METAIRIE, La. -- New Orleans Saints head coach Sean Payton has given his players plenty of material to stay motivated as they prepare to host their first playoff game since 2011.
Payton has over 100 wins and a Super Bowl ring, but he's also building a locker-room legacy around sending unique messages to his players -- and they come in unpredictable forms.
An empty gas can. A block of cheese. A tribute to a jazz legend. Wait ... what?
"We're always looking at the challenge in front of us," said Payton, now in his 11th season with the Saints. "It's one thing to say, 'Hey, the key to victory is this,' but then there's some things you do that can make a point."
His most notorious move comes toward the halfway point of the season, when Payton likes to leave empty gas containers in the locker room -- specifically, in front of veterans, such as Ted Ginn Jr. and Drew Brees.
"Do have enough gas left?" Payton explained. "We're halfway through the season, you're a veteran player. I think that there is a schedule element to what we do. I don't want to use the word routine or monotonous, but, that schedule may stay consistent but the approach during that week might vary some."
Occasionally, Payton will also take the time to hand out pieces of cheese to his players, baiting them to take it. The lesson?
Don't be complacent.
"There is that feeling of complacency that can set in when you're having early success or you've won four games in a row -- you want to avoid that," he said. "Every one of us is partly responsible for the efficiency of how we play."
Payton admits the idea behind his motivational methods isn't completely original. In his three years as an assistant coach with the Dallas Cowboys, he witnessed Hall of Fame coach Bill Parcells implement the same strategy of leaving symbolic items in his players lockers.
Yet Payton is giving the old blueprint his own interpretation. As the headlines around player protests gained momentum in October, Payton shifted his team's focus in a different direction that week, with the passing of New Orleans rock 'n' roll legend Fats Domino.
"I just felt like it was almost back-page news, even nationally. And it's always just one of those moments where you talk to your team a little bit about someone like him," Payton recalled.
He ensured many of Domino's greatest hits were played throughout practice that week. As they faced off against the Bears, the team wore a "Fats" decal on the back of their helmets in the Super Dome.
"Elvis Presley felt awkward about being called the king of rock 'n' roll. [Domino] was the first artist that played in front of black-and-white America," said Payton. "He's a legend here in New Orleans, and when you really go back and look at his achievements, it's amazing. It's important to remember to go outside of football to share that."
Payton then received a reaction from his team that he didn't expect.
"I remember just talking a little bit about it, about Elvis, and then going through Fats Domino's accomplishments, and then some of the younger players asked, 'Who's Elvis Presley?'
"Holy cow."
The two youngest members of the Saints, rookies Marshon Lattimore and Marcus Williams, are 21 years old. That subtle yet jarring reminder of the youth of his team helps keep Payton -- and his motivational strategies -- fresh.
"There are just things that you're wanting to remind a team, especially a young team, and being creative can help deliver the message more efficiently and more effectively," he said. "Over the years, there's so many times when you're just wanting to deliver messages constantly or most efficiently, and sometimes you can't just let something sit up on PowerPoint."