NFL coach Sean Payton has called for a change in gun laws in the United States after former Super Bowl champion Will Smith was shot dead in New Orleans at the weekend.

Payton, who is the current head coach of NFL franchise New Orleans Saints, told USA Today that it is time for gun control.

"Two hundred years from now, they’re going to look back and say, 'What was that madness about?' The idea that we need them to fend off intruders … people are more apt to draw them. That’s some silly stuff we’re hanging on to," he said, before adding "I hate guns".

Defensive end Smith was part of Payton's Saints team which won Super Bowl XLIV in 2010.