New Orleans Saints head coach Sean Payton has cultivated a reputation as something of a gambler on fourth down. He’s routinely called for conversion attempts on that critical down when most teams choose to punt, and often found success thanks to the accuracy of Drew Brees and the versatility of Taysom Hill.
But Payton isn’t the NFL’s most-aggressive coach in fourth down situations. At least not on fourth down with just a yard to go. That distinction belongs to his opponent this week: Tampa Bay Buccaneers head coach Dirk Koetter. Per a graphic shared by the official NFL Football Operations Twitter account, Koetter leads every active head coach and many notable recent leaders on attempts at converting on fourth and one:
Koetter ranks, surprisingly, over not just Payton but known shot-callers like Philadelphia Eagles head coach Doug Pederson, the Atlanta Falcons’ Dan Quinn, and San Francisco 49ers young gun Kyle Shanahan. Names you’d expect to see near the top of the list like Los Angeles Rams prodigy Sean McVay and “Riverboat Ron” Rivera of the Carolina Panthers are in the middle of the pack.
It’s clear that the Saints should be prepared for a Tampa Bay squad in full desperation mode, ready to go for broke whenever they need to in search of a win. That includes short fourth downs when conventional wisdom suggests punting the ball and living to fight another down. In some way, Payton will be preparing to compete against his own philosophy.