After speculation on his future continued to grow, Saints’ head coach Sean Payton has informed the team that he is “stepping away”, according to NFL Network’s Ian Rapoport (Twitter link). The news brings an end to his tenure in New Orleans dating back to 2006.
[Related: Sean Payton Not Certain To Return in 2022]
Rapoport reported earlier in the week that the 58-year-old was weighing his options, and that there was a strong chance he might not be coaching in 2022. Many thought a one-year absence was a possibility, either for Payton to take a year off from coaching altogether, or perhaps to try his hand in broadcasting, as TV networks are apparently interested in him. ESPN’s Dianna Russini reports (via Twitter) that “he is not done coaching football in the future”.
Meanwhile, Nick Underhill of The Athletic has tweeted that Payton has “retired”. That would of course suggest a much greater degree of finality to the decision, as opposed to a temporary break from the spotlight. Payton was back at the Saints’ facility on Monday, the day owner Gayle Benson confirmed that no one in the organization knew his intentions.
Payton has three years remaining on his current contract, but obviously the Saints need to begin looking for a replacement HC. One of the names mentioned as a candidate to take over is defensive coordinator Dennis Allen, who has also received interest from the Bears. New Orleans will certainly have competition for any external options, as there are now nine HC vacancies around the league.
One year after the quarterback who delivered the franchise’s only Super Bowl retired, the coach who was an equally integral part of that championship is now departing New Orleans as well.
Bye
Crow DOESN’T taste like chicken, but I will be the first one to admit I never thought he would…
It’s just not the same without Drew Brees.
Same for Bill w/o Tom. Next up is GB & Seahawks.
The brakes that you were hearing is coming from giant stadium. Now Peyton becomes the number one choice.
He’s going to Dallas in a year.
No he isn’t. It’s a goofy pipe dream for Cowboys fans. Payton just doesn’t want to rebuild but isn’t going to use the word retire yet. He definitely isn’t coaching 2022.
Yes, because working for Jerry Jones is such an alluring prospect…
He’s retiring. It says so right in the article you’re commenting on. Even as a Giants fan, why on earth would Payton quit the Saints just to join the Giants? Makes no sense. Giants will probably reach out to do due diligence, but there’s nothing to indicate Payton would have any interest.
Who replaces him? My bet it’s a promote from within. But they should get Eric Beinemy
That is exactly who popped to mind….bummed I wasn’t the first to say it but yeah…it is what I expect
Bienemy doesn’t deserve a rebuild. Clearly he’s not going to the Broncos so maybe he could go to the dolphins. Also this throws out any idea of Rodgers going to the Saints – good chance it’s a rebuild here.
I don’t think a single rational brain thought the team 70M over the cap and needing to gut the team thought Rodgers was going there.
And what is the difference between NO and Miami? One has money, the other has talent? All of the names considered for cut to get them under the cap aren’t big names. You always go for talent rather than cap space.
Bears? 15m 5yrs. House in Naperville.
Saints still maintain his rights for three more years, so if the Bears do want him, there will be loads of compensation required.
$15m over 5 years is a poverty pay grade for an NFL head coach.
He’s *retiring* and already has a contract. Was this a late addition to the article or something? He’s not quitting the Saints in order to join the Bears or Giants. He’s retiring.
gonna be a rough year in NO next season.
I would figure that it’s Dennis Allen’s job if they want to keep continuity in the organization. Outside the box thinking is Deion Sanders, which is being floated around by some talking heads, and may attract a better NFL QB LOL. Payton has a much younger wife, and her desire to see him “enjoy life more” has presumably factored into the decision. I’m sure many teams will call, but this seems like a Bill Cowher type of retirement. No mas!
One year without Brees was too much for him. Ridiculous.
He finally realized what the rest of the world already knew, Taysum is just Tebow 2.0.
that’s being too kind to Hill
Yeah, not like Hill’s overall stats aren’t vastly superior to Tebow’s in every category, or that he has 400 receiving yards, or anything. He’s just like Tebow.
Except some delusional GB fans who surely still believe he’s a future HOF’er based on that 1 preseason game however many years ago.
But then, every 3rd string, undrafted, practice squad qb is a future HOF’er to them.
Side note (the “Payton to insert team here talk aside..): “retirement” is just a word. Too many examples to believe otherwise here.
Winning QB without having a 1, 2 or #3 receiver on team
Also….welcome to NO, Eric Bienemy
Dan Campbell will leave the Lions to coach the Saints and a year from now the Lions will hire Payton…I know it’s wishful thinking but who can blame any long suffering Lions fan to want to see this happen?
Yeah, I think that 74M over the cap situation had something to do with his decision.
New Orleans needs to hire Peyton Manning to run the franchise.Give him a ownership stake so remains there for life.Mannings and New Orleans is a perfect match.
Time to search the closet for those paper bags from 1980.
Trade you Mike Tomlin for some high draft picks?
DONT GO TO THE BEARS! THAT IS ONE LOSING ORGANIZATION.
The Saints are a Salary Cap Disaster. Whomever takes that gig needs to understand that 2022 and 2023 could be ugly. From Overthecap.com – link to overthecap.com
$74M over the cap this year. Next year they have $34M but will lose some of it with the cuts they need to make for 2022. That said, they still were very close to making the playoffs this year.
Being 50 year Saints fan I have nothing, not a peep bad to say about Sean Payton. He’s leaving New Orleans with the best record ever by a Saints coach by a long shot. He also deserves Coach Of The Year consideration for having this team above .500 when needing to start 4 QB’s and without a number 1, 2 or 3 receiver on the team. The Defense was the backbone of this team and Dennis Allen should be given the reins if he wants it. I’ve loved Sean from 1st game to last. One of the best ever. Good luck to him for what ever he does or goes. We’ve had 15 great years in New Orleans