Former New Orleans Saints head coach Sean Payton's one-year vacation from the NFL looks to be coming to end real soon. While he is still under contract with the New Orleans Saints as well as FOX, there are several teams that are interested in signing Payton, including the Saints division rivals, the Carolina Panthers.
Interviews with Payton have already started this week, his first with the Houston Texans already completed. So, the race is on...
Payton was on The Herd with Colin Cowherd on Monday and when asked if he would consider accepting the job with the Texans, he replied, "Absolutely."
Payton said, "They have really good draft capital. Really good draft capital. They're in a division that you can at least look at and say, 'Alright, Indy, Tennessee, Jacksonville,' so I think there's growth potential immediately there from their two or three wins that they had this year."
Next up, Payton will meet with the Denver Broncos on Tuesday morning, then with the Carolina Panthers on Friday. The Arizona Cardinals also received permission from the Saints to interview Payton, but that interview has not been reportedly scheduled yet.
With Payton still under contract with the Saints, any team that wishes to sign him, will require some type of compensation to New Orleans and that won't come cheap. The Saints are in desperate need of a first-round draft pick this year. Last April, the Saints traded their 18th pick and this year's first-round pick (10th overall) to the Philadelphia Eagles for their 16th and 19th picks, to select WR Chris Olave and OT Trevor Penning. The Saints also have some tough choices in free agency coming up as well so there will be holes that they will need to fill on the roster and getting as much as they can for Payton will only help their cause. Not that losing a coach of Payton's caliber is easily replaceable but, in a race this important, the Saints need to do what they can to come out first.
Comments / 1