NEW ORLEANS – New Orleans Saints Coach Sean Payton is on the verge of adding yet another defining moment to his burgeoning resume’.

In collaboration with noted journalist Ellis Henican and the NAL/Penguin Publishing Company, Payton has agreed to tell “the definitive story of a four-year journey by a coach, a team and a city, all rising together, told by the one person who can tell it right.’’

Entitled “Home Team,’’ the hardcover is scheduled to hit bookstores July 6 at a cost of $24.95.

I am told not to expect a book about Xs and Os, game plans, locker room escapades and inner-office wrangling. However, one can expect “an inspirational sports story, the miraculous tale of how a city and a team pulled each other back to life’’ that is sure “to delight and inspire not only New Orleans fans, but fans of the NFL as well,’’ according to a promotional flyer found on the Internet.

NewOrleans.Com obtained a copy of the book proposal by Henican. It reads:

• “A beautiful city in ruins. An underachieving football team. A young coach committed to reviving them both. No team ever meant so much to a city. No city ever needed it more.’’

• “Sean Payton isn’t just a brilliant football coach, leading the NFL’s perennial losers all the way to the Super Bowl. What he has achieved in New Orleans goes far deeper than that. Amid the immense devastation of Hurricane Katrina, in a stadium that was a worldwide symbol of misery and despair, he has built a team and a culture of winning that have lifted a whole battered city back to its feet.’’

• “Sean Payton arrived in New Orleans a few short months after the levees broke. The Superdome was uninhabitable, just like most New Orleans homes. The Saints had been playing their “home games” in San Antonio, Baton Rouge and Northern New Jersey. The core fans and season-ticket holders were scattered across the country. The owner was considering the need to move the team for good. The future did not look bright. For Payton, a former assistant with the New York Giants and Dallas Cowboys and a protégé of coaching legend Bill Parcells, it was his first head-coaching job.’’

• “(Payton) approached the challenge as two parallel missions. A struggling team had to be rescued. So did a struggling city. Both had been pushed back on their heels. Both needed a much stronger offense. Payton got right to work. Culling the roster. Making trades. Assembling a diverse lineup of talent and heart. The instinctive but possibly injured quarterback Drew Brees, who had worn out his welcome in San Diego. The Heisman-winning running back Reggie Bush, who had been passed over by Houston. Spectacular rookie wide receiver Marques Colston, “the Quiet Storm.” A few stand-outs from the previous regime like flamboyant Pro Bowl receiver Joe Horn and running back Deuce McAllister, who could alternate with Bush. The new coach had to convince the free agents to come, the veterans to start thinking differently and everyone to play like a team. And it all had to be done in a hurry in the frantic turmoil of post-Katrina New Orleans. Payton established a well-focused work ethic. He dreamed up unique motivational techniques, everything from videotaped comedy routines to paintball wars. He connected the hopes and the dreams of the team and the city. Most of all, he helped the players see what they were playing for, and he made the people around him start to believe. Together, all of them learned what real victory means – working toward something larger than ourselves.’’

• “And how did the people of New Orleans respond? With a Category 5 outpouring of gratitude and love. These were more than fans. These were people who had lived through unthinkable hardship – losing their homes, seeing their relatives drown, working mightily to rescue their city and its life. The government had failed them. The media had moved on. The people were desperately eager for some kind of encouragement. And they got it. No matter how heavy their personal burdens, they were never too busy for football. These Saints were their team.’’

• “This is the book about this remarkable time. Coach Payton will share his private thoughts and insights. He will take us on this dramatic four-year journey through his eyes -- from the day he arrived in post-Katrina New Orleans to the Saints’ first-ever appearance in the Super Bowl. He will describe his own family’s doubts about moving to a disaster area. He will detail the many challenges of their daily lives. In their own reconstruction disaster, the Paytons were forced from their home, as so many of the players and fans had been. He will share his intimate stories about the players and coaches who were key to the effort. He will describe the everyday heroes he met along the way, inspiring the Saints, inspired by them, helping to save a city and its unique way of life.’’

Henican, 51, is a columnist for Newsday, an analyst on Fox News and the host of a nationally syndicated talk-show. His aunt is former New Orleans City Council-woman and mayoral candidate Peggy Wilson. He is a graduate of Jesuit, his parents currently live in the French Quarter and he once worked for Figaro.

Henican, who resides in New York City, is putting the finishing touches on the book. He could not be reached for comment.

It is known Penguin paid out $250,000 in advance to the team of literary agent Chris Parker of Foundry Media, Henican and Payton, who received a six-figure “signing bonus’’ believed to be $100,000.

A portion of the book proceeds will help support the continued recovery of the Gulf Coast region, especially its children, through Payton’s Play It Forward Foundation.

The first printing calls for 100,000 copies. A national promotional tour featuring Payton is scheduled in late June (after the completion of OTAs) and prior to the start of training camp in late July.

Here’s hoping that the writing team of Payton and Henican can deliver a compelling glimpse into a Season for the Ages and the arduous journey that preceded it.

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Saints beat writer Brian Allee-Walsh can be reached at This e-mail address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it

Comments (5)

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written by sparkey, March 12, 2010

There is noone in the country who is better positioned than Henican to write this book. I have been a fan of his for years and have admired his work in television, newspaper columns, radio, etc, etc, etc.

This book will appeal to Saints fan all over the world. WHO DAT!

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written by Red Auerbach, March 11, 2010

Hey Brian, I think he used to write for the old French Quarter Courier, not Figaro, but it's been a while. And you could have tossed in a mention of his Pulitzer. But a nice writeup.

And not to belabor the obvious, but some of you guys are just idiots, on top of being terrible spellers. The "card carring" liberal is a loyal New Orleans native with a Pulitzer Prize. Talk about no cred, some anonymous guy on a message board is saying somebody else has no cred? LMAO.

No, I'm not Henican, nor related to him. You may now resume your daily milling around accomplishing nothing and blaming everyone.

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written by BecauseWhy, March 10, 2010

Because George Bush Did such a great job getting help to New Orleans after Katrina? Wow Chris B and RIdge. Just, wow.

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written by chris B, March 10, 2010

Amen brother. Henican is a card carring liberal who has no cred at all.

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written by Ridge, March 10, 2010

Hennican is a liberal buffoon.Can't Sean find some sports writer who won't Bush bash Katrina to tell the story?

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