Coach Sean Payton is leaving the New Orleans Saints for a front office position with the Dallas Cowboys after some disagreement about his role in recent years.
Some of these disagreements center on alcohol and pre-game golf, according to an NFL insider who spoke anonymously to ESPN’s Adam Schefter. Payton served as head coach from 2006-2014 with one year out due to scandal before returning this season.,
Sean Payton worked for the New Orleans Saints for 16 years. After a tough year without his Hall of Fame quarterback, the Saints’ head coach chose to step down. Dan Patrick spoke with NFL Network insider Tom Pelissero on Payton’s decision. Patrick, however, does not believe the rationale or the story that the former Dallas Cowboys assistant would retire in 2022.
After a decade and a half as head coach of the New Orleans Saints, Sean Payton is stepping down.
Sean Payton and the New Orleans Saints were the longest-paired club and head coach in the NFL, apart from Bill Belichick and the New England Patriots.
Payton has spent 16 years with the franchise, one more than Mike Tomlin of the Pittsburgh Steelers and two more than John Harbaugh of the Baltimore Ravens. He did, however, lose a year as a result of the BountyGate penalty. In terms of actual seasons coached, he’s tied with Tomlin and one ahead of Harbaugh.
Payton’s exit has been rumored for years. It’s no secret that one of Jerry Jones’ greatest regrets as a Dallas Cowboys owner is letting Payton leave during Bill Parcells’ last season as coach. Every time the ‘Boys have faltered since then, rumors of Jones launching a raid for Payton have arisen.
Payton remained committed to New Orleans and the Saints despite the attention from the adjacent state.
It was a difficult period for the city when the inventive offensive coach arrived in New Orleans in 2006. In the previous ten years, the football squad has only had two winning seasons. On the far more serious real-life front, New Orleans was still striving to recover from Hurricane Katrina’s destruction.
By providing the proud city a winning team to unite behind, Payton and the free-agent quarterback he signed that summer, Drew Brees, helped heal New Orleans from a football and real-life viewpoint.
That first season, the Saints went 10-6, and three years later, they won their first Super Bowl.
Payton’s tenure in New Orleans concludes with a 152-89 record and nine playoff berths. However, this was the first season without Brees, and the club underperformed. Despite the difficulties, the team finished with a 9-8 record and battled to the last end for a playoff position.
Payton announced his resignation as head coach of the Saints on Jan. 22, 2022, in a surprise move.
Tom Pelissero of NFL Insiders explains what led to the coach’s decision to resign.
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This week, NFL Network’s Tom Pelissero joined the Dan Patrick Show to cover a variety of NFL subjects, including Sean Payton’s resignation. Patrick inquired about Payton with Pelissero. According to the article, the coach needs some “time apart” after “such a tough season.”
Pelissero outlined the New Orleans Saints’ troubles this season, including beginning the season in Jacksonville, Florida due to Hurricane Ida, losing quarterback Jameis Winston for the season, and “starting Ian Book in a nationally broadcast game” due to COVID-19 concerns.
He went on to outline Payton’s decision-making process after the season ended:
He traveled down to Cabo shortly after the season concluded. He played golf, drank tequila, pondered his future, and when he returned, all he could think was, “I need a vacation.”
Sean Payton, according to Tom Pelissero
All of this makes perfect sense.
With the real-life stressors of a storm and a worldwide epidemic, mixed with the professional stress of facing a future without a Hall of Fame quarterback, it’s understandable that Payton might consider stepping down now.
Payton is expected to go to the broadcast booth for the 2022 season, following which he will review his desire and opportunity to coach.
Some, including as Dan Patrick, believe the timing of the coach’s announcement is too fortuitous not to hint to something else: becoming the Dallas Cowboys’ head coach.
Could Sean Payton be the Dallas Cowboys’ next head coach?
Sean Payton | Getty Images/Getty Images/Jonathan Bachman .
The NFL broadcasting industry is undergoing a huge transformation. The networks are playing broadcaster roulette with prominent NFL commentators like Al Michaels and Troy Aikman as Amazon enters the game in 2022.
One popular speculation right now is that if Aikman left for Amazon, Sean Payton would be FOX’s top choice to replace him.
Dan Patrick, a sports radio broadcaster, has a different perspective, which he shared with Tom Pelissero during their conversation:
Look, Jerry Jones will be 80 years old this year. Mike McCarthy’s return has not received his mark of approval. This is simply too unusual in terms of time. Why wait another year for Sean Payton when you can have him right now? And you hand over money and/or draft selections to the Saints, and you’ve got yourself a coach. You’ve always wanted a coach.
Sean Payton and Jerry Jones, according to Dan Patrick
Pelissero told Patrick, “Never say never,” and stated that other owners, including Jerry Jones, are keeping a close eye on Payton’s position. The writer did inform Patrick, though, that he feels Payton’s “intention is to take 2022 off” right now.
So it seems like we will all be able to enjoy Payton’s game commentary in 2022. After the disaster that was the Dallas Cowboys’ playoff collapse, don’t rule out Jones making a Godfather offer to Payton and finally getting his man.
Pro Football Reference provided all stats.
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