Kevin James, known for his New York Jets fandom, will portray the New Orleans Saints head coach in a film based on his 2012 suspension.
The King of Queens is standing in for a legend of The Big Easy.
Per NBC Sports’ Peter King, actor-celebrity New York Jets fan Kevin James will portray New Orleans Saints head coach Sean Payton in the upcoming film Home Team.
The film will depict Payton’s stretch as the offensive coordinator of the Liberty Christian Warriors, a private school team based in Argyle, Texas. Payton took the job in 2012 after he was assessed a season-long suspension from the NFL for his role in New Orleans’ “Bountygate” scandal.
“This has been the most enjoyable season for me as a coach ever in my life.”
Sean Payton reflects on his time coaching his son’s 6th grade team. @meghanpayton7 pic.twitter.com/qjqenH9YnR
— NFL (@NFL) January 5, 2020
A release date has not been announced, though King’s report states it will debut on streaming service Netflix.
James will reunite with Happy Madison Productions, run by his close friend Adam Sandler. Previous collaborations include Paul Blart: Mall Cop, Grown Ups, and their respective sequels. James’ more recent work includes a starring role on the Netflix sitcom The Crew, which centers on the daily happenings of a NASCAR race team.
Another sports-centered role came in another Happy Madison endeavor when he portrayed a high school teacher-turned-MMA fighter in the 2012 film Here Comes the Boom.
A native of Mineola in Nassau County, James is one of the Jets’ most well-known celebrity fans. His breakout role on CBS’ The King of Queens featured several references to Gang Green and he is a regular in East Rutherford during the season. While promoting The Crew on ESPN, James made an impassioned plea for the Jets to trade for Deshaun Watson (prior to the release of assault allegations against the Houston Texans quarterback).
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James also told Maureen Roth of 247Sports in 2007 that he named his daughter Shea after the Jets’ former stomping grounds shared with the New York Mets.
“I’ve loved them since they played in Shea Stadium,” James told Roth. “The Jets were always a cool team.”Everyone wanted to be Joe (Namath). I had the #12 jersey. Besides Namath, I was a fan of all the old Jets … Don Maynard, Matt Snell, Emerson Boozer, Freeman McNeil. I also loved Bruce Harper because he was an insane multi-talented little freak who could run the ball, return kicks I was actually a big running back fan because I played fullback in high school and college.”
Geoff Magliocchetti is on Twitter @GeoffJMags
