Sean Payton on officials’ errors: ‘They’re getting that right on Friday night’

New Orleans Saints coach Sean Payton declared at his postgame news conference that he told himself before he came in that he wouldn’t comment on the officiating.

You know where this is headed.

Payton was not happy with the officials after the Saints’ 41-38 loss to the undefeated Carolina Panthers. Get in line, Sean. It has been a tough season for the officials in many ways.

Payton was upset because he said there were two 12-men-in-the-huddle violations that weren’t called on the Panthers. He was also angry with the officials on the field about no pass interference being called on a Panthers cornerback on a final fourth-down heave in the final seconds, according to Jeff Duncan of the New Orleans Times-Picayune.

“I’m not going to get into the officiating. I said walking in this door I was not going to get into it,” Payton said, before pausing about two seconds. “It happened twice. 12 on the field. Clearly. They’re getting that right on Friday nights. Next question.”

So, apparently we should go and find new officials from the high school ranks.

Payton was obviously frustrated after such a close loss against an undefeated team. The Saints’ season is going nowhere, but giving the undefeated Panthers their first loss would have been a highlight. And the Saints led twice in the fourth quarter, only to have Cam Newton break their hearts with go-ahead touchdown passes, including one with 1:05 to go.

Payton wasn’t happy with the officiating, and this probably means another week of everyone picking holes in how many calls they’ve missed this season.

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Frank Schwab is the editor of Shutdown Corner on Yahoo Sports. Have a tip? Email him at [email protected] or follow him on Twitter! Follow @YahooSchwab