This may be the offseason in which Sean Payton finally leaves the New Orleans Saints.
According to Ian Rapoport of NFL Network, Payton and the Los Angeles Rams share mutual interest, and he could succeed Jeff Fisher as coach in the City of Angels.
The decision ultimately lies with Saints general manager Mickey Loomis. If he is willing to part with Payton for a modest compensation package, the New Orleans coach would likely top Los Angeles’s list.
The Saints do have a couple reasons to strongly consider letting Payton walk. First, they owe him $40 million, a hefty price tag for a coach who hasn’t led his team to the postseason since 2013. In addition, some within the organization have reportedly grown tired of his annual links to other jobs, and feel he’s become a distraction that can be moved on from.
The 53-year-old Payton is 94-65 over the course of ten seasons as New Orleans’s head coach, including a Super Bowl title.
A week ago, we learned that Payton would be interested in the Rams job. The only question was whether the team shared that interest. Now that they do, expect the situation to develop fairly quickly one way or another.
