Has Sean Payton been talking to the New Orleans Saints?
Sean Payton is banned from talking to the New Orleans Saints as he serves his one-year suspension for his role in the team's bounty scandal. Some New York Giants are skeptical that the head coach has been able to stay quiet.
"Of course he will get his message to [the team] somehow," New York Giants punter Steve Weatherford told The New York Times.
But how? Payton can't very well put on a fake mustache and walk into team headquarters. Texting interim coach Joe Vitt during games is probably out. What techniques could he use?
Via The Times:
"Rick Nelson, a counterterrorism and intelligence expert who works at the Center for Strategic and International Studies, said in a telephone interview that 'from a technical perspective, there's really very little the N.F.L. can do' to keep Payton from being in touch with his coaches or players if he wants to make contact.
Nelson ran down a long list of potential options for discreet communication, including dummy Twitter accounts, disposable cellphones and encrypted e-mails. Nelson said there are programs that can make it seem that an e-mail user has a different address each time."
Nelson doesn't even mention the more obvious methods like sending smoke signals, putting a red flag in his flower pot or studying the diversionary email tactics of David Petraeus.
The article is worth the read, but basically boils down to this: If Sean Payton really, really, really wanted to talk to the New Orleans Saints, he'd probably be able to get away with it. The league can't tap phones or covertly read emails, after all.
Is the risk worth the reward? Payton needs to be reinstated to coach next year. Staying in the good graces of Roger Goodell is a must. The benefits of laying low, letting the Saints stumble into the offseason and returning next year as a conquering hero should be a strong motivation. It's one thing if the Saints were 7-5 and in the hunt. At 5-7 and on the cusp of playoff elimination, why put your career in jeopardy?
The New Orleans defense is ranked last in the NFL and has given up 400 more yards than the next closest team. It doesn't really matter if they were able to communicate with Vince Lombardi, it's not going to help.