From NFL Now: As teams line up second interviews, former #Saints coach Sean Payton does not have one lined up. Will all the spots fill up? pic.twitter.com/HG5qCXR3g1
Buy Saints Tickets— Ian Rapoport (@RapSheet) January 25, 2023
Woof. Look, it’s early, and logistically it makes sense. But it sure seems as if Sean Payton has not made the cut to the second round of interviews with several teams that were quick to meet with the former New Orleans Saints head coach.
Payton’s first meeting with the Arizona Cardinals is scheduled for Thursday, but he hasn’t penciled in any follow-up visits with the Carolina Panthers, Houston Texans, or Denver Broncos at the time of writing. Each of those teams has brought back other candidates for their head coach vacancies, but none of them have scheduled a second interview with Payton.
And NFL Network’s Ian Rapoport isn’t bullish on the odds of Payton getting traded to a new team this offseason. Rapoport’s prognosis is grim: “As of right now, it does not seem like there is a place for Sean Payton. We’ll see. But it does not seem like there is a place (for Payton) in the coaching world right now.”
Payton was previously reported to have plans to meet with Broncos ownership again on Wednesday or Thursday, but those plans fell through and he went to Arizona instead. He could absolutely circle back to them again (which is also the case for the Texans and Panthers), and no team has hired a new head coach yet. We’re all very much on the outside looking in here. That doesn’t make this less concerning, though.
So what’s the deal? Why has the shine come off of Payton so quickly? Has it really, or is this a case of perception not matching reality? There are a couple of factors that could explain teams’ interest going elsewhere. For one thing, and we’re being objective here, Payton only won a single Super Bowl while working with a top-five quarterback for more than a decade. Some ownership groups may be too tightfisted to meet his contract demands (he’s been reported to be seeking a $20 million-plus annual salary). Payton enjoyed unquestioned authority and a ton of organizational control in New Orleans, and some teams may not indulge that.
This could change in a hurry. It only takes one phone call for the narrative to shift wildly and for Payton reemerge as the favorite in one of these coach searches. But at this point it at least feels like Payton is likelier to return to FOX Sports for another year than to settle for less with one of these gigs. And that would be tough to swallow for the Saints, who badly need extra draft capital this offseason to retool their roster. Let’s see how it plays out.
