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Saints' Sean Payton Ranked 5th Best Head Coach in NFL

Thanks to his brilliant offensive masterminding Sean Payton is still considered one of the best in the game.

By Dave Cariello
142nd Kentucky Derby - Celebrities Seen Around Churchill Downs Photo by Mike Coppola/Getty Images for Churchill Downs

Last week, USA Today ranked all 32 NFL head coaches from worst to first. Spoiler Alert: Bill Belichick was No. 1. But that's no surprise to anyone who knows anything.

What is a little surprising, at least to me, is that they ranked Sean Payton a respectable No. 5 despite not having much success the last couple of years. I'm not saying he doesn't deserve to be ranked that high, I'm just surprised that a main stream media outlet was astute enough to do so.

Here is what they said about Payton:

5. Sean Payton, Saints

There’s no offensive coach in the NFL better at creating favorable match-ups than Payton. That’s how the Saints offense remains in the top-half of the league without elite talent at the receiver position. While most other quarterbacks see their production fall off when their top targets go down, Drew Brees just keeps putting up 4,000-yard seasons.

What do you guys think? Notice there is no mention of defense when it comes to Payton's credentials. Should that hurt his ranking?

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