WHITE SULPHUR SPRINGS, W. Va. —Sean Payton saw a play more than a decade ago that caused him to toss aside the football and pull out a volleyball during Friday’s practice.
There’s a good chance the play happened by accident. But the result stuck with him, and the New Orleans Saints coach now feels its important to prepare his team so the next time it happens on purpose.
In 2003, when Payton was coaching in Dallas, rookie return man Zuriel Smith stepped on the sideline while fielding a kick near the sideline late in the fourth quarter of the game.