Man, Coach, and Mentor: Why Sean Payton's Deserves His Suspension

The NFL's official investigation shows that Sean Payton is no saint (ba-dum-cha).

Sean Payton's suspension wasn't the only blow the Saints organization suffered yesterday, but that is what New Orleans fans have in mind as they paint Roger Goodell as a dictator on a power trip. Folks in New Orleans were happy to throw Gregg Williams under the bus now that he is no longer with the Saints. Losing a draft pick or two was also to be expected. And few care about owner Tom Benson's wallet (in fact, despite a $500,000 penalty, Benson actually saves $7.5 million dollars because he will not pay Payton's $8 million salary this season). But few expected Payton to suffer more than a brief hiatus from his usual duties. A four game suspension, sure. Maybe eight games, if Goodell wanted to make a point. But banishment from the league for a year? For the first suspension ever given to a head coach in league history? It seems harsh, right?

Is this a case of the captain going down with his ship? Let's look at the NFL's official announcement about what Payton was guilty of. Keep in mind that these are facts, not allegations, since they have been confirmed via investigation and confessed to by Payton.

In 2010, when the NFL got wind that the Saints coaches put a bounty on Kurt Warner and Brett Favre in their Super Bowl run, the league told Payton that it was going to interview Williams and linebackers coach Joe Vitt. Payton responded by gathering his two coaches and telling them, "let's make sure our ducks are in a row." After the investigation came up empty, the NFL reminded Payton that bounties aren't tolerated and any such activity should cease immediately.

Prior to this past season's opener against the Packers, Payton received an email message from an associate that included the line, "PS Greg Williams put me down for $5000 on Rogers (sic)." (This associate is Payton's friend, and convicted felon, Mike Ornstein. You can read more about this jock-sniffing parasite here.) Not only was Payton still authorizing the bounty system two years after the NFL warned him to stop, but it had grown so extensive that people outside the Saints organization were pledging money to it.*

Nevertheless, when the league reopened the investigation this year, Payton "claimed to be entirely unaware of the program." Only recently has he confessed to being guilty of all the offenses outlined above.

Sean Payton was not an absentee landlord. He is not a martyr, sacrificed for the sins of his coaches and players. He knew and approved of a system that habitually broke a player safety rule. He escaped an investigation and was reminded of the consequences of breaking this rule. Nevertheless, he disobeyed his superiors and continued to break this rule for another two years. And when he was questioned about it, he lied and said that he did not break this rule. And when he finally confessed, he did not expect a suspension for breaking this rule.

Payton didn't contribute money to the bounties, he didn't wave envelopes of cash rewards in the air, and he didn't note "cart-off" statistics, as if they were tackles, in his post-game recaps. But he authorized his coaches to do all these things, and tried to cover it up once the league caught wind of it.

Drew Brees is doing his best Atticus Finch impression and demanding an explanation for Payton's suspension, as if the NFL's five page announcement isn't enough. He calls Payton "a great man, coach, and mentor." The problem is, given the offenses the head coach has been found guilty of, Payton is none of those things.

A great man would not have promoted injuries to win a football game. A great coach would not sanction a system that continually violated an important rule, even after specifically being warned against doing so. And a great mentor would not have told those in his charge to lie about it. Sean Payton is a great football mind, but he deserves the punishment he's gotten. If he doesn't understand that now, then at least he has a year to think about it.

*This is an important point for anyone claiming that the Saints offenses weren't much worse than what other teams have been doing for decades. Bounties have always been a part of the NFL culture, as I outlined two weeks ago. But no other team has ever been found guilty of violating this rule so systematically and extensively. In a perfect world, all offenders would suffer some punishment for breaking this rule in the past. But "everybody's doing it" should never be an excuse.

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