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Four days later, the reaction is the same from Greg McMahon: "it's unbelievable."

Ask him four weeks from now, or four months from now, and it will stay the same. He is now, and always will be, a Super Bowl winner.

"It's unbelievable."

A 13-year assistant coach at Illinois, the Rantoul native never had a day like Sunday. The special teams coordinator celebrated on the field with his wife, kids and mom as the New Orleans Saints hoisted the Lombardi Trophy.

"It was surreal," McMahon said.

Not to be greedy, but McMahon wants another one. Along with the rest of the Saints. So, instead of jetting off to Cabo for a little rest and relaxation, McMahon was back in the Saints' offices this week getting ready for next season.

"It's something you work your whole career, your whole life for, then all of the sudden, you're able to get it," McMahon said. "You're like, 'Wow, let's enjoy this and let's go try to do it again.' "

The NFL combine is later in the month, and McMahon will be there. The draft is in April, and McMahon's opinions will be needed.

"This is a very, very intense time of the year," McMahon said. "Teams that didn't make the playoffs were done five weeks ago. We're spending extra time on personnel. We're grinding away pretty good, trying to make sure we make good decisions."

It was on McMahon's recommendation that the team signed Pierre Thomas as a free agent. The Saints likely don't win the Super Bowl without the help of the former Illini running back.

McMahon's career at Illinois ended after the 2004 season when Ron Turner was fired and replaced by Ron Zook.

The coach didn't let the bad news keep him down. He went to East Carolina for a year, then joined Sean Payton's staff in New Orleans.

"How do you know?" McMahon said. "You just go to work every day and try to do the best you can. I learned very early in my career, when you have a great quarterback – whether it's Kurt Kittner at Illinois or it's Drew Brees with the Saints – you always have a chance. Then, it's getting the right parts at the right time to get it going."

The special teams coordinator isn't going to brag on himself. But his guys had plenty to do with the Saints winning the title. Garrett Hartley kicked the winning field goal in the NFC title game against Minnesota. The drive was set up by a long kickoff return by Thomas.

In the Super Bowl, the Saints gambled at the start of the second half with a successful onside kick. The recovery changed the game's momentum.

Who made the call? Ultimately, it was Payton's decision. But McMahon played a part. So did his special teams assistant, former Illinois defensive coordinator Mike Mallory. They saw a flaw in the way the Colts handled kickoffs.

"Mike and I went to Sean earlier in the week," McMahon said. "Coach (Payton) the whole time felt like to beat these guys we needed to find a way to steal a possession, whether it was a fake punt, a fake field goal or an onside kick. Just looking at the phases, we felt that was the best look we had from a scheme standpoint to try to get it.

"Our guy did a great job, and we were able to execute it. I told Sean after the first kickoff, 'The look's there if we want to run it.' "

Does the onside kick call and the play of the special teams earn McMahon a raise?

"I don't know about all that," McMahon said. "I have no idea."

What he does know is that New Orleans loves its first-time champions.

"This goes so much further than football," McMahon said. "There's a sense that, 'We're back. We can do anything we really put our mind to do. We can win as a city.' People are saying, 'Thank you. We appreciate what you have done for our city.' "

Payton's place

During the season, Eastern Illinois associate athletic director John Smith went to New Orleans to visit with Payton. Smith convinced Payton to be a part of the school's Athletic Director's Gala.

"I said, 'It would be special if you could come back and speak,' " Smith said. "He said, 'Let's look at dates.' "

Give Smith the good timing award.

The event is scheduled for Feb. 24 at Effingham's Thelma Keller Convention Center. The gala coincides with the NFL combine in Indianapolis. So, the school will send a car to pick up Payton. McMahon, another popular former Panther, will be a part of the event, too.

With Payton on the way, the gala will have a large audience of influential Panthers boosters.

"Sean has been unbelievable," Smith said. "He loves Eastern. He's told me that. He appreciates the fact that's where he got his start and everything Eastern's done for him."

At the time Smith met with Payton, the Saints were undefeated. They lost that weekend to Dallas and dropped their next two regular season games.

Smith, a former Western Illinois coach, had to work against Payton the Eastern Illinois quarterback. Smith wasn't surprised when Payton ordered the onside kick in the Super Bowl.

"One thing Sean did there was play to win," Smith said.

During the gala, Eastern Illinois will unveil a facilities project. Having Payton talking to the boosters should help with fundraising.

"Sean's been good to us, and I know that he'll continue to be good to us," Smith said.

An explanation

Corey Cooper's college choice still doesn't thrill Aaron Peppers. The Proviso East coach wanted The News-Gazette All-State defensive back to play for Illinois.

Instead, Cooper will play at Nebraska. The choice was made a few days before Cooper announced his decision on Signing Day.

"You've got to support the kid," Peppers said. "I gave him the pros and cons. I advised him that he was THE guy at Illinois, that he was one of the top recruits here and he was the top guy on the board. He's got his home base. He's got (Ron) Zook and (Dan) Disch, who did a great job. You've got a good foundation there, and you're going to be the face of the program. Your sister goes to school there. Everything was like a perfect picture."

The turnover in the Illinois coaching staff was one concern for Cooper, Peppers said. Reggie Mitchell, who had known Cooper for years, left for Kansas.

Peppers told Cooper to make his commitment to the school, not the coach. Being away from home isn't a concern for Cooper.

Though Illinois wanted Cooper as part of the class, the signing of Earnest Thomas helped to take some of the sting away.

Peppers expects to see the Illinois coaches back at Proviso East, recruiting future Pirates. The coach will continue to push the home-state school.

Tuning in

The season doesn't open for more than six months. But that hasn't kept ESPN from starting to schedule games.

Specifically, the folks in Bristol are lining up their non-Saturday games. It's an impressive list that includes several of the preseason title contenders.

Ohio State will play a rare Thursday game to open the season, hosting Marshall on Sept. 2.

Even better on the opening weekend, Boise State plays Virginia Tech at FedEx Field. The Labor Day game kicks off at 7 p.m. and could go a long way in determining the Broncos' title chances. Credit to both schools for moving the game up. It originally was scheduled for October.

Among the other Thursday games you should mark on your calendars are Cincinnati-North Carolina State (Sept. 16), Miami-Pitt (Sept. 23), UCLA-Oregon (Oct. 21), Georgia Tech-Virginia Tech (Nov. 4) and Texas-Texas A&M (Nov. 25).

All Orange

Hopefully, the Syracuse running backs don't get ahold of the tape from the 1992 Illinois-Michigan football game.

If they do, they'll see new coach Tyrone Wheatley fumbling. A lot.

Wheatley and the Wolverines dropped 10 balls that day, which ended with a 22-22 tie. Luckily, Michigan got back on six of the fumbles, but that doesn't make coaches happy. They want ball security, not ball recovery.

Wheatley didn't let the bad day ruin his career. He was a three-time All-Big Ten running back at Michigan and spent 10 years in the NFL.

He joins Syracuse after one season at Eastern Michigan. Wheatley will provide a boost to the Orange on the field and as a recruiter. Nothing a prospect likes better than hearing from someone who actually has played in the NFL.

Bob Asmussen covers college football for The News-Gazette. You can reach him at 217-351-5233 or at asmussen@news-gazette.com.