Sean Payton has been the head coach of the New Orleans Saints for 15 years. He’s posted a 152-89 record and enjoyed a lot of success.
Payton has won a Super Bowl, and the Saints have been a perennial playoff contender, making the postseason nine times under his leadership.
But according to reports, there’s growing speculation that he may be done down on the bayou. He has three years left on his current deal but hasn’t informed the team of his plans to return for next season.
The Saints struggled on offense without retired legend Drew Brees but still finished one game from a playoff berth.
Jameis Winston won the quarterback competition over Taysom Hill, and played well until a season-ending torn ACL. Hill and others finished the season under center once Winston went down.
Payton had this to say following the team’s regular-season finale.
“It’s a tough group. We’ve got really good leadership. That helped us. The makeup in the locker room I think really helped us and we leaned on it. It’s something that we’ll be able to reflect on later in the week.”
The week has passed and still no word on whether Payton will return to the Saints, which has caused the rumor mill to begin.
On the “GM Shuffle” podcast Mike Lombardi made the statement that he believes Dallas Cowboys owner Jones should try to trade for Payton.
There's a lot of talk about Sean Payton leaving New Orleans… and he has strong connections with the Cowboys. That could have a significant impact on what Jerry Jones decides to do with McCarthy.
Wild Card Weekend recap on the latest GM Shuffle: https://t.co/W4dyJbJ7HQ pic.twitter.com/pcU3qj22I9
— Michael Lombardi (@mlombardiNFL) January 17, 2022
“I think it’s hard for Jerry, right? Because if you bring Sean to have to give up control. It was hard for him to do with Parcells, but he needed a stadium, right? Jerry needed a stadium. He needed to build that, and Parcells helped him get that thing. … But Jerry’s 79 years old, right? At some point, you gotta say to yourself, ‘I want to win another one. I gotta win one.’ And I think that phone call to Sean Payton would be the best thing he could do. Whether he does it or not that remains to be seen.”
Payton Has Ties To Jerry Jones And The Cowboys: He Was The One Who Got Away
Payton was the assistant head coach and QB coach for the Cowboys from 2003 to 2005 under two-time Super Bowl winning-and Hall of Fame coach Bill Parcells. Payton played a very significant role in the development of quarterback Tony Romo.
In hindsight, maybe Jerry should’ve done more to keep Payton in Dallas, like make him the coach-in-waiting with Parcells nearing the need of an illustrious career and being a gun for hire as it pertains to coaching stops.
#Saints head coach Sean Payton has not committed to being in New Orleans next year.
It’s time for the annual the Sean Payton to the #Cowboys rumors. 😁 #DallasCowboys pic.twitter.com/PWoOPuXfFw
— Cowboys Nation (@CowboyNationDAL) January 23, 2022
Payton led the Saints to the NFC Championship Game in his first season as head coach, and a Super Bowl win three seasons later.
Consistent Excellence
Things will definitely be different in New Orleans next year.
In February, @Saints coach Sean Payton told us about the "reboot" his team would go through if Drew Brees decided to retire.#ThankYouDrew | #Saints | @BruceMurrayNFL pic.twitter.com/2ydadbXNEe
— SiriusXM NFL Radio (@SiriusXMNFL) March 14, 2021
Since Parcells retired following the 2006 season, the Cowboys have enjoyed moderate success under the likes of Wade Phillips, Jason Garrett and now Mike McCarthy.
The Cowboys have lacked discipline since Jimmy Johnson left after leading the franchise to consecutive Lombardi trophies in 1992 and 1993.
Payton would do wonders for an extremely talented Cowboys team on both sides of the football, especially QB Dak Prescott.
The Jets traded Belichick to the Patriots in 2000 and the Raiders traded Jon Gruden to the Buccaneers in 2002. Both won Super Bowls within a season, BB in 2001 and Gruden in the year he was dealt, 2002. The Cowboys have the pieces but lack the leadership.
It would probably be a perfect fit, but then again, you could name at least 12 teams that would love to bring SP into the fold.
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