Sean Payton thinks he will coach again because he's a 'retriever' who needs 'company' of people

One-time Super Bowl champion head coach Sean Payton hasn't been shy about the fact that he probably hasn't worked his last NFL game from a sideline.

Shortly after he stepped away from the New Orleans Saints in January, Payton said he didn't believe he was "finished coaching," for good, and the 58-year-old currently serving as a FOX NFL analyst recently admitted he could make a return to coaching "if the right situation presented itself."

While speaking with NBC Sports' Peter King for King's latest "Football Morning in America" column, Payton compared himself to a "retriever" in saying that he needs the "company" of other people. 

"When you go online and you’re gonna buy a dog and if you’re single, living in an apartment, they’ll give you four or five breeds that are very comfortable if they don’t ever see a human being. Alright? Then if you’re in a family of five and you’re gonna buy a dog—I would definitely be someone that wants to be around and interact with people," Payton explained. "The camaraderie of the staff and the locker room with the Saints, I miss. I’m starting to get some of that with TV in the studio." 

Payton confessed that following the Week 2 matchup between the Saints and Tampa Bay Buccaneers that the Buccaneers won 20-10 on Sept. 18 gave him a twinge of missing his former gig. 

"I missed being a part of the draft. I always enjoyed that process. But the other afternoon watching and just seeing the type of game that was unfolding, that’s one of those moments," Payton said. "There’s nothing better than being a part of the success with your players and fellow coaches. It’s hard to replace that. People try all sorts of ways to do it.

"Do I think I’ll coach again this upcoming season? Or a better way maybe would be, do I think I coach again? I do think at some point I’ll coach again. That being said, as you chase perfection in this other career, it’s one of those things where if you feel like you continue to get better and those people that are experts at it, if others feel like, hey, he can be really, really good, that’s the type thing that pulls at you. Now, if they’re like, don’t quit your day job, then it’s an easy decision." 

Payton has repeatedly been linked with the Dallas Cowboys, in part because he spent three years working for that franchise in the 2000s before he accepted the Saints job. Current Cowboys head coach Mike McCarthy has the club at 1-1 ahead of the "Monday Night Football" game at the 2-0 New York Giants, which is impressive considering starting quarterback Dak Prescott has been out with a serious thumb injury he suffered in Week 1 on Sept. 11.