He served as head coach for the Saskatchewan Roughriders (1973–1976), Hamilton Tiger-Cats (1978–1980) and Ottawa Rough Riders (1996) of the Canadian Football League (CFL), compiling a career record of 62–63–3.
After serving as an assistant with Central High School[1] and BYU,[2] Payne moved to the Canadian Football League in 1968.
[4] He returned to the CFL, replacing Tom Dimitroff as head coach of the Hamilton Tiger-Cats five games into the 1978 season.
After the Tiger-Cats trouncing at the hands of the Edmonton Eskimo dynasty 48–10 in the Grey Cup game, owner Harold Ballard indicated that he preferred recently fired Arizona State football coach Frank Kush over Payne, which led to his resignation.
[9] In 1995, Norton Herrick, an Orlando, Florida real estate developer, announced plans to move the CFL's Las Vegas Posse to Jackson, Mississippi.