Could Sean Payton return to coach in the NFL as soon as next year? Maybe so. A new report from the Miami Herald’s Barry Jackson links the former New Orleans Saints head coach to several teams that may try and recruit him after his first year of studio work with FOX Sports is behind him, most interestingly the Miami Dolphins, as well as the Dallas Cowboys (of course) and the Los Angeles Chargers.
Jackson reports that, once he is ready to coach again, Payton would prioritize franchises based in warm-weather cities with a competitive roster — but the most critical point would be personnel control, which is something he enjoyed for a long time in New Orleans. A lifelong Bill Parcells disciple, Payton has stuck by his mentor’s famous adage that, “If I’m going to be asked to cook the meal, I’d like to be able to pick the groceries.”
Would he get that opportunity in Miami or Dallas? Or Los Angeles? That’s something to figure out another day. Cowboys owner Jerry Jones has long been an admirer of Payton’s, and the two have remained close friends over the years after Payton left the organization for New Orleans. The Jones family has also kept a tight grip on personnel decisions, and that’s always looked like the biggest sticking-point in any possible reunion. But maybe desperation forces their hand.
What’s interesting is that each of these jobs has been filled by a recently-hired head coach. The Dolphins, most obviously, hired former San Francisco 49ers offensive coordinator Mike McDaniel just a few months ago, and it would be surprising to see him jettisoned after just one year in Miami. Every head coach to work for Stephen Ross since he took over ownership in 2008 has had at least three years on the job.
And the Chargers just brought in Brandon Staley in 2021, though he repeated the third-place AFC West finish that got his predecessor Anthony Lynn canned a year earlier. The Cowboys teamed up with Mike McCarthy in 2020 and ended a promising 2021 season with a disappointing first-round playoff exit. It shouldn’t shock anyone to see Payton linked to those teams if they experience another unsuccessful campaign in 2022.
But any sort of speculation or reporting from Payton’s inner circle is premature. He hasn’t put in his first Sunday shift at the FOX Sports desk. He’s spoken often about wanting to give media a try someday, and now he’s got his opportunity. There’s a very real chance that Payton enjoys working in football from this side of the operation as strongly as Bill Cowher did at CBS, and sticks with it. We just don’t know.
The only certainty I have here is that the Saints will cash in with a bevy of draft picks should Payton leave to coach another team, especially if that team is in-conference (like the Cowboys) or if there’s a specific quarterback he wants to work with (which could be the case if his fabled Tom Brady team-up in Miami ever pans out). That does make the Dolphins a strong possibility given their pair of first-round picks in 2023 (Miami’s own and the 49ers’, via their 2021 trade to net Trey Lance). Saints general manager Mickey Loomis is a shrewd negotiator and he’d have plenty of leverage to work with so long as New Orleans holds Payton’s contract.