“Is this how young girls felt when the Beatles broke up? Because I kind of feel like my world is ending.”
That was the sentiment of a caller on WWL’s Scoot Show Thursday as the host discussed the departure of longtime New Orleans Saints head coach Sean Payton.
Scoot sympathized with his caller, Chuck, saying he felt a similar emptiness upon learning of John Lennon’s death in 1980 in the sense that it confirmed there would never be a Beatles reunion.
“People say, ‘We could still see [Sean Payton] in another fashion,’” Chuck said. “But it’s not John and Paul. It’s not them together. Even the mediocre stuff to them was amazing. That’s how it feels as a Who Dat fan.”
“This could be something good. We don’t know. Let’s not assume it’s a bad thing,” Scoot then consoled the caller. “It’s certainly a disruption, but remember when Sean Payton came here, he was an unknown commodity… and look how it worked out.”
Rumors that Payton would step down from the position that made him Big Easy royalty over the course of 16 seasons in the Superdome started to circulate early in the week before Payton himself made the announcement official at a farewell press conference Wednesday.
In walking away, he leaves behind a legacy as by far the most successful coach in the history of a franchise with one of the NFL’s most rabid fanbases but a dearth of positive on-field memories before Payton’s arrival. He also coached the Saints to the team’s only Super Bowl victory following the 2009 season.
His departure also comes just one season after the Who Dat Nation said goodbye to longtime quarterback Drew Brees.
Payton said Wednesday that he has nothing in mind for the immediate future but knows he needs a break from football after what was perhaps the most challenging season of his career, a year that saw the Saints finish 9-8 and barely miss the postseason, halting a four-year streak of playoff appearances.
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