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NEW ORLEANS
Longtime Saints scribe Mike Triplett of ESPN.com on the departure of Coach Sean Payton:
Sean Payton announced his decision to step away Tuesday, 16 years after he was hired as the New Orleans Saints’ coach, though he stressed multiple times that “retirement is not the right word.”
Payton, 58, said he doesn’t plan to coach another team in 2022, adding, “That’s not where my heart is right now.” And since he has three years remaining on his contract, the Saints would have to agree to trade compensation if he wanted to coach another team.
However, Payton didn’t rule out a return to coaching in the future. And he said he is interested in pursuing a TV analyst job, though he insisted that neither he nor his agent Don Yee have talked with any media outlets yet.
“I don’t know what’s next — and it kind of feels good,” Payton said during an emotional 90-minute news conference at the team’s practice facility. “But, man, I felt like it was time. … But not with any regret. There’s some excitement, like, ‘All right, what’s next?'”
Payton explained that he had been considering this departure all the way back to training camp before confirming how he felt over the past two weeks. He said owner Gayle Benson, general manager Mickey Loomis and team president Dennis Lauscha all tried to talk him out of it. And he thanked Benson for encouraging him to go on vacation for the past two weeks before making a final decision.
“It really is a bittersweet day. I feel like he deserves this,” said Benson, who said the team will conduct a thorough search for Payton’s replacement both inside and outside the building. “I think we’re gonna do a great job in choosing another person that’s going to be able to lead us the way that Sean did.”
The Saints are now the ninth NFL team with a head-coaching vacancy. Defensive coordinator Dennis Allen and offensive coordinator Pete Carmichael Jr. are two obvious candidates for a possible promotion, considering the Saints just posted their fifth consecutive winning season and aren’t necessarily looking for an overhaul.
Payton mentioned Allen by name while explaining that he and the Saints never discussed any sort of arrangement where he might possibly come back after a one-year hiatus.
“In fairness to Dennis, who’s a great candidate in the building, or any other coach that possibly would be hired, there’s no half-in in this game,” said Payton, who also stressed that he thinks the team is still pointed in the right direction despite the fact that quarterback Drew Brees retired one year ago and and the injury-plagued 2021 team missed the playoffs for the first time in five years with a 9-8 record.
“We talk all the time about leaving a place better than when you got there to begin with,” he said. “And it’s not finished [here].”
Payton admitted that he searched the internet Monday night for tips on how to avoid crying during a news conference. He began by singling out Benson, Loomis and Lauscha individually, calling Loomis “one of my best friends.” And he presented Benson with a piece of king cake — a traditional New Orleans Mardi Gras dessert — saying it was his version of TV character Ted Lasso’s biscuit tradition.
Saints defensive end Cameron Jordan and Louisiana Gov. John Bel Edwards were among many to salute Payton on social media Tuesday:
More from Katherine Terrell of The Athletic:
New Orleans Saints coach Sean Payton knew how to scheme against defenses. He perfected the art of running the two-minute drill. He could spout off the attributes of the hundreds of players he’s coached over the years.
He’s won seven NFC South titles and a Super Bowl and was considered one of the greatest offensive minds in the league.
Payton knew how to be a winning football coach. What he didn’t know how to do was walk away.
“Honestly, you don’t even think about the ending,” he said. “You don’t have time to think about ‘what if.’ … For the last solid maybe week, I’ve thought about not the ending but maybe the presentation of the ending, like this. But I don’t think when you’re young and fast and trying to build something, you’re ever considering what it’s going to be like.”
It was the ending that was on his mind Tuesday afternoon when he surprised many around the league by announcing he was stepping away from football after 16 years with the Saints. Payton was known as mercurial and fiery on the sideline — and at times short-tempered and impatient in his media interviews.
But as he walked up to a makeshift news conference area at the Saints facility Tuesday, he was almost nervous. He wanted it all to go right.
He joked that his final interview had to be in person so that his lasting legacy wasn’t a weird shot of him on a Zoom interview. He wore a shirt that reminded him of his late mother. He carried a bottle of water because he’d found a tip online that suggested he should take a sip if he was about to get too emotional.
He scribbled down pages of notes of what he wanted to say on his final day. The notes reminded him to thank Saints general manager Mickey Loomis, president Dennis Lauscha and owner Gayle Benson. He wanted to thank the fans, the media and all the members of his coaching staff from 2006 to 2021. He wanted to point out what that first season in New Orleans meant to him.
“There’s a special spot in my heart for the coaches, the staff, the players, everyone who came when 90 percent of the cars were leaving,” Payton recalled, thinking back to assembling a coaching staff in a city devastated by Hurricane Katrina in 2005. “I can remember the trip in on I-10, and there was no traffic heading south.”
Mostly, Payton just wanted to talk. For as long as someone was willing to ask a question, he was willing to sit there on a cold, rainy afternoon and respond.
With a large contingent of his staff in attendance, Payton hit every point, telling stories, proudly recalling the accomplishments of his former teams and even mentioning defensive coordinator Dennis Allen by name as a potential replacement, calling him a “great candidate in the building.” That got a chuckle from Benson and a smile from Allen.
But despite the smiles and laughs, the day had a surreal quality. Even though Payton’s potential departure was the subject of speculation for the past few weeks, it’s rare that a coach actually steps away on his own terms.
There have been a few exceptions. Steelers coach Bill Cowher stepped down after the 2006 season, Gary Kubiak retired as Broncos coach after the 2016 season, and Bruce Arians retired as Cardinals coach in 2017. Kubiak and Arians returned to coaching, but Cowher never came back.
Even Benson said it didn’t feel real until Payton had taken the podium.
“It didn’t feel like he was leaving, but now I really know he is,” Benson said after the news conference. “But he’ll be around. I don’t think he’s going very far.”
As Payton pointed out, most coaches simply coach until they’re fired. He was so focused on the details of staying on top that he never even thought about making it to 15 years. But Payton, 58, wouldn’t rule out his own return one day — just not in 2022.
“My plans are not to be coaching in 2022. And that’s just how I feel,” Payton said.
He leaves the Saints just two seasons into a five-year contract extension he signed in 2019. But Payton said his decision wasn’t about money or stability. He wasn’t burned out or exhausted or worried about the state of the roster after a 9-8 finish to the season. Despite the difficulties of the year, he still loved figuring out every challenge that came his way.
“This season wasn’t exhausting, it was exciting,” he said.
He just felt it was time to go.
Payton’s retirement was in many ways similar to Cowher’s when he stepped down as coach of the Steelers after 15 years. Cowher, too, said he wasn’t burned out or exhausted and that he would consider coaching again. He just felt “it was time.” Cowher ultimately went into TV and hasn’t coached since.
“It was a personal decision of feeling like it’s time. … But not with any regret. There’s some excitement like, ‘All right, what’s next?’ And I honestly don’t know what’s next,” Cowher said then.
While it’s hard for some to understand why a coach would walk away when he’s still at the top of his game, Payton’s reasons for leaving didn’t sound very different from Cowher’s words in January 2007. Cowher said he didn’t like to use the word “retirement” because it made him feel old, and he wasn’t tired of coaching.
Sixteen years later, Payton had similar thoughts.
“I don’t like the word ‘retirement,’” Payton said. “I still have a vision for doing things in football, and I’ll be honest with you, that might be coaching again at some point.”
Payton didn’t make this decision lightly. It’s something that had been bouncing around in his mind for weeks. He felt it at training camp but didn’t tell anyone, pledging to put the thought aside and see how the season went.
But the thoughts never went away. By the time the Saints got to their Week 18 contest, a 30-20 win against the Falcons, he was wondering if this might be it. He wryly pointed out that he wasn’t taking programs from the Atlanta locker room as mementos, but there was a thought it could be his farewell.
Payton took a vacation to Cabo San Lucas after the season, initially pledging to be away a week, then calling Benson and saying he’d be away for two. Over the past week and a half, there were several discussions with Lauscha, Loomis and Benson about the future. When he expressed thoughts about calling it quits, one by one, they all tried to talk him out of it. Payton described his discussion with the three last week as a “great visit, but a tough visit.”
Benson even suggested that he go away for two or three months and come back in time for training camp if that’s what he needed.
“I thought that sounded pretty good, actually,” Payton joked later. “But I’m glad that she told me to spend some time away and give this some thought. Because this is a big decision, and it certainly affects a lot of people.”
Said Benson: “He had made up his mind. He’s been talking about it, and I thought, ‘Eh.’ Because he’s been talking about it for five years! And I felt like maybe he’s just talking about it this year. But after I came back from that press conference at the Faubourg (Brewery) (on Monday) and he said, ‘I still don’t know.’ And then today we went to lunch and he said this is it. … I felt like I wasn’t prepared for today. It was a bittersweet day, but I’m happy for Sean.”
The more Payton thought about it, the more secure he felt in his decision.
“I felt the time was right for me, and it’s something that I’ve been thinking about. Forget football, there’s other things, spending more time … there’s a lot of sacrifices you make. Not many get to choose their terms, and I looked at it as an opportunity to see my kids more, to travel more, to get in better shape. … I felt as this season was winding down that it was the right thing, and the last week and a half, yeah, I’m comfortable with that.”
For coaches whose adult identities have been tied to football, walking away from the thing that defined their life is a monumental decision. But when asked if the unknown scared him, Payton recalled conversations he used to have with his children, Meghan and Connor.
“Connor was maybe 9 when we won a Super Bowl, Meghan 13. … I have pictures of them on the podium: Connor blowing a bubble, Meghan with a broken forearm from cheerleading. Man, life is good, to be the child of a coach who just won the Super Bowl.
“And then there are these other games where it’s been a tough loss, they see you afterwards, they’re not tearful, but they’re emotional and they’re like, ‘How are you?’ I’m like, ‘I’m all right. It’s what I do.’ But it’s not who I am. And now they’re at an age (26 and 23) where they understand that.”
Payton was holding back emotions at times, but as he talked and talked through 60 minutes of questions, he became more composed. He noted that he was looking forward to it all. He’d like to do TV, he said, but he hasn’t yet been approached to do it. He said he’d never been to a tailgate in the fall, and that looked like fun.
“I don’t know what’s next, and it kind of feels good,” Payton said.
Payton talked until there was nothing left to talk about, and when the last question had been exhausted, Payton shuffled his papers, looked around and walked away.
He hugged Benson, shook Lauscha’s hand and said goodbye to linebacker Demario Davis, who was standing behind the coaching staff. He thanked all the members of the media and handed out king cakes in appreciation.
Then, with nothing left to do, Payton strode toward the doors of the new training room he had been proud to see built, his staff slowly filing out in his wake. He walked past the championship banners that had accumulated during his tenure. He passed the place where he had once tossed a football around with the late Will Smith‘s kids.
He passed the Super Bowl photos and the painting of Saints greats that he’ll surely join someday. With every step Payton took, he passed a reminder of something he had accomplished.
Then Payton opened the doors and walked out into the rainy afternoon and into the unknown.
Some numbers from Triplett:
Payton made his mark as the winningest coach in Saints history and one of the NFL’s all-time great offensive minds. The Saints signed Brees two months after Payton was hired in 2006, and they led New Orleans to the first Super Bowl victory in franchise history in 2009.
Payton is tied for 21st in NFL history with 152 career victories, according to Pro Football Reference data. His career record is 152-89 (.631 winning percentage), not including his season-long suspension in 2012. Payton is 9-8 in the postseason.
According to Elias Sports Bureau research, Payton and the Saints rank first in NFL history in average points scored (27.6 per game) and yards gained (391.2 per game) among all coach-team combos with at least five seasons together.
Although the Saints narrowly missed the playoffs in 2021 (Payton joked that they are now rooting against the Los Angeles Rams since they failed to help them out with a Week 18 victory over the San Francisco 49ers), the season still represented one of Payton’s most impressive coaching jobs in many ways. The Saints had to overcome Brees’ retirement, an unexpected salary-cap plummet, a month-long hurricane evacuation to Dallas and a NFL-record 58 starters used because of a barrage of major injuries and COVID-19 issues.
– – –
Payton’s longevity in New Orleans is a rarity in today’s NFL. Only the New England Patriots’ Bill Belichick has been with his team longer. Also, Payton had four seasons of 11-plus wins in his second decade with the Saints. Only three other coaches have done that in the Super Bowl era: Belichick (10), Tom Landry (eight), Don Shula (six).
What next? Dianna Russini of ESPN tweets:
@diannaESPN
There were teams who knew that Sean Payton was trying to figure out what he wanted to do next and that he wanted to possibly leave New Orleans. Based on multiple conversations with league sources, there were teams that explored ways to make a move and hire the 58 year old.
Cody Benjamin of CBSSports.com comes up with a list of four teams that might want him now:
Which teams were — and might still be — trying to lure Payton to new pastures?
Here are the most logical suitors:
Dallas Cowboys
Payton has long been linked to America’s Team, maintaining a close relationship with Cowboys brass after using his stint as Dallas’ assistant head coach and quarterbacks coach (2003-2005) to launch his run with the Saints. More importantly, owner Jerry Jones has declined to endorse current coach Mike McCarthy, who’s gone 18-15 in two years on the job and just recently oversaw a wild-card loss to the 49ers. The Cowboys are already built to compete, so this is far and away the most ideal destination.
New York Giants
Before his time in Dallas, Payton spent four years with the rival Giants, first as QBs coach (1999) and then as offensive coordinator (2000-2002) under Jim Fassel. New York isn’t nearly as ready to contend as the Cowboys, coming off its ninth losing season in 10 years. But the Giants, still hunting for a new coach after tabbing ex-Bills executive Joe Schoen as their general manager, also boast a pair of top-10 draft picks, play in a winnable division and offer the spotlight of a big market.
Las Vegas Raiders
They may not be title contenders, but the Raiders proved in 2021 they’re playoff material. With interim coach Rich Bisaccia likely to be replaced despite a decent run as Jon Gruden’s emergency fill-in, they could use another commanding presence atop the staff. Derek Carr would likely stay put with Payton in tow, and Vegas would offer him a sunnier, big-market opportunity closer to his West Coast birthplace.
Chicago Bears
Exploring candidates to replace Matt Nagy, the Bears did, in fact, inquire about trading for Payton, according to Sports Illustrated’s Albert Breer, only for the longtime Saints coach to shut down talks, apparently wary of team management. So you can probably scratch this one off as a realistic possibility, but just know Chicago was reportedly — and understandably — interested.
Although Payton claimed he had not “spoken” to any networks, he did say this:
“I’d like to try TV,” Payton said. “I’ve had some opportunities. That would be something that would interest me. Hopefully that opportunity comes.”
Payton is probably a big enough name with the perception of an interesting enough personality to interest a network with a top slot available despite his lack of experience.
Unusually, there are three potential openings –
1 – Amazon has a brand-new slate to fill for its new Thursday night games. Troy Aikman has been reported as a candidate, perhaps with Al Michaels, but nothing is set.
2 – FOX. If Aikman goes to Amazon, FOX would need to pair someone with Joe Buck.
3 – ESPN. No one seems particularly happy with the current Monday Night grouping of Steve Levy, Brian Griese and Louis Riddick. Pairing Michaels with Payton would definitely be perceived as an upgrade. We don’t know what the money would be, and Amazon has a lot of it, but an ESPN gig would include a spot in the Super Bowl rotation that Amazon would not.
This from Ben Koo of Awful Announcing:
@bkoo
Amazon still needs an announcing booth
Griese contract expiring. ESPN will also need a second NFL booth in 2023.
Drew Brees not wowing in his first playoff game with NBC.
Sean Payton sure picked a good time to not so subtly hint at his interest in becoming an announcer.
Andrew Bucholtz of Awful Announcing also raises the vague spectre of Payton taking a spot in FOX’s long-in-the-tooth FOX NFL Sunday pregame lineup:
If Payton does head to the media world, exactly where he might land definitely isn’t certain yet. There’s the McCarthy report that he would top Fox’s list as an Aikman replacement if Aikman leaves, but Aikman hasn’t left yet. There’s the discussion of him winding up at ESPN, maybe in particular if they don’t bring back Griese. But the current MNF booth of Steve Levy, Griese and Louis Riddick has seemed to draw much less criticism than any MNF booth in a while (possibly helped by a lot of people who are sometimes broadcast booth critics watching the ManningCast alternate feed instead), so it’s not clear that ESPN will look to make a change.
There are a few other things to consider here. Andrew Marchand of The New York Post reports that ESPN is “contemplating a pursuit” of Al Michaels, and bringing in Michaels might see him teamed with someone like Payton. ESPN also will have more games next year under the NFL’s new TV deals, so it’s possible they wind up building an actual second NFL booth instead of bringing in the college team of Chris Fowler and Kirk Herbstreit, and that could provide a way for them to both bring back Griese and add Payton. Also, with ESPN, there’s always the chance of shifting a game analyst over to the studio side, as they have so much studio content to fill.
Marchand also notes that his Fox sources are singing a different tune than McCarthy’s report about Fox wanting Payton to replace Aikman. He writes ” As for Payton, Fox could have interest in him, but its initial thought is more likely as a studio analyst than on top games, according to sources.” It’s unclear where there would be a studio vacancy there; perhaps Payton would be a fifth analyst on Fox NFL Sunday, or perhaps someone else there leaves. But it’s worth noting that there’s now reported Fox studio interest in Payton too. And while CBS, NBC, and Amazon haven’t yet been mentioned around Payton, they might wind up with some interest in him also.
But one challenge with hiring Payton to a top media role, especially on a top game broadcast team, is that he may not stay in that role for long. A lot of the discussion around Payton has been about him eventually coaching another team, and about this not being that long of a “retirement.” He just turned 58, so it’s quite easy to see him returning to a NFL head coaching role after a year or two in the media world, possibly with the Cowboys. (Bruce Arians made the move back to NFL coaching after one year with CBS, and he was 67 at the time.) There would have to be compensation for the Saints (considering that Payton’s contract with them ran through 2024), as there was for the Cardinals when Arians returned to coach the Bucs, but it seems like that could happen. And Payton’s later comments in this press conference sure make it seem like he’s not done coaching:
“I still have a vision for doing things in football. And I’ll be honest with you, that might be coaching again at some point. I don’t think it’s this year, I think maybe in the future, but that’s not where my heart is right now. It’s not at all.”
To Payton’s credit, at least he’s being upfront about that. That’s a lot better than the many, many times we hear coaches say they won’t do something before then doing it. But that does pose at least somewhat of a challenge for any network that brings him in in a top role. If they hire him to a lower-tier booth or to a studio job, his departure after a year or two wouldn’t be as big of a deal, but networks tend to value at least some level of continuity on the top booths. And going after Payton might not lead to that.
In any case, it certainly seems like Payton will get some sort of TV or radio job if he wants it. There’s already that reported interest from ESPN and Fox, and there might well be some other suitors. There might even be some unconventional jobs for him; if he doesn’t want the challenges that come with travelling each week to call a big game, the success of the ManningCast certainly has people looking to create imitators of the “prominent figure comments on a game from home” variety. We’ll see if Payton winds up in the media, and if so, where, and we’ll also see how long he stays there. |
