"It exists as one line of Sean Payton's football resumé, a list that includes 173 regular-season wins as an NFL coach, a Super Bowl victory and several record-setting seasons on offense. But Payton the coach was once Payton the aspiring player -- an Illinois Yankee in King Arthur's Court. In 1988, he spent a six-month stint in England as a quarterback clinging to a last chance to play the game that has since become his livelihood."
"Leicester is a city of roughly 370,000 in the East Midlands section of England, roughly 103 miles northwest of Tottenham Hotspur Stadium. Its sporting pinnacle was Leicester City F.C.'s run to the 2015-16 Premier League title after facing £5,000-1 preseason odds. In 1988, the Leicester Panthers were a part of what was called the Budweiser National League (the league is now called the British American Football Association)."
Sean Payton spent six months in England in 1988 as a 23-year-old quarterback for the Leicester Panthers after finishing his college career at Eastern Illinois, where he threw for more than 10,000 yards. He previously played in the Arena Football League, for the Ottawa Rough Riders in the CFL and briefly as a replacement player for the Chicago Bears. Payton later became an NFL head coach, compiling 173 regular-season wins, a Super Bowl victory and multiple record-setting offensive seasons. He is making his third trip to England as an NFL head coach with the Denver Broncos, who face the New York Jets at Tottenham Hotspur Stadium.
Read at ESPN.com
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