Sumith Prasad
Directed by Charles and Daniel Kinnane, Netflix’s sports film ‘Home Team’ revolves around the real-life figure Sean Payton, one of the acclaimed football coaches of his generation. Payton was suspended from the NFL for the 2012 season following the infamous Bountygate, a scandal that shook modern football. The film starts its narrative with Payton’s suspension and progresses through his involvement with the Warriors, his son Connor’s football team, as the offensive coordinator. As the unbelievable drama progresses, one must be wondering whether the Super Bowl-winning coach really coached his son’s sixth-grade team as the adjutant of a school coach. Let’s find out!
Did Sean Payton Really Coach His Son’s Team?
Yes, Sean Payton did really coach his son’s team. After his suspension in early 2012, Payton joined Liberty Christian Warriors, his son Connor Payton’s sixth-grade football team, based in Argyle, Texas. Payton worked under the head coach of the team Brennan Hardy as the offensive coordinator and brought in radical changes to the team’s formations and game plans. He implemented simplified versions of New Orleans Saints’ tactics in the team to improve their playing style and performance.
“Here’s this group of young sixth graders that you can impact in some way, shape, or form… Looking back at it, I needed this team more than they needed me,” he said about his motivation to join the Warriors. Rather than joining a television channel as a football expert, Payton decided to spend his suspension term closer to the world of football. “There’s so many things you miss [with the suspension]. And then here was the chance to be present for every practice, for the game, for the car rides, for all those things that normally in the fall, during football season, you just hear about,” he added.
Payton’s tenure at Liberty Christian Warriors was eventful. He conceived a playbook for the players to follow, which led the team to a consistent winning run. The players and officials of the team were stunned to see the results of Payton’s efforts as the Warriors kept on winning by huge margins. The most challenging experience Payton had as the coach of Liberty Christian Warriors was the perplexing game plan of Springtown Porcupines. After the defeat against them in the regular fixture, Payton wanted to be victorious in the championship game against them. He even called his mentor Bill Parcells, a two-time Super Bowl champion coach, for advice.
Payton and the Warriors’ 2012 season ended in another defeat against the Springtown Porcupines. Even though he had to settle with a runners-up position in the championship, he was really proud of the work he had done to nurture the players over the 2012 season. Although the Warriors wasn’t a terrible team as the film depicts, Payton did lead them to new heights. After the final game of the match, he expressed how much the experience with the boys mattered to him as a coach in his career. When Bountygate and the eventual suspension became a dark phase in his life, Payton dealt with it positively by nurturing the game in a bunch of sixth-graders.
Read More: Home Team Ending, Explained
