Saints head coach Sean Payton said he must be better, after he was fined $100,000 and the club $250,000 for him not wearing a face covering Monday night at Las Vegas. The covering is an NFL mandate.
Here’s some excerpts from Payton’s phone teleconference with media Wednesday.
With your fine for not wearing the mask how the league wants you, do you have any comment on that? Are you going to change maybe how you, if you’re going to wear the Gator or do something different moving forward?
“Yeah, look, I just got to do a better job, when we’re not on offense. It’s okay if you’re pulling it down while you’re calling plays. But what happens is, I get caught up in the game and half the time, forget that it’s down. So I just got to be more diligent with it.”
You weren’t the only one getting fined there. How tough is it to remember that, especially since it’s not something that you are used to?
“Well look, it’s something we’re just going to have to remind ourselves to, maybe change the type of mask you’re wearing, because it’s easier I think, if you have the gaiter on, where you lose track that it sits around your neck. But look, like anything else we’ll find a way to, to be more diligent with it.”
In the first couple of games with the penalties. Have you seen that to be more technique issues or is it physical lapse?
“Well, it’s probably a combination of both John (Deshazier). We’ve got to as coaches be better during the week. When you get in games that are going to be close, there are too much, too many yards there in penalties (surrendered). Obviously, we’re near the bottom of the league. And so, that’s the bad news. The good news is, it’s only two weeks in and it’ll be a lot more concerning here going forward, if it continues. So, we’ve got to work harder at it, we’ve got to coach it better, and, and reduce those fouls.”
