HOUSTON, TX - NOVEMBER 29: Head coach Sean Payton of the New Orleans Saints looks up at the clock while coaching against the Houston Texans in the third quarter on November 29, 2015 at NRG Stadium in Houston, Texas. (Photo by Bob Levey/Getty Images)

Super Bowl-winning coach rips 'extremely poor' officiating in his TNF game

He was not happy at all.

Sean Payton made all kinds of news during and after his team's Thursday night loss to the Atlanta Falcons. Perhaps the most noteworthy event came when he seemingly gave a "choke" signal to his opponent (despite denying it after the game) but, on Friday, Payton added even another layer to the festivities in blasting the officiating.

New Orleans Advocate (h/t NBC's ProFootballTalk) had this quote about the officiating being "extremely poor" in the contest.

"I thought our guys fought hard. Obviously, looking back through it, I thought the officiating was extremely poor, inconsistent would be a good way to put it, and I thought that had a lot to do with the way this game ended. ... That's what's frustrating is good teams are out there fighting hard, but the calls, as I went through them, and the ones that weren't called, too many inconsistencies. I think it's been a problem all year, it's something that's going to have to be addressed from a leadership standpoint at the top in our league office."

There were a few high-profile calls, including a procedural penalty on the Saints at the end of the first half that nullified a field goal and a personal foul on Payton that effectively ended the game in the fourth quarter. Of course, coaches are never thrilled with the officiating in the aftermath of a bitter loss but, in the same breath, this was not immediately following the game, but rather with several hours to cool off before addressing the media again.