“He was always a steady voice, a guy that even in the discussions we’d have today with regards to the rules or any element of the game, he was always in tune to what the proposals were,” Payton, who is entering his 13th season with the Saints, said Tuesday morning. “It’s different without him, the first one. Mrs. (Gayle) Benson’s doing outstanding, but I think any time that first year, you go through your first owners meeting, then your first training camp, there’s going to be a number of these moments where it’s the first go-around without him.”
That said, Payton, who is in his first year as a member of the Competition Committee, echoed team owner Gayle Benson in that her late husband would have insisted that the Saints’ contingent attend the meetings.