At around 6:45 a.m. on September 11 , 2001 , the New York Giants ' flight from Denver , where the Giants played the Denver Broncos for the first '' Monday Night Football '' game of 2001 , landed at the gate of Newark Liberty International Airport next to United Airlines Flight 93 , the flight that was hijacked and eventually crashed in rural Pennsylvania . Payton recalls this moment in his autobiography '' Home Team : Coaching the Saints and New Orleans Back to Life '' . During the 2002 season , after several poor showings by the Giants ' offense , Payton 's role in play-calling was taken over by then head coach Jim Fassel . Under Fassel the offense improved and propelled the team to a wild-card playoff berth . While Payton was still ostensibly in charge of the offense , his role in the team was clearly diminished and had he not been hired away by the Dallas Cowboys , he likely would have been fired
United Airlines Flight 93
United Airlines Flight 93
Sean Payton