Sean Payton has coached numerous players who have returned to play against their former teams in the NFL, and he acknowledged it will be “unique” when he enters the Caesars Superdome as a visitor on Thursday night.Payton patrolled those sidelines as the New Orleans Saints’ head coach from 2006-21, guiding the franchise to its lone title in Super Bowl XLIV. After a year working as a studio analyst, Payton took the reins of the Denver Broncos in 2023.He returns to the Big Easy in what shapes up as an important Week 7 game for both teams. The Broncos (3-3) are coming off a loss to the Los Angeles Chargers, while the Saints (2-4) have dropped four consecutive games.Payton’s return to New Orleans has additional hurdles as Denver travels on a short week.”I think those around us know how challenging the short week is as compared to as if it was a full week,” Payton said Monday. “Certainly, there will be emotions going back there with players, but I do think that comes up quite a bit in our league. With players and in this case certainly the amount of time I was there, I understand it.”We have to deal with the crowd noise. That place is loud, and you guys know that.”Payton sees a bit of a silver lining with the short week in that it doesn’t give him time to get tied up in the extracurricular elements surrounding the game. That includes Drew Brees, Payton’s quarterback from 2006-20, being inducted into the Saints’ Hall of Fame during a halftime ceremony.”Fortunately it’s a short week because I haven’t had (a) chance to dive into all the other stuff,” Payton said. “I have already reached out to (Brees), congratulated him and said, ‘This is the first of many.'”I say this, it’s about the game. It’s about the win, the significance of us playing our best football on a short week, and it’s about our team. I’ll address that with them (Tuesday) morning and (say), ‘Hey, let’s understand the significance of getting our fourth win.’ I think that’s the No. 1 thing and then go from there.”
