1988 as an offensive assistant at San Diego State University . He made a series of assistant coaching positions at Indiana State University , Miami University ( OC ) , Illinois , and again at San Diego State ( running backs coach ) , before landing a job as the quarterbacks coach with the Philadelphia Eagles in 1997 . He helped coach Marshall Faulk from 1992 - 1993 while serving at San Diego State . As OC at Miami University , he helped RB Deland McCullough run for over 1 , 100 yards . In 1995 , the team scored the most points in a season ( 326 ) since 1986 and finished 8 - 2 - 1 . RB Deland McCullough ran for over 1 , 600 yards with 14 TD and QB Sam Ricketts also threw 14 TD . Philadelphia Eagles ( Quarterbacks Coach ) . From 1997 to 1998 , Sean Payton was quarterbacks coach for the Philadelphia Eagles and worked with offensive coordinator Jon Gruden and offensive line coach Bill Callahan . In 1998 , Gruden and Callahan left for the Oakland Raiders , and Eagles head coach Ray Rhodes and Payton were fired . The Eagles ' quarterbacks passed for 4 , 009 yards in 1997 . New York Giants ( Assistant Coach ) . In 1999 Sean Payton was hired as the quarterback coach for the New York Giants and was promoted to the role of offensive coordinator in 2000 . Under his guidance the Giants would go on to represent the NFC in Super Bowl XXXV . During this time he was known to lock himself in the stadium and sleep on the couches while studying plays on off - days . At around 6 : 45 a . m . on September 11 , 2001 , the New York Giants ' flight from Denver , where the Giants played the Denver Broncos for the first " Monday Night Football " game of 2001 , landed at the gate of Newark Liberty International Airport next to United Airlines Flight 93 , the flight that was hijacked and eventually crashed in rural Pennsylvania . Payton recalls this moment in his autobiography " Home Team : Coaching the Saints and New Orleans Back to Life " . During the 2002 season , after several poor showings by the Giants ' offense , Payton ' s role in play - calling was taken over by then head coach Jim Fassel . Under Fassel the offense improved and propelled the team to a wild - card playoff berth . While Payton was still ostensibly in charge of the offense , his role in the team was clearly diminished and had he not been hired away by the Dallas Cowboys , he likely would have been fired . Dallas Cowboys ( Assistant Coach ) . Payton joined Bill Parcells and the Cowboys as assistant head coach and quarterbacks coach in 2003 , where he helped coach Quincy Carter , Vinny Testaverde , and Drew Bledsoe to 3 , 000 - yard seasons . In 2005 , he was promoted by Parcells to assistant head coach / passing game coordinator . New Orleans Saints ( Head Coach ) . 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 six 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 — the first professional world championship for the city of New Orleans . 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 . Payton has agreed to a new multi - year contract extension as head coach of the Saints beginning 2013 . Bounty scandal . On March 2 , 2012 , the NFL alleged that from 2009 to 2011 , the Saints implemented a bounty program which rewarded players for deliberately attempting to knock opposing players out of games . The slush fund was reportedly administered by defensive coordinator Gregg Williams , who joined the team in 2009 . An extensive league investigation , the proof of which has never been made public , found that Payton was complicit in the scheme . Payton reportedly even went as far as to orchestrate a cover - up when the league first investigated it in the 2009 - 10 offseason . Other indications were that since the NFL hierarchy believed that this Bounty program existed that any comments to the contrary were considered to be a " cover - up " . When informed that the league was investigating reports of a bounty program , Payton met with Williams and assistant head coach Joe Vitt and told them , " Let ' s make sure our ducks are in a row . " " To get one ' s ducks in a row essentially means to ensure all of the small details or elements are accounted for and in their proper positions . " According to a league memo , the NFL reopened its investigation late in the 2011 season . Just before the Saints ' playoff game against the Detroit Lions , league officials alerted Saints owner Tom Benson that they had found irrefutable evidence of the Saints ' bounty program . When general manager Mickey Loomis informed Payton that the league had reopened its investigation , Payton failed to shut the alleged program down . On March 22 , NFL Commissioner Roger Goodell suspended Payton for the entire 2012 season , effective April 1 , 2012 . Payton is the first head coach in modern NFL history to be suspended for any reason . Goodell was particularly angered that Payton and other Saints officials had lied to him about the scheme . For instance , during its 2012 investigation , the league uncovered an email that Michael Ornstein , the agent for former Saints running back Reggie Bush , had sent to Payton . In reality , the Ornstein email wasn ’ t directly sent to Payton , instead it came to team spokesman Greg Bensel , who then forwarded it to the coaching staff with this message : “ email from Orny ( he asked that I send it ) the dude is in prison so I told him I would . ” The email stated " put me down for $ 5000 on " Green Bay Packers quarterback Aaron Rodgers " . " It ' s a running joke going for three years , " Ornstein said . " Ornstein ' s email is just another example of the speciousness of the quote - unquote evidence that Commissioner ( Roger ) Goodell claims to have to support his erroneous accusations against Jonathan and the other players , " lawyer Peter Ginsberg said . " As more of the evidence is revealed in the media , it is becoming more and more apparent how irresponsible the NFL ' s actions have been . " When confronted with the email , Payton initially claimed he never read it , but subsequently admitted that he had . In an interview with ESPN ' s Adam Schefter , Goodell implied that Payton would have faced significant punishment even if he ' d been more forthcoming . In Goodell ' s view , Payton ' s contractual obligation to supervise his assistants meant that , at the very least , he should have known about the scheme and shut it down immediately . In the league ' s announcement of sanctions against the Saints , Payton was faulted for violating a provision of the league constitution that requires coaches to inform their owners about team operations , as well as to " avoid actions that undermine or damage the club ' s reputation or operating success . " On March 30 , Payton lodged a formal appeal of his suspension . Goodell held an expedited hearing on the matter and was expected to render a decision in " days , not weeks , " according to ESPN ' s Schefter . Payton will also use the hearing as a chance to get clarification on the terms of his ban . Goodell turned the appeal down on April 9 , meaning that Payton ' s suspension is set to begin on April 16 . He will remain suspended until the end of Super Bowl XLVII , which will be held in New Orleans . According to ESPN ' s Chris Mortensen , Payton will forfeit $ 5 . 8 million of his $ 7 . 1 million salary . He will be barred from even casual contact with anyone in the NFL ; such contact must be reported to NFL executive Ray Anderson . Soon after the suspension was announced , Payton began discussions with his mentor , Parcells , about serving as interim coach for the 2012 season . In September 2011 the Saints and Payton had agreed to extend Payton ' s contract through 2015 . However , on November 4 , 2012 , the NFL revealed that it had disallowed the extension because it contained a clause the NFL deemed to violate its rules , which would have allowed Payton to leave if Saints general manager Mickey Loomis were not with the team . The NFL ' s action left Payton ' s contract status in doubt beyond the 2012 season , although Payton has said that he intends to return to the Saints . NFL Commissioner Roger Goodell reinstated Payton on January 22 , 2013 . Liberty Christian Warriors ( Argyle , TX ) . During his 2012 suspension from the NFL , Payton served as the offensive coordinator for his son Connor ' s sixth - grade team in Argyle , Texas . Coaching tree . NFL head coaches under whom Sean Payton has served : Assistant coaches under Sean Payton who became NFL or college head coaches : Personal life . Sean Payton married Beth Shuey and had two children , daughter Meghan ( born 1996 ) and son Connor ( born 1999 ) . While coaching at Indiana State , Payton met Shuey , a graduate of the university . Payton is of Irish Catholic extraction . Payton and his family moved to a home in Mandeville , Louisiana when he became the Saints ' head coach ; however , the home , like many built on the Gulf Coast after Hurricane Katrina , later turned out to be constructed with defective Chinese drywall , and Payton eventually became a named plaintiff in a widely - reported class action lawsuit against the manufacturer , Knauf Plasterboard Tianjin Co . Ltd . In the wake of the issues with their home in Mandeville , the Paytons decided to move the family back to the Dallas area in 2011 , when they purchased a home in the Vacquero Club , an upscale golf community in Westlake that is home to several PGA Tour professionals , as well as the Jonas Brothers and Josh Hamilton . Rumors swirled over the 2011 Super Bowl weekend that the move would coincide with Payton returning to the Cowboys as the General Manager or in some other executive capacity , but these turned out to be groundless . He maintains a residence in the New Orleans area during the season , while his family resides full - time in Westlake , a 90 minute trip via a privately chartered flight . In January 2012 , he received the Silver Anniversary Award in recognition of his myriad athletic and professional accomplishments from the NCAA . On June 14 , 2012 , Payton filed for divorce from Beth Payton , his wife of nearly 20 years .