Sean Payton’s approval rating high among Cowboys fans

By Randy | Friday, December 08, 2006 | ( 7 )

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The latest polls out of Dallas show New Orleans Saints head Sean Payton's approval ratings are lagging just slightly below those of Tony Romo these days.

In case you haven't heard, Payton is the man who discovered Tony Romo. Payton is the guy who jumped up and down, pounded his fists on the table and demanded that Jerry Jones, Bill Parcells and Larry Lacewell take a long, hard look at the unknown QB from tiny Eastern Illinois University on Draft Day 2003. In retrospect, Payton, then the quarterbacks coach of the Cowboys, probably wishes he would have kept his mouth shut that fateful afternoon.

Silence is golden, indeed. It seems no good deed goes unpunished. Payton and his Saints must face Tony Romo, the league's hottest quarterback, this Sunday night in Dallas.

It's a good bet that Jerry Jones will express his gratitude to Payton this Christmas. Perhaps Jerry will mail him a nice Hallmark card with a $500,000 check inside. Or maybe when Payton wakes up on Christmas morning, he will find a Lexus SVU with a red bow on it waiting in his driveway.

Don't be surprised if Cowboy fans drape a sign with Payton's name on Texas Stadium's Ring of Honor. It is the least they could do for their former offensive coordinator, considering Romo has been the driving force behind Dallas' reemergence among the National Football League's elite after a decade-long absence.

Former Cowboys player personnel director Larry Lacewell recounted the story for the Star-Telegram this week:
"It was (Bill) Parcells' first draft with us, and I'm trying to make him happy, and get to know him, but I've got (Sean) Payton, and one of our scouts, Jim Hess, constantly bugging the hell outta me about some kid named Tony Romo."

At first, Lacewell gave Payton the short shrift. Payton persisted. The Cowboys' brass continued to resist.

"By the sixth round that year, Sean was practically standing on the table, telling us to take Romo," Lacewell told the Star-Telegram. "We didn't, and not in the seventh, either but the good thing is both Sean and Hess were on the phone with Tony constantly, assuring him we still wanted him."

Payton, a former EIU quarterback himself, had followed Romo's college career closely. Dallas would eventually outduel another EIU alum, Mike Shanahan, in a battle to sign free agent Romo, who figured he had a more immediate chance of playing at Dallas than Denver.

Of course, the rest is history. Since taking over for the struggling Drew Bledsoe, Romo has been flawless in leading the Cowboys to five wins in his six starts. Jerry Jones is smiling broadly again. The Cowboys have regained their swagger. They have a two-game lead in the NFC East with four games to play.

"Tony is making it look way too easy," remarked Roger Staubach on his Web site two weeks ago. Staubach, a Hall of Fame quarterback, guided the Cowboys to two Super Bowl wins during his superlative career.

After throwing five touchdown passes on Thanksgiving in a victory over Tampa Bay, a dismayed Jon Gruden said, "I thought it was (Troy) Aikman out there," referring to Dallas' other Hall of Fame QB.

While it is too early to enshrine him into Canton just yet, Romo definitely has the "It" factor. Sharp, charismatic, rifle-armed and a student of the game, Romo is on a roll.

"He can do a good job spontaneously, in the pocket, out of the pocket, creating," Payton told The Times-Picayune on Wednesday. "He's one of those players that can throw from a lot of different funny body positions...and he's a player that's got a quick release.

After Payton's arrival in New Orleans, the new Saints coach tried to coax Romo away from his mentor, Bill Parcells, who basically said forget about it. Parcells realized the valuable commodity he had in Romo and was waiting for the right moment to unveil his gifted signal caller.

Time magazine's cover story this week addressed the subject of worry. The article's author interviewed a psychology professor at the University of Oregon named Paul Slovic, who surmised that the more pain and suffering something causes, the more we tend to fear it.

"That's the dread factor," said Slovic.

It's safe to say the good professor would conclude that Saints cornerbacks Mike McKenzie, Fred Thomas and Jason Craft are experiencing "the dread factor" this week given the havoc Romo has wreaked upon opposing secondaries in the past six weeks. It is understandable if they are having plenty of nightmares, waking up in a cold sweat at 4:00 a.m. Romo is so cool. So confident. Even the antics of Terrell Owens have not hamstrung him in his rise to greatness.

Payton demurs at the suggestion that he is the one who discovered Romo. The first-year head coach told the Times-Picayune, "I don't think it was the proverbial diamond in the rough. Enough people, all of us, had a chance to see him at the combine and watch college tape of him."

Romo says Payton is just being modest.

"I probably wouldn't be where I am without him, definitely. And he knows that."

Years ago, when Keyshawn Johnson was catching passes in the Big Apple, Dan Patrick asked him what he would remember most about Parcells. Johnson said that you always knew where you stood with Parcells. If you dropped a couple of passes, Parcells would give you an earful no matter how big of a star you were.

Times may have changed but Parcells' methods have remained constant. He takes great care in making sure Romo's ego doesn't spiral out of control. Parcells says put away the anointing oil, the kid still has a lot to learn.

"He doesn't allow Tony any satisfaction," Dallas tight end Jason Witten told USA Today. "He doesn't give him any room to breathe as far as, 'You are doing a good job.' I think Tony appreciates that, because everybody on the outside allows him to get this big head. Bill's just here to humble him, and he does a good job of it."

Ask Parcells about Romo creating the "dread factor" in the hearts of opposing defenses and he would probably say, "bah, humbug."

But have no doubt Sean Payton is high on the Christmas gift list of the Dallas Cowboys this holiday season.

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Comments: 7 | Sign Up View all comments


	No.1 fr8ttrain	02:27 PM 12/08/2006

	C'mon Saints, do something BIG this weekend! A win against Dallas combined with a Carolina loss to the Giants and and they are in...


	No.2 Sue	07:06 PM 12/08/2006

	This is very good and informative article. Here is a little info more on Romo. He is originally from Burlington, WI where his...


	No.3 Norm	08:33 AM 12/10/2006

	Like a lot of fans around the country, I was genuinely sympathetic with the Saints last season ... and truly annoyed that they...