Friday Walk-Thru: NFL Notes: Jon Gruden Pays Saints Another Visit

NEW ORLEANS -- Faced with the unique (and next-to-impossible) task of trying to defend a Super Bowl title, New Orleans Saints coach Sean Payton sought counsel during the offseason from others who have been in the enviable (and pressure-packed) situation. Payton, though, has declined to say who some of those individuals were.

But we know one, for sure.

Payton was a quarterbacks coach at Illinois when Jon Gruden, then offensive coordinator of the Philadelphia Eagles, came calling to hire him. Somehow, Payton squeezed respectable numbers from the Philly three-headed monster of Ty Detmer, Bobby Hoying and Rodney Peete, and off his career went -- to the New York Giants and Dallas Cowboys as offensive coordinator, and eventually to the Saints in 2006 as a head coach.

It was Gruden, now the red-hot color analyst for "Monday Night Football," who came to Saints training camp last summer and promptly announced Payton's team as a bona fide Super Bowl contender. It was Gruden who addressed the Saints in advance of their divisional round playoff game against Arizona in January. And it's Gruden -- and his good karma -- who joined Payton and his players this weekend as part of his training tour to preview teams.

Gruden won a Super Bowl with Tampa Bay following the 2002 season. The Buccaneers returned virtually intact in '03, only to go 7-9 and miss the playoffs. The franchise had never won a title before, either, so the euphoria was all new. They had injuries on offense. When the losses piled up there was a high-profile clash between Gruden and Keyshawn Johnson. Those Bucs became a "Don't Let This Happen To You" poster for defending your championship.




FanHouse flagged Gruden down for a quick chat Thursday.

Q: What did you see in Sean Payton to give him that job as QBs coach in Philly?

A: "Well, No. 1, he's a great guy. He had been a quarterback himself at Eastern Illinois. He'd gone up the ladder the right way. We were looking for a young guy with great ambition. No. 2, we wanted a guy with brains and charisma. You meet Sean, you know you're talking to someone who loves it, who's smart and competes. People respond to him. It was an easy hire."

Q: Did you see eventual head coaching material?

A: Everybody has the ambition to be a head coach. One way to do it is getting on a successful team. He went to New York and did some great things as an offensive coordinator. And then to Dallas. He was productive and was discovered. And I just think he's only beginning to showcase what he can do."

Q: The onsides kick Payton called for to start the second half of Super Bowl was a game-changer. It was also a monumental gamble. The guy's been known to take some risks as a coach. How did you see that play?



A: Well, first of all, I almost fell out of my chair. Gamble? It might be the gutsiest call in NFL history -- certainly in Super Bowl history -- but let's be honest here, when you're in a game against Peyton Manning, you've got to try to steal a possession. Bill Belichick went for it fourth-and-2 [earlier in the season] and tried to do the same thing. It didn't work. What the Saints did worked and it caught the nation by surprise. In hindsight, you kick off, Peyton Manning gets the ball at the 33- or 34-yard line -- what? -- you've penalized yourself about 30 yards of field position. Yeah, maybe it seemed crazy at the time, but it was a huge, huge momentum-turning point."

Q: In 2007, you were on the winning side of one of Payton's gambles. He was up by three points with about three minutes to go and called a double-reverse in a December game with division title implications. The Saints fumbled, Bucs recovered, scored a touchdown with 14 seconds to go and went on to clinch the NFC South the following week. What is the mentality of a risk-taking coach?

A: "The media scrutiny now is greater than ever. If it doesn't work, you're going to be reminded about it. But going back to that play, if you throw a forward pass inside three minutes, a lot of bad things can happen: sack, strip, receiver bobbles and a pick. Yeah, he called that double-reverse, but it was a poorly executed play. I think I've seen them run it probably 15 times since flawlessly. Flawlessly. Hey, Sean calls plays looking forward. He has a powerhouse offense and as the play-caller of that offense -- with Drew Brees, those receivers, that offensive line -- he expects flawless execution. That's the way he practices. His practices are long and some of the most thorough I've ever seen."

Q: As close as you two are, I know he's called on you to talk about the challenges of defending a Super Bowl title. What have you told him?

A: "Basically, let's not get real deep and philosophical about it. Let's think about how hard it is to get to a Super Bowl. There are a number of teams in the league who have never been to the damn game. So let's get back to business. Let's avoid distractions. Let's concentrate on our football team and do the best we can. They know they're the hunted one. They know they're no longer a surprise team in the NFL. They have a grueling road, brutal schedule and have to stay healthy. But more than anything, just go play, man. Quit talking about what you don't have to do and go practice and play. ... And let's not forget something: they have Drew Brees. I'm really, really happy for him, man. He beat New England and Tom Brady on "Monday Night Football." He beat Brett Favre. He beat Peyton Manning. He's now in their class. And with that kind of quarterback play, you're not only going to have a chance to win every Sunday, you're going to have a chance to win the Super Bowl."


NEW OLD GUY IN THE MIDDLE

Great move by the New York Giants signing veteran linebacker Keith Bulluck, who was terrific manning the weak side for Tennessee the last 10 years until a torn ACL ended his 2009 campaign in December. It remains to be seen what, if any, effects will linger from the injury, but Bulluck's mere presence will be a boon in the New York locker room.

"He's a no-nonsense guy, an outstanding communicator," coach Tom Coughlin told The Newark Star-Ledger. "He's been healthy his whole career with the exception of this knee injury, and we have every reason to believe after having worked him out that he's going to do nothing but get stronger."

Bulluck, 33, will start his new stint playing middle linebacker. That'll be different but also appropriate, given he'll have a chance to step in and replace Antonio Pierce, the Giants' passionate and respected leader who was cut, then retired, this offseason.

QUICK SLANTS

-- If your quarterback depth chart shows Trent Edwards atop the duo of Ryan Fitzpatrick and Brian Brohm battling for the backup spot, you don't have a quarterback. But that's the situation facing new coach Chan Gailey in Buffalo. Edwards opened camp Thursday as the starter, but even a guy who's gone through four offensive coordinators in his four seasons knows the situation is (and should be) fluid. "Honestly, it just means I'm working with the ones right now," said Edwards, who has thrown 24 touchdowns and 25 interceptions in his three pro seasons. "I feel like I have a lot to learn and a long way to go, but I must be doing something right."

-- Enough with the Albert Haynesworth updates. Just give the guy a reality show.

-- Eye-opening item from The New York Daily News: Darrelle Revis will be the eighth-highest paid cornerback in the New York Jets secondary this season. Repeat: No. 8 on his own team. Revis is due to make $1.092 million in '10, which is less than Antonio Cromartie ($1.7 million), Jim Leonhard ($1.625 million), Brodney Pool ($1.3 million), Eric Smith ($1.176 million), Drew Coleman ($1.175 million) and James Ihedigbo ($1.101 million). For what's it worth (a lot), Revis earned $15 million over the first three years of his rookie contract after being taken in the first round of the '07 draft out of Pittsburgh. But he's due. And don't think his agent won't take note of this information.

-- Chicago coach Lovie Smith, with no playoff berths since the Bears' '06 run to the Super Bowl and combined 23-25 the last three years, clearly is on the hot seat heading into his seventh season. After the Bears made the biggest splash in free agency (See: Peppers, Julius) and hired mercurial Mike Martz as offensive coordinator, they're looking for a quick fix. Or else. Smith knows that. But the coach doesn't want any part of the "Win One for Lovie" theme that is hovering over the team. "We need to win for the Chicago Bears," Smith said as camp kicked off Thursday. "You guys are going to talk that stuff. For us, it's been a long time since we've been in the playoffs. We want to play our best football, and I have been in this game a little bit. I think I know what a good football team looks like. This is a good football team."

-- All the attention being showered on the diva potential of a Chad Ochocinco and Terrell Owens tandem, don't shortchange Antonio Bryant on that front. Just because Bryant gave "T.O." his No. 81 doesn't mean "A.B." is willing to give up his "touches" too.

-- Fresh off signing a five-year, $40 million contract, Oakland linebacker and first-round pick Rolando McClain, defensive captain for Alabama's national championship team last season, had a clear understanding of his rookie role. "I played for Nick Saban and he always talked about stopping the run," McClain said. "He said, 'You stop the run, you win the game.' That's the attitude here. We're going to change from what we did last year, which wasn't too good." The Raiders were 29th against the run in '09, allowing 155.5 yards per game.

-- Green Bay officials, buoyed by New York being awarded the 2014 Super Bowl, are now worried about their push for the big game. The NFL requires Super Bowl sites to have 25,000 rooms within 60 miles, but Green Bay only has 3,000. Thank goodness.