Rumors continue to persist that Sean Payton could leave the New Orleans Saints after a brilliant 16-year stint as head coach.
Networks and streaming services continue to chase after Payton with both Fox and Amazon Prime considering the Super Bowl winner to be an on-air talent. In particular, Amazon is looking to make a splash after winning the exclusive rights to “Thursday Night Football.”
We’re now hearing more on this courtesy of Saints owner Gayle Benson. She didn’t provide much clarity. However, Benson seemed to be out of the mix when it comes to Payton’s final decision.
“We don’t know. You know, who knows? We will find out soon enough, I guess,” Benson told reporters. “I don’t think any of us know. But he’ll let is know soon enough.”
If the 58-year-old Payton were ever to leave the Saints, there’s no better time than now. They are coming off their first non-playoff season since back in 2016. Following the retirement of Drew Brees ahead of the 2021 season, New Orleans also lacks that franchise quarterback.
In reality, the team is a second-tier contender in the NFC behind the likes of the Los Angeles Rams, San Francsico 49ers, Tampa Bay Buccaneers, Dallas Cowboys and Green Bay Packers (for now). Short of a blockbuster trade to acquire a quarterback, that will remain the case over the short term.
Payton could have his pick of the litter when it comes to a media job. He’s still young enough to be able to return to the NFL as a head coach after taking some time off. At that point, the Super Bowl-winning head coach would be a sought after commodity.
It will certainly be interesting to see what comes of this over the next several days. As Benson noted, we should hear a final decision from Payton soon.
If he does indeed decide to depart the Bayou, it will lead to a ninth head-coach opening this cycle. That’s pretty crazy stuff right there.
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