It always seemed likely that Sean Payton was going to get back into coaching. However, the former Super Bowl-winning coach may be back on the sideline sooner than many expected. During a recent appearance on Tom Brady‘s podcast, Payton revealed that he’ll be back in the NFL “sooner than later.”
“I really enjoy the current job I have,” Payton said (h/t Mike Florio of Pro Football Talk). “But I think relative to coaching, though, I know that I want to coach again and it’s not really been a secret. But I wanna find the right spot. And as Tom alluded to, you know, it’s still about the people. Because when it’s all done and it’s quiet, I don’t think it’s the money or the crowd cheers or the trophies or any of that other stuff. I think it’s about the journey with the people that you really enjoy. . . . So we’ll kind of see what happens. But sooner than later though, in fairness to that question. I think that, you know, if not this year, hopefully next year.”
Following the 2021 season, Payton announced that he’d be stepping down as New Orleans’ head coach. Payton ultimately logged 15 seasons with the Saints, going 152-89 and earning nine playoff appearances. Despite stating that he wanted to temporarily spend time away from the game, the Dolphins made a significant push for Payton but were denied permission from the Saints. It was later revealed that the organization had been having impermissible communication with Payton (and Brady) for years, leading to the loss of draft picks (along with suspensions for owner Stephen M. Ross and VP Bruce Beal).
The Dolphins reportedly offered Payton a five-year, $100MM offer, a contract that would have made him one of the highest-paid coaches in NFL history. Clearly, money isn’t Payton’s main motivation, and based on his comments, there will be many considerations as he eyes his next NFL gig. As Florio notes, a number of head coaching jobs will open up over the upcoming weeks, and it wouldn’t be surprising if one of those organizations makes a run at the former Saints head coach.
He will be Chargers next coach
rumor has it he will be replacing that bum Belicheat in New England.
“I don’t think it’s the money or the crowd cheers or the trophies or any of that other stuff”.
I’m glad the photo shows him muting the BS detector while he spoke that nonsense.
It’s not about any of that stuff. It’s about the friends you make along the way! haha
If he wanted a journey with people he can enjoy he should interview for a bus driver job.
he could have come to Jax w/ that requirement. Plus warm, and a young QB.
I doubt Payton would want to coach for any team with crappy ownership. There are plenty of crappy owners out there and Dolphins owner Ross tops the list along with Snyder
? He literally got the Dolphins in trouble for them tampering with him and Brady, he would 100% go to Miami.
Payton didn’t look healthy when he left the Saints. One can only hope that he used the year off to lose some weight, de-stress, and get some sun.
Still don’t understand why he didn’t want to be with the Saints
I’m thinking he does still wanna be with the Saints. Maybe legal advice he received in regards to his involvement with Miami case, told him to get out. He’s lying low until his legal folks say it’s okay to get back in.
Rams
The AFC West has two intriguing options in the Chargers and in Denver. We don’t know much about the new ownership group for the Broncos, but the Chargers have had an outright terrible ownership group for years. Telesco has also been around for ages, and Payton would need to be okay with sharing power with him. Herbert, however, is a much more long term option than Wilson is today. I could see Payton being intrigued by those teams, but a lot of this will depend also on how much he would want to begin his own new dynasty versus how much of a pre-set team he would prefer to just jump in to.
I’m sure that Tepper would try to make a run at him. I wouldn’t be surprised, due to that rather odd leak about Stefanski, if the Browns do. But I really don’t see either of those teams being top of the list of Payton’s preferred destinations.
Denver is going to be hamstrung for the next 2-3 years with that awful trade (Wilson in return for a series of draft picks) and possibly a lame-duck GM. They’ll be lucky to attract a long-shot coordinator with no other prospects.
I don’t think that Wilson is as big a deterrent as he appears to be. If this were his second year and still uncoachable, then I could agree. But with Denver’s elite defense and so many young skill players available, I can’t help but think that there is some intrigue to them as an option. There are disadvantages to every opening, which is of course why they’re open. It depends which set of problems Payton wants to deal with. There was a time that he was very interested in Wilson (the Saints were rumored to be one of the teams interested in Wilson when news of his displeasure surfaced). There’s no guarantee that he still does though.
I wish he was coming to Vegas. Unfortunately I know McDaniels is sticking around for awhile for financial reasons.
To your point though, I think Denver is only intriguing if he believes Wilson’s struggles are due to the current regime there. If he thinks Russ is cooked, I’d argue it may be the least desirable coaching destination in the league because of how long they’re committed to Wilson.
Sean, if you want a REAL project, please come to Houston.
Lol he doesn’t want that, all Sean wants is an easy route to the playoffs and a cake job. He has no interest in rebuilding a team.
this has Denver Written all over it
Overrated coach who only wins with HOF QB’s and when he put a bounty on a 40 year old QB’s head. Payton is a bum. Stay on TV.
Sean Payton needs to come to Tampa. Bowles needs to go so that Tampa can build for the future after Brady leaves.
He was a Dallas assistant at one time! He is the next coach of the Cowboys after McCarthy gets fired at the end of this season
Raiders will need someone.