Former NFL coach Sean Payton
© Andrew Wevers-USA TODAY Sports
Former New Orleans Saints head coach Sean Payton hinted earlier this season that he wanted to return to the sideline someday.
It’s looking like that day might come quite soon.
A report from ESPN’s Jeremy Fowler and Dan Graziano indicated that Payton has his eye on a pair of NFL teams who might be making coaching changes this offseason in the Los Angels Chargers and Arizona Cardinals.
“Sean Payton has his eyes on head coaching openings with either the Arizona Cardinals or the LA Chargers, per @JFowlerESPN and @DanGrazianoESPN,” Jonny Venerable of the PHNX Cardinals tweeted.
Neither the Cardinals nor the Chargers currently have a head coaching vacancy. But both Kliff Kingsbury and Brandon Staley figure to be on the hot seat — especially if their respective front offices think they could hire Payton as a replacement.
Kingsbury is 28-31-1 in four seasons with the Cardinals. He led the team to the playoffs last season, but it dropped to 4-7 this year with a blowout loss to the San Francisco 49ers on Monday Night Football.
Staley is 14-13 in two seasons with the Chargers. His team is in danger of missing the postseason for the second year in a row despite having one of the league’s best young quarterbacks in Justin Herbert.
Both Los Angeles and Phoenix make sense as destinations for Payton. In addition to their ideal climates, both franchises have young, dynamic quarterbacks in place, with former No. 1 overall draft pick Kyler Murray in Arizona.
Payton retired last year after 15 seasons as the head coach of the New Orleans Saints. Teaming up with Drew Brees for the bulk of his tenure, he led the Saints to nine 10-win seasons and a Super Bowl title in 2009.
The 58-year-old Payton, who has worked as a studio analyst for Fox this season, said earlier this month that he still has the urge to coach again. He also joked about teaming up with Baltimore Ravens quarterback Lamar Jackson if Jackson doesn’t re-sign with the Ravens and becomes a free agent.
Assuming the rumors about Payton wanting to get back into coaching this offseason are true, expect just about every team with a head coaching vacancy, and maybe some without, to try and hire him.
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