Sean Payton Nov 14, 2021; Nashville, Tennessee, USA; New Orleans Saints head coach Sean Payton after a call by the officials during the second half against the Tennessee Titans at Nissan Stadium. Mandatory Credit: Christopher Hanewinckel-USA TODAY Sports

It’s been a wild week for NFL players and coaches testing positive for COVID-19 thanks to the arrival of the Omicron variant and it appears that New Orleans Saints head coach Sean Payton is among those who will miss this weekend’s slate of games.

Payton will miss the Saints’ game this Sunday against the Tampa Bay Buccaneers. In his place, defensive coordinator Dennis Allen will assume head coaching duties. Per Adam Schefter, Payton is expected to be back in time for the December 27 game against the Miami Dolphins.

Payton was the NFL’s first known positive test for coronavirus back in March 2020 as well.

Payton was in the news earlier in the week when the trailer for Home Team, Netflix’s movie based on his year-long suspension, was released. Instead of being an insightful drama about the impact of BountyGate, it appears the film will be a goofy family comedy, which was made very clear by the casting of Kevin James as Payton.

As such, reactions to the news that Payton would be unable to coach this weekend were met with some very similar reactions in NFL circles.

We suppose that if you’re looking for similarity between Sean Payton and Kevin James, we finally found one. Neither will actually be coaching the New Orleans Saints this weekend.

[Adam Schefter]

About Sean Keeley

Along with writing for Awful Announcing and The Comeback, Sean is the Editorial Strategy Director for Comeback Media. Previously, he created the Syracuse blog Troy Nunes Is An Absolute Magician and wrote 'How To Grow An Orange: The Right Way to Brainwash Your Child Into Rooting for Syracuse.' He has also written non-Syracuse-related things for SB Nation, Curbed, and other outlets. He currently lives in Seattle where he is complaining about bagels. Send tips/comments/complaints to sean@thecomeback.com.