<span>For the second time in his four seasons as leader of the New Orleans Saints, Sean Payton is Sporting News' Coach of the Year.
Dom Capers, in his first year leading the Green Bay Packers' defense, is SN's 2009 coordinator of the year.
Voting for both awards was conducted by 53 current NFL head coaches and league executives.
Payton guided the Saints to a 13-3 record in 2009. The five-game turnaround from 2007 took New Orleans from worst to first place in the NFC South.
Payton picked up 26 first-place votes, twice as many as runner-up Jim Caldwell of the Colts (13). Only four other coaches received first-place votes — Cincinnati's Marvin Lewis (10), Arizona's Ken Whisenhunt (2), Denver's Josh McDaniels (1) and Minnesota's Brad Childress (1).
Capers was very successful in installing his 3-4 front, overseeing a smooth transition from the Packers' old 4-3 scheme. Under his guidance, Green Bay's defense went from 20th overall in 2008 to No. 2 in the NFL in 2009.
Capers (14 votes) edged Cincinnati defensive coordinator Mike Zimmer (13). New Orleans defensive coordinator Gregg Williams (nine) was third in the voting, followed by Denver defensive coordinator Mike Nolan (5), Philadelphia defensive coordinator Sean McDermott (3), Indianapolis offensive coordinator Tom Moore (2), Minnesota defensive coordinator Leslie Frazier (2), Indianapolis defensive coordinator Larry Coyer (1), Washington defensive coordinator Greg Blache (1), New Orleans offensive coordinator Pete Carmichael (1), Cleveland defensive coordinator Rob Ryan (1) and Cincinnati offensive coordinator Bob Bratkowski (1)
The complete NFL awards package can be found in the new Sporting News Magazine, which arrives later this week at all Barnes & Noble, Borders and Hudson Retail outlets.
