Getty Image / Perry Knotts
Think of how competitive football coaches who reach the pinnacle of being a head coach in the NFL have to be. These 32 men have to be borderline psychotic about football and winning. Without that, there’s no way that someone can get an edge out of the tens of thousands of football coaches in the country and get one of the 32 most sought-after jobs in the industry.
Denver Broncos coach Sean Payton is no different. The Super Bowl champion is an insane competitor.
Just how insane? A story about his time he spent while suspended from the New Orleans Saints due to a scandal where Saints players were allegedly compensated for injuring opposing players shows just how strong his will to win is.
This story has been out there for a while. But, it made the round on Twitter on Monday thanks to NFL expert Warren Sharp.
lmao I never heard this before
during his bountygate suspension, Sean Payton coached a 6th grade football team, spygated the one team that beat them during the season, took the film to Bill Parcells to devise a strategy to beat them… but still lost to them in the finals 😂😂 pic.twitter.com/kM5FZ18stY
— Warren Sharp (@SharpFootball) February 20, 2024
“Payton's team lost a **considerably closer game** in which they were able to slow down the opposing offense.”
someone needs to edit this…
apparently the first game Payton’s team lost to the Springtown Orange Porcupines 38-6
but in the finals, they lost 58-18
— Warren Sharp (@SharpFootball) February 20, 2024
apparently he also consulted with Jon Gruden https://t.co/jckxQrDJs9 pic.twitter.com/GaCuBrHv9A
— Warren Sharp (@SharpFootball) February 20, 2024
If you don’t know what the single wing is, it’s one of the coolest offenses in all of football. You can still see it run as high as the high school level, and a lot of spread offense concepts in the running game borrow from it.
But, I’m sure that Sean Payton had never seen the offense as a coach. But, he was determined to stop it the second time around.
Ultimately, that didn’t happen. But, to go to the lengths he did to win a sixth-grade football game shows how seriously guys like Sean Payton take winning and losing.
That dedication didn’t help him that much this past season, though. In his first year with the Denver Broncos, Sean Payton’s team only went 8-9. Maybe they should try the single wing offense.
A movie very loosely based on his time spent coaching his son’s team back in 2012, Home Team, was released on Netflix in 2022.