The New Orleans Saints just narrowly missed out on the playoffs this season, finishing the year with a 9-8 record while the Philadelphia Eagles held the tiebreaker to get into the postseason. Now the Saints will have some major changes in their locker room beyond that as Ian Rapoport has reported that longtime head coach Sean Payton has announced he will be stepping away from the role (though, notably, not retiring).
Sources: Sean Payton has informed the #Saints that he’s stepping away.
— Ian Rapoport (@RapSheet) January 25, 2022
Only one year after the retirement of star quarterback Drew Brees, Payton is following Brees off into the sunset, at least for now.
Sean Payton isn’t necessarily retiring, according to a source. He needs time away to recharge and the 58-year-old could potentially return to coaching down the line. There have been numerous occasions when teams inquired about his availability, even while he was with the Saints.
— Jeff Howe (@jeffphowe) January 25, 2022
Payton has been a staple in New Orleans, becoming the head coach in 2006 with a 15-year tenure with the team, second to only Patriots head coach Bill Belichick as the longest active tenure for a head coach in the NFL.
There were reports yesterday coming from NFL insider Jay Glazer that Peyton was considering leaving or retirement, and it appears that Peyton has come to a quick decision.
“Sean changes his mind like every two seconds, we talk about it a lot, it’s why I haven’t reported anything because he changes his mind like every two minutes. said Glazer earlier this week.
With these comments, it remains a possibility that Payton could come back at some point, but at least for now, Payton will be taking a step away from the team.
Here are some reactions to the shocking news coming from Payton.
He made his last runs with Drew and has more money than he could ever spend.
This is as good a time as any for Payton to drift away so the franchise can go through the hard reset that they’ve been putting off for half a decade. https://t.co/w4fJW3teIi
— Brett Kollmann (@BrettKollmann) January 25, 2022
Oh wow. He will be heavily recruited for network TV jobs. https://t.co/vC322UTUBs
— Matt Miller (@nfldraftscout) January 25, 2022
Rumblings persisted the last couple months that he could be on the move, either to take time off, or to another team. Still a stunner. And now the TV networks are going to bid on him …
Saints DC Dennis Allen gives the team a natural choice to succeed him. https://t.co/EToYFWmVBn
— Albert Breer (@AlbertBreer) January 25, 2022
being portrayed by Kevin James just took him over the edge, huh https://t.co/L2XPN3xHjq
— Alex McCann 🦞 (@alexrmccann) January 25, 2022
The #Saints will hold a press conference today to discuss Sean Payton’s time away and he’ll inform his staff in the coming minutes. End of an era in New Orleans. https://t.co/7v8gr8GW0c
— Ian Rapoport (@RapSheet) January 25, 2022
NINE head coach vacancies in the NFL at the moment. https://t.co/pWDlDCpp8V
— Ben Fischer (@BenFischerSBJ) January 25, 2022
Payton had some great success over the years in New Orleans, leading the team to the playoffs 9 times while famously defeating the Indianapolis Colts in 2009 for the franchise’s lone Super Bowl victory. If this is the end for Payton, he can certainly look back at building a truly successful franchise and winning culture during his time in New Orleans.
