While he hasn’t led them to a Super Bowl appearance, the Denver Broncos have one of the best head coaches in the NFL in Sean Payton. He’s been involved as an NFL coach in some capacity since 1997 when he became the quarterbacks coach of the Philadelphia Eagles. Three years later, he got his first job as an NFL offensive coordinator, even if it meant joining an NFC East rival in the New York Giants.
By 2006, nearly a decade after he joined the NFL, Payton accepted his first head coaching job, leading the New Orleans Saints. Four seasons in, they won a Super Bowl, rallying around a New Orleans atmosphere that badly needed a win following the aftermath of Hurricane Katrina.
Coach Payton has seen a lot of football, and he’s gotten really good at finding an advantage. It’s part of why he ranks 13th in the NFL’s all-time coaching wins list. Yet, now the coach is warning football fans that big changes are likely coming to the NFL in the next few years.
Coach Payton Envisions NFL Copying UFL’s Ref Transparency
While the NFL is as popular as ever, if there’s one glaring area that could be improved upon, it’s how referees officiate the game. The good news is, recent developments could make the game better.
Recently, coach Payton revealed his belief that the NFL could soon take a big page out of the UFL’s playbook when it comes to offering complete transparency when offering details about why a penalty flag was or was not thrown.
“And I think every once in a while the benefit of this other league we have, I think quite honestly it’s been helpful for our league. Every once in a while you see something you like, and I think Dean Blandino and his crew, when we kick live right to the booth review, I think that’s healthy. And I think you’ll see that in the next two or three years in our league.”
Sean Payton to Jason La Canfora of SportsBoom
Bringing more transparency to the NFL is something that everyone would go for. Fans are always complaining about calls, but being able to get detailed descriptions for why a specific play was or was not a penalty is an important aspect. It would even help grow the game, make fans more intelligent, and hopefully lead to less frustration during and after the game.
Really, what does the league have to lose? Sure, it may take a bit longer to provide such inside access, but it could be something that changes the game in a positive way. Now the NFL just needs to figure out how they want to do it.
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