Sean Payton has gone from pitching an NFL playoff bubble to filling the Superdome with fans.
Give the coach of the New Orleans Saints credit for creative thinking.
Payton said he pitched a plan – to whom is unclear – for getting 50,000 fans in the building for the Saints’ home playoff games. They host the Chicago Bears on Sunday and, if they win, will host another opponent the following weekend.
“I brought up the idea of testing 50,000 people and quarantining them in a hotel and having like the most safest Superdome known to man, scientifically,” Payton said half-joking, according to multiple reports.
Only 3,700 fans will be allowed in the building on Sunday, negating one of the NFL’s best home-field advantages. The Saints are 6-2 at home in the playoffs during Payton’s tenure. How would Payton’s plan have worked?
“Bus them. They’re tested every day, and you’ve got a COVID-free facility,” he said. “And I think that’s possible. I don’t know if it’s taken off or not.”
When reporters laughed at the idea, Payton countered, “It can be done.”
Payton was the coach who suggested a playoff bubble to league executives in August. The NFL explored the possibility but ultimately decided to stick with the protocols that allowed all 256 regular-season games to be finished on time.
The Saints have been knocked out of the playoffs three straight years on final-play losses, including two in overtime. The Superdome holds 73,208 fans at capacity for football.
“Look, it’s not the same,” Payton said. “It’s the team creating its excitement and generating its excitement. And I think you’ve got to be ready. But I think uniquely this year, the away games for any of these opponents is not as daunting as it would be when you had to go in and deal with the crowd noise and all the other factors.”