Why would Sean Payton be in demand?
Rumors are circulating everywhere that the Miami Dolphins could make a play for Sean Payton at the end of this season rather than sticking with interim head coach Dan Campbell, and that Indianapolis Colts owner Jim Irsay, currently embroiled in a messy relationship with his own head coach, Chuck Pagano, could make a run at Payton as well.
The question I’m hearing from other coaches and front office folks around the league is, why?
There is no question Payton is regarded as one of the more knowledgeable and innovative offensive coaches in the NFL, and he does have a Super Bowl ring.
But if he’s so good why are the Saints so bad right now, and how does Payton seemingly get a pass on Bountygate?
The Saints are 8-13 dating back to the end of the 2013 season and haven’t been competitive on defense for some time.
Payton did follow his 2009 Super Bowl season with 11-5 and 13-3 records before sitting out 2012 under suspension.
But that 2010 team went to Seattle as a wild card and got beat by the 7-9 Seahawks. And in 2011, the Saints lost in the divisional round despite going 13-3 that season.
There is no question that Payton and Drew Brees have been a great match, but Payton’s defense currently ranks 32nd in the NFL and was 31st last year.
The Saints’ defensive struggles began in 2011 when they were just 24th in the league despite going 13-3. New Orleans was 32nd in the league on defense in 2012 with Payton away from the team.
New Orleans’ defense did spike to 4th in the NFL in 2013 with Payton’s return and the hiring of Rob Ryan, but most of Ryan’s press clippings last year and this season have been for getting caught on camera arguing with Payton on the sidelines.
Is the Saints’ decline all the fault of general manager Mickey Loomis, mentor to Bears GM Ryan Pace, for failing to provide sufficient talent in recent seasons.
Or is Payton a classic example of a coach who can shine with superior talent like Brees, Marques Colston and the slew of All Pro offensive linemen Loomis supplied between 2008 and 2011 – Jamaal Brown, Jermon Bushrod, Khari Evans, Carl Nicks, Ben Grubbs – but who struggles with less than top talent?
And what about Bountygate? In fairness to Payton, many around the league were less than shocked when its details were first released saying they’d run into similar situations with other teams throughout their careers.
But many also were outraged and questioned the character of a leader who would allow such a program to exist.
Payton signed a five-year, $38 million contract in January 2013 that commits him to the Saints through the 2017 season. He said just the other day that he loves it in New Orleans and has no desire to move.
But those are the famous last words of every nomadic coach just before he moves on. With Brees’ time in the league coming to an end, it wouldn’t be shocking to see Payton – if offered a chance to coach, shall we say, Andrew Luck – pull the trigger.
What makes Payton, who was born in California but raised in Naperville and groomed for the NFL at Eastern Illinois, a better option than Pagano is an open question right now at best.