In just five seasons as Head Coach of the New Orleans Saints, Sean Payton has established himself as one of the most successful coaches in the National Football League during this span. Since coming to New Orleans, Payton has led the Saints to their first Super Bowl title in franchise history and two division titles. During his tenure, he has compiled a 53-33 record and his teams have reached the postseason three times. Payton was hired as the 14th head coach in Saints history on Jan. 18, 2006 after being a member of the Dallas Cowboys staff since 2003. In 2011 he enters his 15th season in the NFL and 23rd in coaching.
Through this five-year span, Payton holds the top winning percentage (.616) for a Saints coach all-time. No NFC team has won more than the 53 Payton has won during this period and only four AFC clubs have more wins. His 53 wins during the time are the most during any five-year span in Saints history and tied for the second-most by an NFL coach during this period. He s posted a 4-2 (.667) mark in the postseason after the team had won only one playoff game in franchise history prior to his arrival.
Serving as the club s play-caller, Payton s presided over the most prolific offense in the NFL, leading the league in yards per game three-of-his five seasons at the helm and finishing first in scoring in 2008 and 2009. These are the only three times the Saints have led the NFL in total offense. In franchise history, the Saints have scored at least 45 points 10 times. Six of these outputs have occurred under Payton s watch.
In 2010 Payton led the Saints to their second consecutive postseason appearance and third in five seasons with an 11-5 record, becoming the only the second coach in franchise history to post three double-digit win seasons. It was only the second time in club record books that the Saints had back-to-back 11-win campaigns. The club had six road victories in 2010 as they had back-to-back winning records at visiting stadiums for the first time since 1991 and 1992. In fact, three of the top six road campaigns in team history (7-1 in 2009, 6-2 in both 2006 and 2010) have come under Payton in the last five years. His regular season road winning percentage (25-15, .625) is tops in club history and the NFL s fourth-best over that period.
New Orleans set a team record in 2010 in third down efficiency by converting an NFL-best 48.8% of their attempts. Offensively, the Saints ranked sixth in the NFL in total yards (372.5 ypg) and 11th in points per game (24.0 ppg). In addition, the team finished third in passing (277.6 ypg), the fourth time top-three finish in five seasons. New Orleans finished fifth in the NFL with 351 first downs, the second-highest total in franchise history. New Orleans offensive line gave up only 26 sacks, which was the NFL s fifth-lowest total.
Defensively, the team took a big step forward, making the jump from the 25th ranked total defense in 2009 to the fourth-ranked defense (306.3 ypg) in 2010. It marked the first time since 1997 that they have ranked among the league s top five. Most significant in this was a jump in passing defense, moving from 26th (235.6 ypg) in 2009 to fourth (193.9 ypg) in 2010. The club also moved up from 20th to seventh (19.2 ppg) in scoring defense. The defense also significantly improved their third down conversion ranking from 14th (38.0%) to fifth (34.5%).
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