New Orleans Saints general manager Mickey Loomis said that the team never even considered trading coach Sean Payton.
“Here’s what I can tell you: I never had a discussion with another team. No one called me and I never called anyone else,” Loomis said Thursday, via the New Orleans Times-Picayune’s Evan Woodbery, adding that he had “not really” considered what an acceptable compensation package would look like.
“(Payton’s) first statement when he walked in the room was, ‘Hey, I want to be here. I want to be coach for the Saints,’ Loomis added of the team’s end-of-season meeting with the coach. “It never really went beyond that. Then it was just a matter of how are we going to approach this season, what are the things we need to do, and let’s get going.”
Loomis also railed against the numerous reports that Payton was considering leaving.
“Those reports happened for two months. I get that you have to ask questions and follow those, but, golly, that kind of reporting is really irritating to me,” Loomis said. “Because no one ever asks me. No one ever asks me and I don’t think anyone ever directly asked Sean until after the rumors came out.”
Payton was linked to virtually every opening or potential opening under the sun during the latter half of the season, and reportedly went as far as to negotiate with another team. There was almost certainly something to it, but at the end of the day, Payton and the Saints sat down and decided to stay married, and thus Loomis didn’t really have to consider talking to any other teams.
H/T ProFootballTalk
