MIAMI — Earlier this year, the Dolphins were prepared to give tens of millions of dollars to Sean Payton to become their coach if everything had aligned. They hope they won’t need to think about doing that again. But if they do, they likely would face stiff competition.
According to a source close to Payton, he was flattered by Miami’s interest in him to become their coach this season but also preferred to take a break from coaching in 2022.
Though a report indicated that Miami offered him five years and $100 million, a team source insists that offer was never made because the Dolphins were never granted permission by the Saints to speak with him after they requested permission, and because the Dolphins did not want to do anything that could result in tampering charges and loss of draft picks.
(Pro Football Talk reported that Payton was approached by the highest levels of the Dolphins organization — above general manager Chris Grier’s head — but that is nothing that I have independently corroborated. There is no evidence whatsoever that Miami tampered; Grier has said the matter was dropped after the Saints denied permission to speak with Payton).
Now let’s be clear: The Dolphins and their fans all hope that Mike McDaniel is a rousing success. He’s an easy guy to root for. He’s smart and innovative. Players rave about his intelligence and relatability. The Dolphins are going into this season optimistic that he will be a long-term solution, and I’m intrigued by the possibilities.
But the Dolphins will have at least a chance next spring if they make a coaching change and again pursue Payton, that close associate said.
The source — emphasizing that Payton would never lobby for a filled job — said Miami is among the teams that would interest him, and he knows that first-hand.
But the associate said he could also see Dallas and the Chargers among other teams that would interest Payton should their jobs become open.
So what exactly is Payton looking for?
The associate said warm weather, a roster good enough to compete and most importantly, control over personnel decisions. Having a good quarterback would be helpful but that isn’t the No. 1 or No. 2 factor, the associate insisted.
On a much lower scale, the close associate said he also would prefer to work in a market where he could golf some, though his work ethic and long hours largely limit those opportunities to the offseason.
So if the Dolphins disappoint this season and pursue Payton, owner Stephen Ross would need to give Payton complete authority.
That wouldn’t necessarily be an issue. Grier, who has done good work this offseason but hasn’t built a roster that has been able to win a playoff game, has no ego compared to many people in the game and likely would defer to Payton if given the opportunity to work with him.
It’s unclear if Payton would prefer his own hand-picked general manager serving as a No. 2 behind him on personnel decisions.
A source with direct knowledge confirmed former Miami Herald colleague Armando Salguero’s report that Payton spoke to an assistant coach about the Dolphins job earlier this offseason, just in case he ended up deciding to take it and in case the Saints granted permission for Miami to “acquire” him. Pro Football Talk said the Saints wanted a first-round pick in return.
The Cowboys are considered likely to pursue Payton if they part with Mike McCarthy, but the control issue is something Dallas would need to navigate.
“It’s well known we’re good friends,” Cowboys owner Jerry Jones recently said of Payton. But “Mike has an opportunity here to win a Super Bowl.”
The Chargers could move on from Brandon Staley if they fail to make the playoffs or exit quickly and meekly.
The associate said he thinks it’s more likely than not that Payton will coach again.
He’s only 58. His career record is sterling (152-89), all achieved during his Saints tenure (2006-2021). He’s 9-8 in the postseason, including a Super Bowl win in 2009.
“I still have a vision for doing things in football,” Payton said in his news conference when he stepped aside from football earlier this year. “And I’ll be honest with you, that might be coaching again at some point. I don’t think it’s this year, but I think maybe in the future.”
But keep in mind that the Saints will own his rights through 2024, so any team looking to hire Payton would need to satisfy the Saints’ likely request for compensation, perhaps a draft pick or two.
Payton will spend this season working as a studio analyst for Fox.
Because the Dolphins tried earlier this offseason to hire Payton and planned to add Tom Brady as an owner — while keeping alive the possibility of Brady perhaps playing quarterback, as reported by Pro Football Talk and the Boston Globe — that would remain a possibility next offseason if the team underachieves and Tagovailoa struggles.
But even though Brady was at one point set to join the Dolphins ownership group before Brian Flores filed his lawsuit, there was never any firm conviction inside the Dolphins that he would then un-retire and play QB for Miami because of the obstacles, including the need for Tampa to cooperate and the need to resolve trade compensation between Tampa Bay and the Dolphins.
As the associate of Payton reminded me, Brady and Payton share the same agent (Donald Yee), and Brady will be a free agent after this season.
Whether Brady remains one of the league’s best quarterbacks this season — he’ll turn 45 in August — or whether he will want to play for the Dolphins in 2023 is something that nobody can predict.
But this much is clear: The Dolphins have some of the things that Payton is looking for if he coaches again.
It would be a whole lot cheaper — both in salary and compensation to the Saints — if McDaniel can win enough this season to make any Payton discussion moot.
And it would be a whole lot less costly if Tagovailoa can improve enough to end owner Ross’ longtime fascination with having his potential future part-owner, Brady, also quarterback the team.
So Dolphins fans should root for McDaniel and Tagovailoa, because a Payton/Brady scenario would cost a draft pick (in Payton’s case), clog up Miami’s salary cap (in Brady’s case) and leave the Dolphins still searching for a long-term quarterback.
