The Texans recently interviewed Sean Payton for their Head Coach opening. Payton won a Super Bowl in New Orleans, and coached the Saints from 2006 through 2011, and 2013 through 2021. Drew Dougherty of Texans TV spoke with former NFL QB and current New Orleans radio personality Bobby Hebert. The "Cajun Cannon" talked at length about Payton, and a snapshot of his conversation with Dougherty is below. For the entire discussion, please click HERE.
DD: What sort of leader is Sean Payton?
HEBERT: You can't find any better. He's just one step ahead. If you have Sean Payton as your head coach, you're not going to get outcoached. That's the bottom line. Now, he has to trust a defensive coordinator because he is an offensive guy. He's a head coach that would call the plays. He made Drew Brees a first ballot Hall of Famer. Payton just put the Saints in a position to win and be always relative for 16 years. That's hard to do. Think about that consistency. You were almost surprised if they were not in the top five as far as total offense, passing offense, year in and year out. Go back to 2006. That's when Sean Payton came on board and the stability he brought to New Orleans post-Katrina. You couldn't have found anyone better. He always had an answer for what the defense was trying to do to stop the Saints. I don't think he was burned out, but he wanted to get away from the Saints because he doesn't necessarily view change as being bad. His mentor is Bill Parcells. Parcells was kind of almost like a military brat where you're going to go north, south, east, west and look for different challenges and opportunities. So this doesn't really surprise me that Sean was taking this route and he wants to coach, but just he doesn't want it to be stale.
DD: You talked about how he helped make Drew Brees a first ballot Hall of Famer. Brees was a veteran when he came to New Orleans in 2006. How do you think Sean Payton would do with a rookie quarterback or a very young quarterback?
HEBERT: I guarantee you he'd make Davis Mills better. He would take his game to a different level. I think if you're a quarterback, you'd want to play in Sean Payton's system because you will have success. Now, you have to be cerebral. He can adjust. One thing that definitely attracts Sean Payton to Houston is all the draft capital. He already has in mind his staff and who he wants around them. He has a plan. He's not just going out there and he's going to wing it. Whoever Sean would coach a quarterback, they're going to get better. Now if you're great, he can make you greater. If you're good, he can't make you like Pat Mahomes, but he can make you a better quarterback. But I think the one thing the Texans got going for them is that draft capital. Sean, would we feel like, 'Boy, this is something. We could build a team and turn it around quickly.' Sean's a pro coach. He's a player's coach, but he's stern. He's very demanding. He learned from Bill Parcells. That's almost like his father figure, who helped develop him into the type of coach he is and gave him the confidence that he has to coach at the NFL level.
