Kicker Garrett Hartley Paid Back Coach Sean Payton
Sean Payton's patience with second-year kicker Garrett Hartley was rewarded with the New Orleans Saints' first Super Bowl berth.
Suspended for the first four games of the regular season for using a banned stimulant, Hartley eventually won back his job in December, then wound up staring down the biggest 40-yard field goal try in Saints history Sunday night.
Hartley overcame his nerves – not to mention bad memories of a missed 37-yarder that could have spared the Saints an embarrassing loss to Tampa Bay – and split the uprights, lifting New Orleans to a 31-28 win over Minnesota in the NFC championship game.
The phone rang at 2:15 a.m., and Garrett Hartley's father wondered why on earth his son would be calling at such an hour on the day of the biggest game of his life.
"I said, 'Dad, I have a feeling I'm going to hit a game winner from 42 yards on the right hash,'" the Saints' second-year kicker said. "It was funny, just the whole game how things played out and I just kept thinking about, 'Is this really happening.' It was like never-never land."
Garrett Hartley is an American football placekicker for the New Orleans Saints of the National Football League. He was signed by the Denver Broncos as an undrafted free agent in 2008. He played college football at Oklahoma.
Hartley was signed by the New Orleans Saints on October 29, 2008 to replace the recently released Taylor Mehlhaff. He played in his first game on November 9, 2008 against the Atlanta Falcons. Hartley came out strong, booting 13 for 13 field goal attempts for the 2008 season. He was expected to be the Saints starting kicker for the 2009 season.
However Hartley was given a 4-game suspension after testing positive for a banned stimulant. Hartley says he obtained Adderall prescription pills from a former college friend and used it to help him stay awake while driving from Dallas to New Orleans for an offseason workout. The Saints signed John Carney to a one-year contract to take his place; despite Hartley being available for the October 18 game against the New York Giants, Carney continued to handle placekicking duties. Hartley says he was unaware that the stimulant was on the NFL’s list of banned substances. Hartley remained inactive until the Saints' twelfth game of the season, against the Washington Redskins. Hartley kicked four field goals, including the game winning kick in overtime that allowed the Saints to preserve their undefeated record.
On January 24, 2010 he made a 40-yard field goal in overtime against the Minnesota Vikings in the NFC Championship game to send the New Orleans Saints to their first Super Bowl.
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