Big Foot, The Lochness Monster, A fire-breathing dragon. These are a few things you more than likely will never see in your lifetime. Add Sean Payton coaching the Carolina Panthers to that list.
There is a rumor that is making its rounds that says the Carolina Panthers are quote “eyeing” the former New Orleans Saints head coach. Eyeing? A very suspenseful word but indeed mean absolutely nothing. For example, I could be eyeing a limited edition comic book, I could be eyeing a pair of the latest Yeezy’s but it doesn’t mean a thing if they are not available for sale. When it comes to Sean Payton Coaching the Carolina Panthers he is not available and he is not for sale.
Sean Payton was the head coach of the New Orleans Saints for 15 seasons (2012 Payton was suspended for the season due to the bounty scandal) at the end of the 2021 season he decided to step down as the head coach. Payton did however leave the door open for a possible return to coaching. Some reports linked him to the Miami Dolphins job after the team decided to fire then head coach Brian Flores controversially.
Sean Payton still has two years left on a 5-year deal he signed back in 2019. This means if he were to come out of retirement to coach an NFL team the Saints would have to sign off on the deal. There is no way the Saints organization is going to agree to send Sean Payton to a division rival. Playing him twice in a season is not something the Saints would be willing to do.
Sean Payton strikes me as a loyal guy. There were occasions he displayed a level of loyalty that could have had many coaches on the hot seat. Most recently his decision to go with the “Swiss Army Knife” Taysom Hill at quarterback when many believe that positions like tight end and halfback were more suitable for Hill’s skillset. Coaching Carolina would put Payton’s loyalty in question. Playing in the same division with a team he was so instrumental in helping become a winning culture? That is something he would not be willing to do.
Make no mistake about it. It’s only a matter of time before Sean Payton is roaming an NFL sideline as a head coach sporting his trademark visor and chewing on some “Juicy Fruit” gum. But Carolina won’t be his team of choice. In the words of the great sportswriter Rob Parker “No Way No How.”
