Of course, fond memories will be recalled.
There's no level of pretending that can ignore the fact that Sean Payton will be on the opposite sideline Thursday night when the New Orleans Saints (2-4) face Denver (3-3) in the Caesars Superdome, coaching the Broncos for his second season after leading the Saints from 2006-21 and becoming the all-time leader in coaching victories for the franchise, as well as leading it to a win in Super Bowl XLIV.
But frankly, this is no time for nostalgia for the Saints.
The Saints have lost four straight games after winning their first two, with Sunday's 51-27 loss to Tampa Bay possibly still ringing in some ears. Their eyes are on something more significant than the face of the team's former coach, who accumulated 161 victories overall, including playoffs.
"I think Sean is obviously a Hall of Fame coach, he's a great coach," said tight end Juwan Johnson, who joined the Saints in 2020 as an undrafted rookie receiver. "But then again, he's an opposing coach.
"He's in the way of what we're trying to do, whether that is the Tampa Bay coach or whether that's the Denver coach or whoever's coach it is. I think we just need to win. I think we are desperate for a win.
"Losing five games straight is just not something that I even want to utter anymore or utter at all. We need to win. I think the city is in need of that, we are more in need of that. So, yeah, we're desperate."
The Saints enter the nationally televised game coming off a showing against Tampa Bay that easily was their worst in years. The Buccaneers ran up 594 yards, including 277 rushing, and 44 points (one touchdown was scored via fumble return) while averaging 8.3 yards per play.
The defense has been on the field for 80 and 72 plays the last two games, respectively, against Kansas City and Tampa Bay. And it has allowed a league-high 395.8 yards per game.
"He's gonna be fired up," defensive end Cam Jordan said of Payton. Jordan played the first 11 of his 14 NFL seasons under Payton, after being drafted in the first round (No. 24 overall) in 2011.
"Everybody in this building knows who Sean Payton is," Jordan said. "If he sees blood in the water he's going to go try and take advantage. That's always been his M.O. We're not helping deter that at this point with the last game that we just put on.
"Five hundred ninety-something yards from a Bucs offense where we should have taken advantage in so many different ways and did not."
The Broncos start rookie Bo Nix at quarterback. Nix has started all six games and completed 61 percent of his passes for 1,082 yards and five touchdowns, with five interceptions. He only has thrown one interception in the last three games; New Orleans intercepted three passes in the second quarter against Tampa Bay.
Saints Coach Dennis Allen – who coached under Payton from 2006-10 (as assistant defensive line coach and secondary coach) and again from 2015-21 (as defensive coordinator) before taking over as head coach in 2022 – knows the offensive-minded Payton will present challenges for his defense.
"He's certainly a demanding coach and does a really good job with the offense," Allen said. "A lot of different personnels, formations. There's some shifts involved. And he does a really good job of identifying areas of weakness that he wants to try to attack. That'll be something that we'll have to deal with Thursday night.
"He does a really good job of finding out what his players do well, identifying weaknesses in a defense and putting his players in the best position to be successful."
Regardless of opponent, Allen said the Saints are eager to get back on the field after Sunday's game.
"That's part of the good thing about being on a short week," he said. "You don't have a whole lot of time to sit here and feel sorry for yourself, you've got to start preparing for another opponent."
