New Orleans Saints in tough situation with Sean Payton stepping away
The New Orleans Saints were in the news this week despite not being in the playoffs. The rumors circulated around Sean Payton, who had been coaching the team since 2006 but “wasn’t committed” to the team for 2022.
Fans brushed the initial reports off, as these rumors seemed to circulate constantly over the years. This one did seem to have some truth to it, however, as we kept hearing more and more about how Payton was being contacted by TV networks.
Ian Rapoport broke the news on Tuesday that Payton would be stepping away from his head coaching position in New Orleans.
Sources: Sean Payton has informed the #Saints that he’s stepping away.
— Ian Rapoport (@RapSheet) January 25, 2022
Sean Payton is stepping away from New Orleans Saints
Earlier this week, Who Dat Dish took a look at some head coach candidates that could replace Payton. All of those guys are still available as of now but it feels like Dennis Allen is the likeliest option to take over.
Allen was the interim head coach when Payton couldn’t coach due to testing positive for COVID-19 and the team shut out the red-hot Bucs 9-0. It was a strong statement by Allen and maybe there’s a reason he hasn’t been interviewed by many teams this offseason.
It’s unfortunate to see Payton leave but fans should absolutely not be angry with him. He did amazing things for this organization and took them to places we never thought they’d go.
The only thing that sucks is it felt like this organization should have had more titles and more Super Bowl appearances. That’s not all on Payton, of course, as the league hosed him and his guys out of another appearance in the 2018 season. It felt like the league was always against Payton, honestly.
New Orleans hopefully hires Allen but they’ll also take this time to interview other candidates and find the next best fit for the team. Unfortunately, the Saints aren’t in a great spot right now. They’re $74 million under the cap and in desperate need of a quarterback. This is a terrible time for Payton to step away but I’m not holding it against the guy.
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Thank you for everything, Sean Payton.