New Orleans Saints coach Sean Payton can relate to the Baltimore Ravens' coaching turmoil on multiple levels.

Associated Press

Sean Payton.

Payton lost his play-calling duties in 2002 when he was an assistant with the New York Giants, although his then-boss, Jim Fassel, never fired him.

This time it was Fassel's turn to lose his play-calling duties, as well as his job, when Baltimore coach Brian Billick decided a change was needed to enliven the Ravens' offense.

Now Billick, like Payton across the field, will be calling plays in addition to overseeing the entire team.

Whether a change in play-callers will give the Baltimore offense a new look, Payton isn't so sure.

"I don't know how much mid-stride you can change. There certainly will be a new flavor because the play-caller will be different and Brian's had experience doing that certainly in his career," Payton said. "Some things won't change and then I'm sure there will be some things that Brian will want to do to put his twist on it and that would be expected. It's hard in-season to change completely or revamp the direction you want to move."

Losing his responsibility for calling plays was among the setbacks Payton has overcome in his journey to the head coaching job in New Orleans.

But Payton said he wasn't too discouraged about it because Fassel kept him on the staff as the offensive coordinator and allowed him to continue designing game plans.

Fassel was one of three offensive coordinators fired already this season, along with Maurice Carthon in Cleveland this week and Keith Rowen in Arizona last week.

"What's happened this year has been a little bit unique to say that a guy like Jim is out or at Arizona or at Cleveland, so I think situations are maybe somewhat different," Payton said. "The team moves on, the players move on and that's the unfortunate side of our business and something that's disappointing when you watch it. The players are looking to game plan and they're ready to get into the next week's game. That's really what you can expect."

Payton said calling plays while monitoring the whole team during a game can be tricky. He would not rule out giving up play-calling himself if it interfered with his overall management of the team on game day, but he does not foresee that happening anytime soon.

"It's something I enjoy doing and feel confident in doing," Payton said. "The key is always looking to say what's best for the organization and what's best for the team. We ask our players to do that all the time, so I think that's something you always look at as a head coach."

(Copyright 2006 by The Associated Press. All Rights Reserved.)