It’s another Sunday on the NFL calendar, leading to another “Sunday morning splash report” from the league’s broadcast arm about New Orleans Saints coach Sean Payton. NFL Network’s Ian Rapoport speculated about what’s ahead for Payton, who is under contract with the Saints but has not formally informed the team that he’ll be back for 2022. Yeah, this annoying storyline is still going on, and while it’s probably still being driven by Payton’s agent putting out information to reporters to try and spur another lucrative contract extension, let’s see what Rapoport has to add.
Most troubling for Rapoport, Payton didn’t answer his phone calls about the situation while vacationing after the 2021 season wrapped up. The horror. So, unable to reach Payton for comment (for what it’s worth, it’s just Rapoport who Payton doesn’t want to talk to — he’s been joking around with his former players on social media all weekend), Rapoport turned to some nebulous anonymous sources he claims are close to Payton, who saw the same rumormongering online as everyone else.
There are some problems here, namely that Rapoport isn’t reporting anything new. Payton’s under contract for the foreseeable future, having signed a five-year extension in 2019 with a few years remaining on his previous deal. The crux of Rapoport’s report here is that Payton hasn’t told the Saints he’ll be back in 2022. Why is this a story? Why would he be expected to do that?
Sure, we’re closer to the end of his Saints tenure than its beginning. He isn’t going to be the head coach in New Orleans for a hundred years. And this season challenged him like no other between a preseason hurricane evacuation, injuries, COVID disruptions, and a big transition to the post-Drew Brees era. Some burnout after all of that would be natural. But Payton guided the team to a 9-8 record despite all of it.
Some things are different. Payton’s post-season vacations and subsequent radio silence back home with New Orleans aren’t unusual, but he usually waits to conduct exit interviews with his players, meet with his staff, and field questions from local media in a final press conference before jetting out of town. This time he ducked out early after a season from hell. As better reported by Nola.com’s Jeff Duncan, he’s expected to observe practices and join meetings with draft prospects at the Senior Bowl next week and get back into his usual offseason schedule.
But like sharks drawn to blood in the water, pot-stirrers like Rapoport are seeing that silence and filling it with their own guessing and speculation to fill a time slot between playoff games. There probably is some truth to Payton eyeing the future. He’d be foolish not to consider where he’ll be in a year, three years, or five or ten. He’s spoken before about interest in broadcasting (like Brees has done with NBC) and he’s sure to be a sought-after voice whenever he’s ready for that next step.
I just don’t put any credence into a report based off, well, nothing. Payton could retire tomorrow. So could I, hypothetically. This feels like just as much of a non-story as Rapoport’s previous guesswork linking Payton to other coaching jobs in 2015 and 2016. Here’s what matters: Payton is under contract with the team and expected to get back to work in a matter of days. That’s our expectation. If something actually changes, we’ll have reason to worry.
