Nobody thought that Sean Payton was done coaching football for good when he left the New Orleans Saints at the end of last season. He spent this year with FOX as a studio analyst, but that doesn’t mean he wasn’t actively thinking about being back on an NFL sideline.
Payton was a guest on The Herd on Monday and told Colin Cowherd that he had a few casual conversations during the season about a potential return.
“I have talked to a few teams,” he said. “That was just done with permission through the Saints.”
He listed the Carolina Panthers, Denver Broncos and the Houston Texans as teams he has already had contact with.
Any deal Payton makes has to be approved by the Saints, who still have him under contract. When Cowherd asked Sean Payton to speculate what the team would want in return, the coach said that discussion was up to the Saints, but he would guess it would be a draft pick in the mid-to-late first round.
During the season, Jay Glazer reported that the Panthers had reached out to him about playing middleman to set up an interview with Payton. At the time, Glazer told FOX Sports Radio that he did not see a way that Payton would want to coach that team.
To the contrary, Payton says he expects to meet with the team’s owner David Tepper in New York later this week.
Albert Breer reported last month that Sean Payton has enjoyed living and working in Southern California. He suggested that if the Los Angeles Chargers do not make a change, he may be inclined to return to FOX in 2023.
Payton didn’t directly acknowledge that report but did insinuate that he feels any urgency about taking a job this year.
“If nothing happens this year and we go next year, that changes things considerably,” he said in regard to what the Saints would expect in return.
