A retiring NFL coach has used his announcement press conference to channel his inner Ted Lasso to thank his longtime employer.
New Orleans Saints coach Sean Payton, whose 15-year tenure with the club included its only Super Bowl championship and also a one-season suspension stemming from the NFL’s bounty investigation, is retiring from coaching.
Payton informed the team on Wednesday that he is leaving his first and only NFL head coaching job with a 152-89 regular-season record — and nine playoff appearances — in 15 seasons. The Saints won the NFL title in 2009.
Payton said at his press conference on Wednesday he wanted to channel Lasso - a fictional character played by Jason Sudeikis in the popular television series named after the optimistic coach - to thank Saints owner Gayle Benson.
"I’m a Ted Lasso fan and I do have a regret," Payton said.
"Fifteen seasons, 16 years here, and I’ve got the best female owner in the world of sports.
"We don’t do biscuits here in New Orleans but we do king cake so where’s Mrs B?”
Payton then left the stage to hug Benson before giving her the cake - a nod to Lasso who gives his football club's owner biscuits throughout the series.
Benson and the Saints made Payton a first-time head coach in 2006, when he oversaw a stunning turnaround in the franchise’s first season back in New Orleans following Hurricane Katrina.
The club had been displaced from the city during the entire 2005 season, going 3-13.
The Saints went 10-6 and advanced to the NFC championship game in Payton’s first season. He has coached the Saints to the postseason eight other times in his 15 seasons since.
New Orleans narrowly missed the playoffs this season, going 9-8 in its first campaign since the retirement of Drew Brees. Payton had lured the quarterback to New Orleans as a free agent in 2006 and Brees went on to set every significant franchise passing record.
Under Payton, the Saints became a perennial contender, and they beat Peyton Manning and Indianapolis 31-17 to win their lone Super Bowl in 2009.
- Additional reporting by Associated Press.
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