Sean Payton to the Chargers makes too much sense

Sean Payton to the Cowboys. Sean Payton to the Dolphins. Sean Payton back to the New Orleans Saints. When do the rumors end?

The former Saints head coach's future is way up in the air as Payton could feasibly end up on any team in the league, especially since NOLA needs the premium draft picks.

2022 has been plagued with a handful of failed coaching stints so far: Cardinals' Kliff Kingsbury has spent four years building one of the most wildly inconsistent offenses in the league. Nathaniel Hackett and the Broncos recently suffered their third straight loss. Panthers' Matt Rhule was (finally) fired.

With that in mind, Payton was rumored to join several teams after this season, but a new franchise has entered the mix: the Los Angeles Chargers.

This season marks Staley's second as head coach of the Chargers, and his record has been disappointing given his team's talented roster. Los Angeles just narrowly beat a dysfunctional Broncos squad and sit second in the AFC West behind the Kansas City Chiefs.

That's good and all, but if the Chargers miss the postseason for the second straight time....

NOLA no more: Sean Payton could end up in the City of Angels in 2023

The Chargers are what Mina Kimes calls a "cursed" franchise, and even though Staley is just getting his career started, the results haven't met expectations.

In 2022, LA boasts a top-ten quarterback, a dominant run game, several elite wide receivers, and a fortified defense (Khalil Mack! J.C. Jackson!). Somehow, they still lost to the Jacksonville Jaguars and barely defeated the Houston Texans and Cleveland Browns.

With Staley at the helm, the Chargers haven't yet proven they can beat good teams, and time is not on his side as the AFC is getting crowded with more playoff contenders every year.

Payton, for his part, seems to enjoy warm weather and could relish the opportunity of leading a team with all the necessary pieces to make a potential Super Bowl run.

Again, everything is speculation at this point. But seeing Payton in LA next year wouldn't be the craziest thing to happen in the league.