Sean Payton may have stepped down as the New Orleans Saints’ head coach, but as he’s said before, he has “fleur-de-lis tattoos that can’t come off.” The former Saints coach embraced his old team’s rivalry with the Atlanta Falcons like few others, taking every opportunity to spurn the dirty birds in taunting their fans at games or taking shots at them in sponsorship commercials.
But on Sunday, Payton issued what feels like a definitive statement. Or at least a hot take. During his spot on the FOX Sports pregame show, Payton commented “I’ve got to say it’s not a rivalry anymore. It stopped 16 years ago.”
That’s obviously in reference to Payton’s arrival to New Orleans — where he went 21-9 against them and improved the all-time record to 54 Falcons wins against 52 Saints victories. His first game in New Orleans was the “Rebirth” memorial game in 2006, where the black and gold sent the Falcons packing with a 23-3 loss. The last game Payton ever coached as a Saint was a 30-20 win during the 2022 regular season finale in Atlanta.
If the Falcons aren’t the Saints’ rivals, they’re still a jealous brother. Now it’s Dennis Allen’s turn to leave Atlanta with a win and inch closer towards tying up that all-time record. A 2022 season sweep would do it, and then the Saints can take bragging rights with more wins. But that’s easier said than done. Let’s see if they can take that first step on Sunday.
