The day after the Super Bowl, viewers were talking about the onside kick to start the second half. Even Eastern alumnus Sean Payton talked about it, because he led the whole operation.

The Super Bowl-winning head coach did not know the play’s rarity when it occurred – it was the first onside kick in the Super Bowl before the fourth quarter – but he took the risk.

“I was looking for a way to gain a possession,” Payton said. “Initially, we were looking at a fake punt, but the looks weren’t that clean.”

While Payton made the final call on the kick, another Eastern alumnus, Saintss special teams coordinator Greg McMahon, cooked up the idea. Payton called on his recovery team to make him look good and they did, recovering the onside kick, which led to the Saints being crowned champions.

Before Payton became an NFL champion, or even an NFL coach, he attended Eastern where he said the groundwork for his success was laid.

Payton said that, like any college student, special memories are made in college. Some of Payton’s fondest memories came on O’Brien Field.

“There are a lot (of memories), but in my 1986 season there was a crazy game against Northern Iowa where we scored and won it with like three seconds left,” Payton said.

The dorms he lived in, like Douglas and Ford Hall, to living off campus, to just picking up the phone and ordering Jimmy John’s are all vivid memories.

Some of Payton’s favorite moments at Eastern were the ones he made with his friends and other people he stays in touch with today.

In fact, Payton had the opportunity to build relationships with Eastern alums who are in the NFL.

“My relationships are outstanding,” Payton said. “Being a small league (the NFL) we see each other a lot at the Senior Bowl, (NFL Draft Scouting) combine and we play sometimes against each other.”

Payton faced a fellow Eastern student turned NFL head coach in this season’s NFC Championship Game, with Brad Childress coaching the Minnesota Vikings.

Another Eastern alum Payton keeps in touch with is Dallas Cowboys’ quarterback Tony Romo, who had his Eastern number retired this fall.

When Payton was assistant head coach of the Cowboys, he was involved with Romo, who is now the team’s starting quarterback.

While Payton is no longer in Dallas, he keeps in touch with Romo.

“We talk about Eastern a lot,” Payton said. “I tell Tony he’s had a great career considering that he’s the second best quarterback coming out of Eastern. I give him a hard time about that.”

As Payton sticks to his roots and uses what he was learned from past coaches such as his high school coach – J.R. Bishop at Naperville Central and college coach, Al Molde at Eastern – his life has changed since winning the Super Bowl.

However, the best part about being a champion for Payton was the growth of the Saints’ fan base.

“Mississippi, northern Louisiana, Alabama, Florida – there’s a region that has a lot of college football but not a lot of NFL football,” Payton said. “It’s particularly special for that area.”

Payton’s best Super Bowl moment is tough to pinpoint because he said everything happens so fast; however, he said he loved standing on the podium with family.

Then, not too long ago, shades of the postgame celebration resurfaced.

“We were at the beach the other day and my wife opened her purse and found some blue and red confetti that was from the Super Bowl,” Payton said.

Payton was the guest of honor at Wednesday’s Athletic Director’s Gala in Effingham. He fielded questions from reporters and found one particular question imminent.

“Can we repeat? I knew somebody would ask the tough question,” Payton said.

In quarterback Drew Brees, linebacker Jonathan Vilma and defensive end Will Smith, Payton thinks the team has the right type of players; however, he knows the struggles of ruling a competitive league.

“I could go on and on about the right type of character guys that understand the journey and how difficult it is,” Payton said.

Payton, along with McMahon, will scout draft prospects this weekend at the NFL Scouting Combine in Indianapolis.

Alex McNamee can be reached at 581-7944

or [email protected]