Payton and Brees: The Men Who Built the Greatest Offense in NFL History

by Jeff Duncan, Steve Gleason (Foreword by)

Overview

As the city was rebuilding following Hurricane Katrina, Sean Payton arrived in 2006 as a relative unknown, a first-time NFL head coach tasked with resurrecting a New Orleans Saints team that had just finished 3-13. Two months after Payton was hired, the Saints signed a free agent quarterback who was cast aside by the San Diego Chargers: Drew Brees.

Together, these two underdogs joined forces and transformed the Saints from laughingstock to juggernaut. Payton's bold play-calling proved the perfect match for Brees, who threw a league-leading and franchise record 4,418 passing yards as the Saints advanced to the NFC championship game. Three seasons later, the Saints were Super Bowl champions. 

Payton and Brees is the definitive account of how this dynamic duo transformed a team, a city, and the game of football.
 

Product Details

ISBN-13:	9781629379296
Publisher:	Triumph Books
Publication date:	10/05/2021
Pages:	320
Sales rank:	1,000,327
Product dimensions:	5.90(w) x 8.90(h) x 0.80(d)

About the Author

Jeff Duncan is a columnist for The Athletic New Orleans and previously covered the Saints for the Times-Picayune. He is the author of Tales from the Saints Sideline and From Bags to Riches.

Table of Contents

Foreword Steve Gleason ix

Prologue xvii

1 Finding the Pilot 1

2 Aligning in New Orleans 9

3 Destined to Be a Saint 17

4 The Parcells Effect 25

5 Child of Destiny 31

6 Alike Yet Different 39

7 The Sean Payton Offense 49

8 The Winchester Mystery House 59

9 Blitzing the Defense 71

10 The Grind: Putting Together the Plan 81

11 Finding the Golden Nugget 95

12 Calling the Shots 113

13 The Supercomputer 125

14 Maxing Out 135

15 Fighting the Stereotype 153

16 Trust and Confidence 161

17 "Who Throws That Ball?" 167

18 Two Minutes to Paradise 177

19 Driven to Compete 185

20 The Fire and Fury of Sunday Sean 193

21 Don't Eat the Cheese 203

22 The Near Divorce 213

23 The Saint Patrick's Day That Almost Was 231

24 In NOLA to Stay 237

25 40 Is the New 30 243

26 A Tree Grows in Baton Rouge 255

27 The Payton-Brees Legacy 263

Acknowledgments 277

Editorial Reviews

08/31/2020

The Athletic sportswriter Duncan (From Bags to Riches) draws on his unfettered access to the New Orleans Saints in this expert account of the franchise’s astounding turnaround in the early aughts after years of mediocrity. The underdog tale spotlights the partnership between relatively unknown coach Sean Payton and quarterback Drew Brees, fresh off the shoulder injury that ended his run with the Chargers when he joined the Saints in 2006. Duncan runs readers from the days of Payton’s recruiting Brees—who was moved by the team’s “loyalty” and “confidence” in courting him, and was keen to help the city rebuild in the wake of Hurricane Katrina—through the Saints’ Super Bowl XLIV victory and Brees’s eventual record-setting. Throughout, Duncan reveals the inner workings of what has become one of the most successful relationships in NFL history. Hardcore debaters of the nuts and bolts of the game will relish Duncan’s descriptions of the distinct Payton offense, from its evolution of the West Coast style through his championing of a hyperaggressive attacking philosophy that depends on the kind of mastery of the field that Brees maintains. Perfect for football fans of all stripes, this dual-focus portrait celebrates the winning power of strong bonds between coach and player. (Oct.)

Publishers Weekly

“Payton and Brees is a fine look at a head coach-quarterback pairing that has helped define the NFL for the past fifteen years.” —Football Outsiders 


“They’ve changed football. Sean has changed the way teams play offense, and Drew has changed the way we look at quarterbacks.” —Joe Brady, Carolina Panthers offensive coordinator 

“Awesome read... These 2 gentlemen will be remembered by the city of New Orleans for more than their contribution to turning our team into a winning team but for how the changed the entire city.” —Natasha Tucker, Goodreads

From the Publisher