Sean Payton coached against Matt Rhule in the NFC South for two seasons.
On Monday, the former Saints head coach weighed in on the Carolina Panthers’ decision to fire Rhule. During his appearance on “The Herd with Colin Cowherd,” Payton was candid about the reality of coaching in the NFL, recalling how when he was hired by the Saints in 2006, he had to look around the division and realize that not all four head coaches would be around in a couple of years.
Payton also discussed the difficulty of rebuilding a franchise, something Rhule was unable to do despite being given a massive contract by the Panthers in 2020.
“Look, it’s almost a unicorn–the open job with the great QB, waiting for you to come in and be the foster parent,” Payton said. “Usually, generally speaking, it’s somewhat broken.”
Carolina is now another franchise that will be mentioned as a potential landing spot for Payton should he return to coaching next year, but the fit might not be great.
Payton knows the division well but is probably searching for that “unicorn” situation he mentioned above, or at least something close to it. That’s why he’s been linked endlessly to the Dallas Cowboys, should they move on from Mike McCarthy, and to a lesser extent, the Los Angeles Chargers if they can Brandon Staley.