Crescent City connection: Chalk this up as one of the weird minutiae that I didn’t know. Sean Payton, the new head coach of the Saints, was previously an assistant coach to Randy Walker at University of Miami (Ohio). Payton would go on to coach one of my teams; and Walker the other, being the Wildcats. I can only imagine how proud Walker would have been watching the Saints do what the ‘Cats can’t, with his reputation for playing father figure to his assistants. The Sun-Times profiled Payton, who is from Illinois:

Walker hired him after the 1993 season at Miami of Ohio, where he served as quarterbacks coach and later offensive coordinator.

“I remember asking Randy if he could pay for my move,” Payton said. “He said he didn’t think so, but he gave me a gas card. I was thrilled to have that gas card until I realized there were no BP stations [along the route]. When I found one, I was buying Slim Jims and Pringles and everything I could think of.”