Everyone knew that, despite his retirement, former New Orleans Saints head coach Sean Payton was going to be a hot commodity if he wanted to return to coaching. The Dallas Cowboys were the first to be rumored to be interested in Payton, who had decided to take some time off from the game.
Rumors of the Miami Dolphins attempting to lure Payton their way, coupled with quarterback Tom Brady, were rampant in recent months. Now, the Sun-Sentinel is reporting that the Dolphins were ready to offer Payton $100 million to become their head coach.
Per the report, Payton would have been signed for five years at $100 million, making him the highest-paid coach in the league.
#Dolphins were ready to offer Sean Payton a mega-deal worth $100 million deal over 5-years to coach the team.
It would have made it just the second known $100 million coaching contract after the #Raiders gave such contract to Jon Gruden [10-years, $100M]https://t.co/ygMB6GTMhe pic.twitter.com/qKj4DbRmdq
— Dov Kleiman (@NFL_DovKleiman) June 13, 2022
Former Denver Broncos head coach Vic Fangio was set to be the defensive coordinator as well, but the plans fell through when former Miami head coach Brian Flores filed a discrimination lawsuit against the team.
Rumor was at the time that the Dolphins and Tampa Bay Buccaneers were preparing for a blockbuster trade that would have sent him to the Dolphins for a few draft picks. But when Flores filed his lawsuit, the dream of Brady playing for The Fish and Payton becoming head coach all but died.
The Saints declined the Dolphins' request to interview Sean Payton.
The details of the contract that would have been awaiting Payton in Miami are staggering. https://t.co/qdmNuZtdNv
— SaintsNOW (@SaintsNOW) June 13, 2022
Flores has accused the Dolphins and other NFL teams of discrimination. In turn, the team hired former San Francisco 49ers offensive coordinator Mike McDaniel, who is of mixed heritage. However, the Dolphins almost pulled off the off-season manuever of the decade.
Yeah…I think it’s fair to say the asking price for Sean Payton will be pretty high next offseason if he wants to coach again. https://t.co/RsHTAvfXIQ
— Chris Rosvoglou (@RosvoglouReport) June 13, 2022
