As Saints coach Sean Payton faces a significant fine, and possibly a suspension, based on the conduct of former defensive coordinator Gregg Williams, it’s fair to wonder whether Payton is regretting his decision to sacrifice a significant chunk of his salary in order to get Williams to town in the first place.
In early 2009, Payton gave up $250,000 so that the team could afford Williams.
“I had a few beers in me,” Payton told NFL Network more than a year later, after the Saints won the Super Bowl in Williams’ first year on the job. “Woke up the next morning, and my wife said, ‘What?’”
The Saints later refunded Payton the money that went to Williams. But now Payton will likely be forking over a lot more than a fourth of a million dollars, thanks to Williams’ three-season bounty system.
Then again, Payton has plenty of the blame on this one. He was the captain of the Titanic. And he saw the iceberg coming.
And he didn’t tell anyone to steer away from it.