Saints: 3 names who could replace Sean Payton in the event of another postseason collapse
By Drake Lohse
The New Orleans Saints have been a fantastic regular season team, but to get all the honor and job security, you must go the distance.
Yes, we heard you, we get it: why would the Saints have a coach sign a five-year extension only to fire him before that extension is up (Which is surely something that hasn’t ever happened before)?
No one’s saying Sean Payton doesn’t deserve the respect of fans. The man has accrued more wins than any other coach in team history and did so by not taking anything resembling guff from a single referee, agent, or fire alarm.
One day, Sean Payton will no longer be the coach of the New Orleans Saints. Watching any other menacing scowl on the Saint’s sideline will be like watching Ben Affleck play Batman: a hard pill to swallow.
But Payton’s departure will come, and as it currently stands, his seat is hotter than some fans realize.
Payton has been able to adapt well to a younger roster, but his remarkable ability to stay cool under pressure has faltered at crucial times, most notably the NFC championship game no-call.
Should the Saints continue to come up short after promising seasons with loaded rosters, look for Mickey Loomis to begin sniffing the coaching carousel. Should that happen sooner, rather than later, as this writer predicts, here are some top options from around the league.